Decorations
Knights Cross
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuz
| The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross was introduced in 1939 as an addtion to the Iron Cross family. Like the Iron Cross itself it had the year of its intruduction embodied into it. About 7,318 of these awards were presented to members of all branches of the German armed forces. U-boat men received 144 of those. |
Decorations ordered by last name
See this list sorted by date
| Commander and rank | Age | Crew | Date | U-boat Command(s) held * | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Kptlt. | Achilles, Albrecht + | 28 | 34 | 16 Jan 1943 | U-161 |
| Kptlt. | Bargsten, Klaus Heinrich | 31 | 35 | 30 Apr 1943 | U-563, U-521 |
| Kptlt. | Bauer, Ernst | 28 | 33 | 16 Mar 1942 | U-120, U-126 |
| Kptlt. | Bigalk, Gerhard + | 33 | 33 | 26 Dec 1941 | U-14, U-751 |
| Kptlt. | Bleichrodt, Heinrich | 31 | 31 | 24 Oct 1940 | U-48 |
| Kptlt. | Brandi, Albrecht | 28 | 35 | 21 Jan 1943 | U-617 |
| Kptlt. | Brasack, Paul | 28 | 37a | 30 Oct 1944 | U-737 |
| Kptlt. | Bülow, Otto von | 31 | 30 | 20 Oct 1942 | U-3, U-404 |
| Kptlt. | Clausen, Asmus Nicolai + | 30 | 13 Mar 1942 | U-142, U-37, U-129 | |
| Kptlt. | Cremer, Peter-Erich | 31 | 32 | 5 Jun 1942 | U-152, U-333 |
| Kpt. | Dobratz, Kurt | 40 | 22 | 23 Jan 1945 | U-1232 |
| Kptlt. | Dommes, Wilhelm | 35 | 31 | 2 Dec 1942 | U-431 |
| Oblt. | Eick, Alfred | 28 | 37a | 31 Mar 1944 | U-510 |
| Kptlt. | Emmermann, Carl | 27 | 34 | 27 Nov 1942 | U-172 |
| Oblt. | Endrass, Engelbert + | 29 | 34 | 5 Sep 1940 | U-46 |
| Oblt. | Fenski, Horst-Arno | 25 | 37b | 26 Nov 1943 | U-34, U-410 |
| Oblt. | Fleige, Karl | 38 | 18 Jul 1944 | U-18 | |
| Kptlt. | Folkers, Ulrich + | 28 | 34 | 27 Mar 1943 | U-37, U-125 |
| Kptlt. | Forstner, Siegfried Freiherr von + | 32 | 30 | 9 Feb 1943 | U-59, U-402 |
| Kptlt. | Franke, Rudolf Heinz | 28 | 36 | 30 Nov 1943 | U-148, U-262 |
| Kptlt. | Franken, Wilhelm + | 28 | 35 | 30 Apr 1943 | U-565 |
| Kptlt. | Frauenheim, Fritz | 28 | 30 | 29 Aug 1940 | U-21, U-101 |
| Oblt. | Förster, Hans-Joachim + | 24 | 38 | 18 Oct 1944 | U-348, U-479, U-480 |
| Kptlt. | Gelhaus, Harald | 27 | 35 | 26 Mar 1943 | U-143, U-107 |
| Kptlt. | Guggenberger, Friedrich | 26 | 34 | 10 Dec 1941 | U-28, U-81 |
| Kptlt. | Gysae, Robert | 30 | 31 | 31 Dec 1941 | U-98 |
| Kptlt. | Hardegen, Reinhard | 28 | 33 | 23 Jan 1942 | U-147, U-123 |
| KrvKpt. | Hartenstein, Werner + | 34 | 28 | 17 Sep 1942 | U-156 |
| KrvKpt. | Hartmann, Werner | 37 | 21 | 9 May 1940 | U-26, U-37 |
| KrvKpt. | Hechler, Ernst | 37 | 29 | 21 Jan 1945 | U-870 |
| Kptlt. | Heidtmann, Hans | 28 | 34 | 12 Apr 1943 | U-2, U-14, U-21, U-559 |
| Kptlt. | Hellriegel, Hans-Jürgen + | 26 | 36 | 3 Feb 1944 | U-140, U-96, U-543 |
| Kptlt. | Henke, Werner + | 33 | 33 | 17 Dec 1942 | U-515 |
| Oblt. (R) | Hess, Hans-Georg | 21 | 40 | 11 Feb 1945 | U-995 |
