Curt Rechel

Curt Rechel
Born	1 December 1902 Iserlohn
Died	10 August 1973 (aged 70) Farchant
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1923–45
Rank	Kapitän zur See
Commands held	Z-11 Bernd von Arnim Z-29 ZG 3 Hermes
Battles/wars	World War II Battles of Narvik Battle of the Atlantic Battle of the Mediterranean
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Curt Rechel (1 December 1902 – 10 August 1973) was a highly decorated Kapitän zur See in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. ZG 3 Hermes, under the command of Rechel, sank the British submarine HMS Splendid on 21 April 1943.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (6 November 1939)
  • 1st Class (3 June 1940)
• Destroyer War Badge (19 October 1940)
• Narvik Shield (1 November 1940)
• German Cross in Gold on 20 November 1941 as Korvettenkapitän on Z-29/8. Zerstörer-Flottille^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 8 May 1943 as Fregattenkapitän and commander of Zerstörer Z-29^[2]
• Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare (27 April 1943)

References

Citations

1. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 368.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 286.

Bibliography

• Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2497-2.
• 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.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Deutsches Marinearchiv