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)
Unit	SSS Niobe cruiser Karlsruhe
Commands held	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 Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and later a Konteradmiral with the Bundesmarine. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

He 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.

Fregattenkapitän Günter Kuhnke commanded the destroyer Z-2 (D171) (formerly USS Ringgold (DD-500)) from 14 July 1959 until November 1960.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

Date	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate[1]
14 September 1939	Vancouver City	United Kingdom	4,955	Sunk
17 November 1939	Sliedrecht	Netherlands	5,133	Sunk
25 November 1939	Royston Grange	United Kingdom	5,144	Sunk
21 January 1940	Protesilaus	United Kingdom	9,577	Total loss (mine)
9 March 1940	P. Margoronis	Greece	4,979	Sunk
11 March 1940	Eulota	Netherlands	6,236	Sunk
18 June 1940	Samartia	Finland	2,417	Sunk
19 June 1940	Adamandios Georgandis	Greece	3,443	Sunk
21 June 1940	HMS Prunella	Royal Navy	4,443	Sunk
27 August 1940	Eva	Norway	1,599	Sunk
28 August 1940	Kyno	United Kingdom	3,946	Sunk
9 September 1940	Mardinian	United Kingdom	2,431	Sunk
9 September 1940	Harpenden	United Kingdom	4,678	Damaged
9 September 1940	Maas	Netherlands	1,966	Sunk
26 October 1940	Matina	United Kingdom	5,389	Damaged

Promotions

Reichsmarine (1931–35)

• Offiziersanwärter (officer candidate) - 1 April 1931
• Seekadett (officer cadet) - 1 April 1932
• Fähnrich zur See (midshipman) - 1 April 1933
• Oberfähnrich zur See (senior midshipman) - 1 January 1935
• Leutnant zur See (acting sub-lieutenant) - 1 April 1935

Kriegsmarine (1935–45)

• Oberleutnant zur See (sub-lieutenant) - 1 January 1937
• Kapitänleutnant (lieutenant) - 1 October 1939
• Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain/lieutenant-commander) - 1 March 1943

Bundesmarine (1955–72)

• Joined 16 November 1955^[2]
• Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain/commander) - 16 June 1956
• Kapitän zur See (captain) - 16 October 1962
• Flottillenadmiral (flotilla admiral/commodore) - 28 January 1965
• Konteradmiral (rear-admiral) - 1 April 1966
• Retired 30 September 1972^[3]

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th class (2 October 1936)^[4]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (29 September 1939)^[4]
  • 1st Class (1 October 1939)^[4]
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)^[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 September 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-28^[5]
• Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (26 June 1969)^[6]
• Grand Merit Cross with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany (30 September 1972)^[6]

References

Citations

1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-28". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
2. Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv Bestand BM 25
3. Bundesarchiv/Militärarchiv Bestand BM 10
4. Busch and Röll 2003, p. 67.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 279.
6. 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.
• Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-748-2.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
• 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

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Günter Kuhnke". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 April 2015.