| Kptlt. | Hessler, Günter | 32 | 27 | 24 Jun 1941 | U-107 |
| Kptlt. | Heydemann, Günther | 29 | 33 | 3 Jul 1943 | U-575 |
| Kptlt. | Heyse, Ulrich | 36 | 32 | 21 Jan 1943 | U-128 |
| Oblt. | Ites, Otto | 24 | 36 | 28 Mar 1942 | U-146, U-94 |
| Kptlt. | Jahn, Gunter | 32 | 31 | 30 Apr 1943 | U-596 |
| Oblt. | Jenisch, Hans | 26 | 33 | 7 Oct 1940 | U-32 |
| Kaeding, Walter | 28 | 15 May 1944 | |||
| KrvKpt. | Kals, Ernst | 37 | 24 | 1 Sep 1942 | U-130 |
| Kptlt. | Kelbling, Gerd | 28 | 34 | 19 Aug 1943 | U-593 |
| Kptlt. | Kentrat, Eitel-Friedrich | 35 | 28 | 31 Dec 1941 | U-8, U-74 |
| Oblt. | Koitschka, Siegfried | 26 | 37a | 27 Jan 1944 | U-7, U-616 |
| Kptlt. | Korth, Claus | 29 | 32 | 29 May 1941 | U-57, U-93 |
| Kptlt. | Kraus, Hans-Werner | 26 | 34 | 19 Jun 1942 | U-83 |
| Kptlt. | Krech, Günther | 28 | 33 | 17 Sep 1942 | U-558 |
| Kptlt. | Kretschmer, Otto | 28 | 30 | 4 Aug 1940 | U-35, U-23, U-99 |
| Oblt. | Krieg, Johann-Otto | 25 | 37b | 8 Jul 1944 | U-142, U-81 |
| Kptlt. | Kuhnke, Günter | 28 | 31 | 19 Sep 1940 | U-28 |
| Kptlt. | Kuppisch, Herbert + | 31 | 32 | 14 May 1941 | U-58, U-94 |
| Kptlt. | Lange, Hans-Günther | 27 | 37a | 26 Aug 1944 | U-711 |
| Oblt. | Lassen, Georg | 27 | 35 | 10 Aug 1942 | U-29, U-160 |
| Oblt. (R) | Lehmann, Hans | 29 | 38 | 8 May 1945 | U-997 |
| Kptlt. | Lehmann-Willenbrock, Heinrich | 29 | 31 | 26 Feb 1941 | U-8, U-5, U-96 |
| Kptlt. | Lemp, Fritz-Julius + | 27 | 31 | 14 Aug 1940 | U-28, U-30 |
| Kptlt. | Liebe, Heinrich | 32 | 27 | 14 Aug 1940 | U-2, U-38 |
| Kptlt. | Lüdden, Siegfried + | 27 | 36 | 11 Feb 1944 | U-188 |
| Oblt. | Lüth, Wolfgang + | 27 | 33 | 24 Oct 1940 | U-13, U-9, U-138, U-43 |
| Oblt. | Marbach, Karl-Heinz | 27 | 37a | 22 Jul 1944 | U-101, U-29, U-28, U-953 |
| Kptlt. | Markworth, Friedrich | 28 | 34 | 8 Jul 1943 | U-66 |
| Kptlt. | Maus, August | 28 | 34 | 21 Sep 1943 | U-185 |
| Kptlt. | Mehl, Waldemar | 29 | 33 | 28 Mar 1944 | U-62, U-72, U-371 |
| Kptlt. | Mengersen, Ernst | 29 | 33 | 18 Nov 1941 | U-18, U-143, U-101 |
| KrvKpt. | Merten, Karl-Friedrich | 36 | 26 | 13 Jun 1942 | U-68 |
| Kptlt. | Metzler, Jost | 32 | 32 | 28 Jul 1941 | U-69 |
| Kptlt. | Moehle, Karl-Heinz | 30 | 30 | 26 Feb 1941 | U-20, U-123 |
| Kptlt. | Mohr, Johann + | 25 | 34 | 27 Mar 1942 | U-124 |
| Kptlt. | Müller-Stöckheim, Günther + | 28 | 34 | 27 Nov 1942 | U-67 |
| Kptlt. | Mützelburg, Rolf + | 28 | 32 | 17 Nov 1941 | U-10, U-203 |
| Kptlt. | Möhlmann, Helmut | 29 | 33 | 16 Apr 1943 | U-143, U-52, U-571 |
| KrvKpt. | Neitzel, Karl | 42 | 23 | 27 Mar 1943 | U-510 |
| Kptlt. | Oehrn, Victor | 33 | 27 | 21 Oct 1940 | U-14, U-37 |
| Kptlt. | Oesten, Jürgen | 27 | 33 | 26 Mar 1941 | U-61, U-106 |
| Kptlt. | Piening, Adolf Cornelius | 31 | 30 | 13 Aug 1942 | U-155 |
| Kptlt. | Poel, Gustav | 26 | 36 | 21 Mar 1944 | U-413 |
| KrvKpt. | Poske, Hans-Georg Friedrich | 38 | 23 | 6 Nov 1942 | U-504 |
