Klaus Wenke

Klaus Wenke
Born	24 March 1916 Hamburg
Died	1 November 1944 (aged 28) Adriatic Sea
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1939–44
Rank	Oberleutnant zur See of the Reserves
Commands held	U-Jäger 208
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) Battle of the Mediterranean
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Klaus Wenke (24 March 1916 – 1 November 1944) was a highly decorated Oberleutnant zur See of the Reserves in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He was also a posthumous 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. Wenke was killed in action on 1 November 1944 when his submarine chaser (U-Jäger) UJ-208 was attacked and destroyed by HMS Avon Vale and HMS Wheatland.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (20 February 1942)^[1]
  • 1st Class (1944)^[1]
• Minesweeper War Badge (1941)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 November 1944 as Oberleutnant zur See of the Reserves and commander of the U-Jäger 208^[2]

References

Citations

1. Dörr 1996, p. 344.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 359.

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.