Friedrich-Wilhelm Thorwest

Friedrich-Wilhelm Thorwest
Born	6 December 1898 Könnern
Died	1 November 1944 (aged 45) Off Pula on the Dalmatian Coast in the North Adriatic
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1916–18, -1944
Rank	Fregattenkapitän of the Reserves
Commands held	2. Geleitflottille "Adria"
Battles/wars	World War II Adriatic Campaign of World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (posthumously)

Friedrich-Wilhelm Thorwest (6 December 1898 – 1 November 1944) was a highly decorated Oberleutnant zur See der Reserves 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. Thorwest was killed in action on 1 November 1944 when Torpedoboot Ausland destroyer TA 20 (ex-Italian Urakaze-class destroyer Audace) was attacked and destroyed by HMS Avon Vale and HMS Wheatland.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (23 April 1940)
  • 1st Class (11 February 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 November 1944 as Korvettenkapitän of the Reserves and chief of the 2.Geleitflottille "Adria"^[1][2]

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 422.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 744.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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 Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Deustsches Marinearchiv