| Kptlt. | Prien, Günther + | 31 | 31 | 18 Oct 1939 | U-47 |
| Oblt. | Pulst, Günther | 26 | 37b | 21 Dec 1944 | U-978 |
| Kptlt. | Rasch, Hermann | 28 | 34 | 29 Dec 1942 | U-106 |
| Kptlt. | Reche, Reinhart | 27 | 34 | 17 Mar 1943 | U-255 |
| Kptlt. | Rollmann, Wilhelm + | 33 | 26 | 31 Jul 1940 | U-34 |
| Kptlt. | Rosenbaum, Helmut + | 29 | 32 | 12 Aug 1942 | U-2, U-73 |
| Kptlt. | Rostin, Erwin + | 34 | 32 | 28 Jun 1942 | U-158 |
| KrvKpt. | Rösing, Hans Rudolf | 34 | 24 | 29 Aug 1940 | U-11, U-35, U-10, U-48 |
| Oblt. | Schaar, Gerd | 25 | 37b | 1 Oct 1944 | U-957 |
| KrvKpt. | Schacht, Harro + | 35 | 26 | 9 Jan 1943 | U-507 |
| Kptlt. | Schepke, Joachim + | 28 | 30 | 24 Sep 1940 | U-3, U-19, U-100 |
| Kptlt. | Schewe, Georg | 31 | 32 | 23 May 1941 | U-60, U-105 |
| Kptlt. | Schlippenbach, Egon Reiner Freiherr von | 29 | 34 | 19 Nov 1943 | U-121, U-453 |
| Oblt. | Schnee, Adalbert | 27 | 34 | 30 Aug 1941 | U-6, U-60, U-121, U-201 |
| Kptlt. | Schneider, Herbert + | 27 | 34 | 16 Jan 1943 | U-522 |
| KrvKpt. | Scholtz, Klaus | 33 | 27 | 26 Dec 1941 | U-108 |
| Kptlt. | Schonder, Heinrich + | 32 | 34 | 19 Aug 1942 | U-53, U-58, U-77 |
| Kptlt. | Schroeteler, Heinrich-Andreas | 29 | 36 | 2 May 1945 | U-667, U-1023 |
| Oblt. | Schroeter, Horst von | 24 | 37b | 1 Jun 1944 | U-123 |
| Kptlt. | Schuhart, Otto | 31 | 29 | 16 May 1940 | U-8, U-25, U-29 |
| Kptlt. | Schultze, Heinz-Otto + | 26 | 34 | 9 Jul 1942 | U-4, U-141, U-432 |
| Kptlt. | Schultze, Herbert | 30 | 30 | 1 Mar 1940 | U-2, U-48 |
| Kptlt. | Schulz, Georg-Wilhelm | 35 | 32 | 4 Apr 1941 | U-10, U-64, U-124 |
| KrvKpt. | Schütze, Viktor | 34 | 25 | 11 Dec 1940 | U-19, U-11, U-25, U-103 |
| Oblt. | Schöneboom, Dietrich + | 25 | 37a | 20 Oct 1943 | U-58, U-431 |
| Kptlt. | Seibicke, Günther + | 31 | 32 | 27 Mar 1943 | U-436 |
| Oblt. | Sieder, Heinz + | 24 | 38 | 8 Jul 1944 | U-984 |
| Kptlt. | Staats, Georg + | 27 | 35 | 14 Jul 1943 | U-80, U-508 |
| KrvKpt. | Stockhausen, Hans-Gerrit von + | 33 | 26 | 14 Jan 1941 | U-13, U-65 |
| Kptlt. | Strelow, Siegfried + | 31 | 31 | 27 Oct 1942 | U-435 |
| Oblt. | Stuckmann, Hermann + | 23 | X/39 | 11 Aug 1944 | U-316, U-621 |
| Oblt. | Suhren, Reinhard (IWO) | 24 | 35 | 3 Nov 1940 | |
| Kptlt. | Teichert, Max-Martin + (posthumous) | 28 | 34 | 19 Dec 1943 | U-456 |
| Kptlt. | Thomsen, Rolf | 29 | 36 | 4 Jan 1945 | U-1202 |
| KrvKpt. | Thurmann, Karl + | 32 | 28 | 24 Aug 1942 | U-553 |
| Kptlt. | Tiesenhausen, Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von | 28 | 34 | 27 Jan 1942 | U-331 |
| KrvKpt. | Timm, Heinrich | 34 | 32 | 17 Sep 1944 | U-251, U-862 |
| Oblt. | Topp, Erich | 26 | 34 | 20 Jun 1941 | U-57, U-552 |
| Oblt. | Trojer, Hans-Hartwig + | 27 | 36 | 24 Mar 1943 | U-3, U-221 |
| Oblt. | Westphalen, Otto | 25 | 38 | 23 Mar 1945 | U-121, U-968 |
| Kptlt. | Winter, Werner | 30 | 30 | 5 Jun 1942 | U-22, U-103 |
