Günter Kuhnke

Günter Kuhnke
Günter Kuhnke
Born	7 September 1912; Elbing, West Prussia
Died	11 October 1990 (aged 78); Schortens
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933); Nazi Germany (to 1945); West Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine; Kriegsmarine; German Navy
Years of service	1931–45; 1955–72
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine); Konteradmiral (Bundesmarine)
Commands	U-28; U-125; U-853; 10th U-boat Flotilla; 33rd U-boat Flotilla; destroyer Z-2 (D171)
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic;
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; Stern zum Großen Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Günter Kuhnke (7 September 1912 – 11 October 1990) was a German submarine commander during World War II and later a Konteradmiral with the Bundesmarine, West Germany's navy. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Career

Kuhnke commanded the U-28, U-125 and U-853, sinking eleven ships on nine patrols, for a total of 42,252 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping plus the special service vessel HMS Prunella. He commanded 10th U-boat Flotilla from January 1942 until October 1944, then 33rd U-boat Flotilla until May 1945.

Kuhnke joined Bundesmarine in 1955.^[1] commanded the destroyer Z-2 (D171) (formerly USS Ringgold (DD-500)) from 14 July 1959 until 15 November 1960. In 1966, he was promoted to Konteradmiral (rear admiral) in 1966. Kuhnke retired from service in September 1972.^[2]

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th class (2 October 1936)^[3]
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (29 September 1939)^[3]
- 1st Class (1 October 1939)^[3]
War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)^[3]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 September 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-28^[4]
Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (26 June 1969)^[5]
Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany (30 September 1972)^[5]

References

Citations

^ "Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv Bestand BM 25". Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
^ "Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv Bestand BM 10". Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Busch and Röll 2003, p. 67.
^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 279.
^ ^a ^b Busch and Röll 2003, p. 68.

Bibliography

Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

Military offices
Preceded by Korvettenkapitän Georg Schewe	Commander of the 33rd U-boat Flotilla September – October 1944	Succeeded by —
Preceded by —	*Commander of German destroyer Z-2 (formerly USS Ringgold)* July 1959 – November 1960	Succeeded by Fregattenkapitän Otto Ites
Preceded by Kapitän zur See Hans Dominik	*Commander of Kommando der Zerstörer* (Destroyer Commando)** 16 October 1960 – 1 October 1964	Succeeded by Kapitän zur See Theodor von Mutius
Preceded by Konteradmiral Albrecht Obermaier	Chief of the Navy Office 1 April 1966 – 30 September 1972	Succeeded by Konteradmiral Günter Luther