Hermann Büchting

Hermann Büchting
Born (1916-03-14)14 March 1916
Neumünster
Died 27 June 1992(1992-06-27) (aged 76)
Rellingen
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1935–45
Rank Korvettenkapitän
Unit SSS Gorch Fock
cruiser Karlsruhe
Commands held Schnellboot S-18, S-21, S-25, S-27 and S-51
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hermann Wilhelm Georg Büchting (14 March 1916 in Neumünster – 27 June 1992 in Rellingen) was a German Schnellboot commander in World War II and 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.

Career

Herman Büchting was born on 14 March 1916 in Neumünster/Holstein. He joined the Navy in April 1935 and went through training in Stralsund. Following his training, he went aboard the new sail training ship Gorch Fock for two months of seamanship training. This was followed by a nine-month goodwill tour aboard the light cruiser Karlsruhe which would take it from Keil, around the Cape of Good Hope to the Far East and return to Kiel by way of the Panama Canal.

Büchting then attended the Naval Academy Mürwik in Flensburg-Mürwik, graduating from his officer training as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) in March 1937. He continued his cadet training program by attending a series of courses, including torpedo school and intelligence school, before being sent to the Torpedo Boat Training Flottille as a Wache Offizier.

Promotions came quickly as he was elevated to Oberfähnrich on 1 January 1939 and commissioned Leutnant zur See in April. In October, after completing his torpedo boat training, he was ordered to the 5. Torpedobootsflottille. He was assigned to the torpedoboot Greif, one of the first 12 new torpedo boats built for the German navy. The boat carried a 122-man crew, displaced 930 tons, and could steam at 33 knots. On 1 October 1939 Büchting was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See.

With the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, he served in the North Sea and Skagerrak on mine laying and coastal security duties. Skagerrak is a triangular area of water with Norway and Sweden to the north and Denmark to the south. (On 31 May and 1 June 1916, the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet clashed in this area, known as the "Battle of Jutland", or "The Battle of Skagerrak" in Germany.)

Kapitänleutnant Erich Bey formed the first Schnellboot (E-boat) flotilla in the mid-1930s. The early Schnellbooten could reach a maximum speed of 37 knots and saw action during the Spanish Civil War. In 1938, a second flotilla was formed at Wilhelmshaven and had a complement of 18 boats at the start of the war.

Büchting transferred to the Schnellbooten in March 1940. He was attached to the 1. Schnellbootsflotille, where he commanded several boats, including S-18, S-21, S-25, S-27 and S-51. On 20 April 1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

With the evacuation of British and French forces from Dunkirk on 26 May 1940, E-boats were immediately deployed and sank the French destroyers Orage and Sirocco. They were also responsible for sinking the British ship Wakeful and damaging another.

These boats began operating from bases in occupied France and saw action in the English Channel and the mouth of the Thames River. They were particularly successful in the Straits of Dover. Büchting received his next decorations, the Iron Cross 1st Class, on 3 January 1941.

In mid 1941, Büchting was in action off the Finnish Coast, and in early 1942 he was transferred to the Black Sea. This was followed by a promotion to Kapitänleutnant on 1 June 1942.

on April 22, 1943 Büchting, commander of S51 of the 1.Schnellbootsflottile, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his successes as an E-boat commander. On 1 September 1943 he was given command of 1.Schnellbootsflotilla, a position that he would retain until the end of the war.

The E-boats continued to give the Allies trouble along the coasts of Europe. About 250 E-boats were built, and after 1943 the bridges were armed to protect against low-flying airplanes.

Büchting continued his operations in the Black Sea and was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 June 1944. During the last several months of the war, Büchting and the 1. Schnellbootsflotille were back in the Baltic seeing action in the Danzig-Gotenhafen area. They were also active along the Kurland (Latvia) Coast, where they helped in defending the evacuation of large numbers of civilian refugees and military personnel, which otherwise would fall victim to Russian captivity or even death. Büchting would become a prisoner of war on 9 May 1945 and would remain a POW until 18 August 1945.

After the war, Büchting became a successful businessman and died in Rellingen, Germany on 27 June 1992.

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Scherzer as commander of Schnellboot S-27 respectively S-51 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille.[3]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dörr 1995, p. 104.
  2. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 148.
  3. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 250.

Bibliography

  • Dörr, Manfred (1995). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 1: A–K [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2453-2. 
  • 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. 
  • Huß, Jürgen; Viohl, Armin (2003). Die Ritterkreuzträger des Eisernen Kreuzes der preußischen Provinz Schleswig-Holstein und der Freien und Hansestadt Lübeck 1939–1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein and the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck 1939–1945] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-925480-79-9. 
  • 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. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Korvettenkapitän Georg Christiansen		 Commander of 1. Schnellbootflottille
1 September 1943 – 8 May 1945 		Succeeded by
none
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