Franz Kohlauf

Franz Kohlauf

Born	(1910-12-03)3 December 1910 Klosterbeuren district of Memmingen
Died	26 April 1944(1944-04-26) (aged 33) bay of Saint Malo
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Commands held	torpedo boat Seeadler torpedo boat Jaguar 4. Torpedobootflottille
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Sept-Îles Battle of the Bay of Biscay
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Franz Kohlauf (3 December 1910 – 26 April 1944) was a Fregattenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and 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 was killed in action when Torpedoboot T-29 was sunk by HMCS Haida.

He commanded the 4. Torpedo Boat Flotilla, consisting of large Elbing-class torpedo boats, among others. Kohlauf led the five torpedo boats T-23, T-26, T-27, T-22 and T-25 in a night battle on 22/23 October 1943 in which the Germans sunk the British cruiser HMS Charybdis and escort destroyer HMS Limbourne, without losses.^[1] After this action, he was awarded the Knight's Cross.

In December 28 of that year he fought in the Battle of the Bay of Biscay but managed to escape harm.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class (6 December 1939)^[2]
- 1st Class (20 April 1940)^[2]
Wehrmacht Long Service Award (1 April 1938)^[2]
Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords (6 June 1939)^[2]
Destroyer War Badge (30 December 1940)^[2]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1943 as Korvettenkapitän and chief of the 4. Torpedobootflottille^[3]^[4]

References

Citations

↑ (Polish) Albert W. Dawidowicz, Feralny "Tunel" in: Morza, Statki i Okręty nr. 4/2004, p.36
1 2 3 4 5 Dörr 1995, p. 354.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 267.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 462.

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.
OÕHara, Vincent (2013). The German Fleet at War, 1939–1945. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-397-3.
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.

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