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Siegfried Wuppermann

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Siegfried Wuppermann
Born(1916-12-15)15 December 1916
Berlin
Died15 April 2005(2005-04-15) (aged 88)
Osnabrück
Allegiance Nazi Germany (to 1945)
 West Germany
Service/branch Kriegsmarine
 German Navy
Years of service1936–45
RankKapitänleutnant (Kriegsmarine)
Kapitän zur See of the Reserves (Bundesmarine)
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Siegfried Wuppermann (15 December 1916 – 15 April 2005) was a captain with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and later served with the Bundesmarine. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Military career

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Siegfried Wuppermann was born on 15 December 1916 in Berlin. He joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936 and was transferred to the Schnellboot service in March 1939, where he took command of a boat in the 1. Schnellbootflottille. During the Invasion of Poland he participated on patrols in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and in the English Channel.

In early November 1940 he took charge of a Gruppe in the 3. Schnellbootflottille and took command of Schnellboot "S 60" on 21 December 1940. Siegfried saw action with this boat near Boulogne. In February 1941 he became acting commander of the 3. Schnellbootflottille because Friedrich Kemnade was on vacation. Wuppermann led a patrol on 7 March 1941 against Allied convoys.

On S 60 he participated in Operation Barbarossa. On the night of 21/22 June 1941, just after hostilities with the Soviet Union began, S 60 together with S 59 sank the cargo ship Gaisma off Ventspils,[1] while on the night of 26/27 June, the 3. Schnellbootflottille clashed with Soviet naval forces on minelaying duties, with S 60 being credited (along with S 35) with sinking the Soviet minesweeper T208.[2] Wuppermann received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 August 1941 during these battles.

After the 3. Schnellbootflottille was transferred to the Mediterranean to guard the Axis convoys to North Africa. Wuppermann received the coveted Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 14 April 1943.

Kapitänleutnant Wuppermann helped establish the 21. and 22. Schnellbootflottillen in Eckernförde in May 1943 and was then transferred to the Stab of the Führer der Schnellboote. In March 1945 he took command of the 1. Schnellboot Division and fought with this unit in the Adriatic Sea.

After the war he joined the Bundesmarine. Siegfried Wuppermann died on 15 April 2005 in Osnabrück.

Awards

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  1. ^ According to Scherzer as commander of Schnellboot S-60.[6]
  2. ^ According to Scherzer as commander of Schnellboot S-56.[6]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 68
  2. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 70
  3. ^ a b c d e f Dörr 1996, p. 374.
  4. ^ a b Thomas 1998, p. 464.
  5. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 454.
  6. ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 800.
  7. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 68.

Bibliography

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  • Dörr, Manfred (1996). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2497-6.
  • 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.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
  • 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.
  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.