Kriegsmarine Small but nice Kriegsmarine KIA set.

[Gordon Williamson]

This Wehrpass was to a junior NCO rank who was KIA in May 1942.

[Gordon Williamson]

Came with his driving licence and dog tag.

Interesting thing is that he appears to be wearing a blue reefer jacket in this 1938 licence and has his name on the dog tag. He didn't join the Navy until 1940 and he was a JNCO, usually only officers names were on the dog-tag which for lower ranks just had their number.

[Gordon Williamson]

He served with Hafenschutzflotille Ostend, where there was a major E-Boat base, using huge concrete bunkers similar to U-Boat bunkers.

[Gordon Williamson]

Wehrpass shows him killed in action on 8 May 1942

"Am 8, Mai 1942 auf einem Hafenschutzboot gefallen"

[Gordon Williamson]

Condolence letter to his N.O.K. from his unit commander.

The letter mentions him being buried with full military honours.

[Gordon Williamson]

Obituary. Note he is listed as the "Kommandant" of a boat.

[DDD777]

Realy nice :beer:

[Gordon Williamson]

With further research all begins to become clear. He was no normal conscript but a highly experienced Merchant Seaman ( hence driving licence photo in blue reefer jacket). He had served aboard the sail training ship Grossherzogin Elisabeth, then on various merchant ships as an ordinary seaman, specifically the Norddeustche Lloyd line vessels Elberfeld , and Lahn , gaining his "Steuermann" ticket in 1930. He then served as 4th Officer with the Hamburg Südamerika Linie on the Cap Norte and Pernambuco , then back to Norddeutsche Lloyd serving on Isar again as 4th Officer.

In 1932 he attended ship's captain school in Weserm?nde and got his captains "ticket" in July 1933.

Subseuqnetly he travelled the world, again mostly with Norddeutsche Lloyd line, on Columbus, Sierra Cortdoba, Oratara, Europa, Scharnhorst and Eider.

Joining the Kriegsmarine he was posted to the Harbour Defence Flotilla in Ostend as a Sonderf?hrer with the nominal rank of Steuermann and was "Führer der Hafenschutzgruppe Ostend"

Most Merchant Navy officers who transferred to the KM had to "start again" and spend some time in the ranks. This guy was nominated as "ROA" or "Reserve Offizieranwärter" and so would ultimately have been comissioned had he survived.

The group of boats he commanded were former fishing boats to which flak guns (usually light 2cm or at most 3.7cm) had been added and provided escort to ships passing in and out of port.

His boat was attack by RAF aircraft during an attack on the port and he and some of his crew killed.

Can't find anything so far relating to RAF bomber command aircraft attacking Ostend on that date so it was most likely a fighter unit strafing the port facilities.

The interesting thing is that during the first few months of 1942, volunteer US pilots from the famed "Eagle Squadrons" were extensively

used on fighter sweeps agains ports including Ostend, so Wode may have been killed by an American rather than British pilot.

Just shows what a great little research project can be had from a modest little grouping at a very reasonable price!

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello Gordon.

Thank you for showing this interesting group. the person was 2.Officer for the then shipping line North German LLoyd. This line is still well known to this writer . This explains the picture on the license. He was indeed the captain of a small craft belonging to a Harbor Protection Flotilla . Most probably Steuermann Wode died during a strafing/bombing attack on the harbor and its facilities and/or the shipping therein. It appears that not all personnel who served as officers in the Merchant Marine were given officers rank while on active service with the Kriegsmarine.

Thanks again for showing these documents, they demonstrate the thankless tasks these small units had to perform every day.

Bernhard H. Holst

[Guest Rick Research]

It does seem quite a come down/waste of trained talent for the 2nd officer of an ocean liner to have been skippering a small harbor boat 2 1/2 years into the war.

No mention of having earned a Blockade Breaker Badge? He must have been in a home port when the war started.

[Gordon Williamson]

<!--quoteo(post=355456:date=Jul 14 2009, 17:39 :name=Rick Research)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rick Research @ Jul 14 2009, 17:39 ) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=355456"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It does seem quite a come down/waste of trained talent for the 2nd officer of an ocean liner to have been skippering a small harbor boat 2 1/2 years into the war.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Happened more often than you'd think. My old friend ( now sadly deceased) Otto Giese was a Merchant navy officer on the Anneliese Essberger. He <u>did</u> get the Blockade Breaker badge but when he later volunteered to transfer to the Kriegsmarine he had to start at the bottom again as a seaman. He was eventually commissioned into the KM and became Watch Officer on U-181 under Wolfgang Lüth.

Even though they were highly qualified, Merchant navy officers would not normally be transferred into the KM without reverting in rank and "proving" themselves again. Many of the top men in the KM were former Merchant Navy officers though ( like Günther Prien)

[FrontlineAntiques]

Its a great lot Gordon, thanks for sharing.