| Kptlt. | Witt, Hans-Ludwig | 33 | 29 | 17 Dec 1942 | U-161, U-129 |
| Kptlt. | Witte, Helmut Friedrich | 27 | 34 | 22 Oct 1942 | U-159 |
| Kptlt. | Wohlfarth, Herbert | 25 | 33 | 15 May 1941 | U-14, U-137, U-556 |
| Kptlt. | Würdemann, Erich + | 29 | 33 | 14 Mar 1943 | U-506 |
| KrvKpt. | Zapp, Richard | 38 | 26 | 23 Apr 1942 | U-66 |
124 U-boat Commanders decorated with Knights Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuz) located.
Legend:
+ Indicates the Officer died in the war.
* Commands held indicates the U-boat commands held by this officer before award date. In some cases the officer had not taken command his first boat yet or was not even in the U-boat force yet.
(IWO) indicates that the officer was a First Watch Officer when he received the Knight's Cross. A rare achievement.
Engineers (LI) |
|||||||
| Rank | Name | Navy start | Age | Date | Pos. | U-boat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oblt.(Ing) | Suhren, Gerd | 1933 | (26) | 21/10/1940 | LI | U-37 |
| 2. | Oblt.(Ing) | Zürn, Erich | 1925 | (34) | 23/04/1941 | LI | U-48 |
| 3. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Bielig, Gerhard | 1934 | (26) | 10/02/1943 | LI | U-177 |
| 4. | Lt.(Ing) | Krey, Heinz + | 1939 | (21) | 04/09/1943 | LI | U-752 |
| 5. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Panknin, Herbert | 1934 | (29) | 04/09/1943 | LI | U-106 |
| 6. | Oblt.(Ing) | Lechtenbörger,Willi+ | 1934* | (29) | 04/09/1943 | LI | U-847 |
| 7. | Oblt.(Ing) | Landfermann, Carl A. | 1934* | (29) | 27/10/1943 | LI | U-181 |
| 8. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Rohweder, Helmut | 1935 | (29) | 14/11/1943 | LI | U-514 |
| 9. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Wessels, Johann-F. | 1923 | (39) | 09/03/1944 | LI | U-198 |
| 10. | Oblt.(Ing) | Olschewski, Georg | 1928* | (32) | 23/04/1944 | LI | U-66 |
| 11. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Wiebe, Karl-Heinz | 1935 | (28) | 22/05/1944 | LI | U-178 |
| 12. | Oblt.(Ing) | König, Reinhardt | 1928* | (35) | 08/07/1944 | LI | U-123 |
| 13. | Kptlt.(Ing) | Lichtenberg, Philipp | 1928* | (36) | 31/03/1945 | LI | U-516 |
| 14. | Oblt.(Ing) | Johannsen, Hans | 1935* | (32) | 31/03/1945 | LI | U-802 |
Mates |
|||||||
| 1. | StOstrm. | Petersen, Heinrich | 1919* | (38) | 05/11/1940 | U-99 | |
| 2. | Ostrm. | Kaeding, Walter | 1935* | (28) | 15/05/1944 | U-123 | |
| 3. | Ostrm. | Hofmann, Horst | 1937* | (25) | 20/05/1944 | U-672 | |
| 4. | StOstrm. | Dammeier, Heinrich | 1933* | (30) | 12/08/1944 | U-270 | |
| 5. | OBtsMt. | Mühlbauer, Rudolf | (25) | 10/12/1940 | U-123 | ||
| 6. | OMasch. | Prassdorf, Heinrich | 1937* | (26) | 21/04/1945 | U-1203 | |
| 7. | OStrm. | Jäckel, Karl | 1937* | (31) | 28/04/1945 | U-907 | |
* Service begins in the navy
Note: This listing is still being compiled and some recipients might be missing.