Ernst Kals

Ernst Kals
Born 2 August 1905(1905-08-02)
Glauschau
Died 2 November 1979(1979-11-02) (aged 74)
Emden
Allegiance  Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1924–1945
Rank Kapitän zur See
Unit U-37
Commands held U-130
2nd U-boat Flotilla
Battles/wars

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ernst Kals (2 August 1905 – 2 November 1979) was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the Type IXC U-boat U-130 on five patrols, and sank twenty ships, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping, becoming the sixteenth highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Contents

Career

Kals joined the Reichsmarine in 1924. After serving on torpedo boats and light cruisers he transferred to the Ubootwaffe ("U-boat force") in October 1940. After one patrol on U-37, he took command of U-130 in June 1941. In April 1942, Kals in U-130 bombarded the Allied petroleum tank farm on Curaçao, in the Netherlands Antilles. Kals sank a total of 20 ships on 5 patrols, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping, including his greatest success, when on 12 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Casablanca, he attacked the heavily guarded transport ships in Fedala Roads in Morocco. In five minutes he sank three United States troopships, the Edward Rutledge, Hugh L. Scott and Tasker H. Bliss. In January 1943 he became commander of 2nd U-boat Flotilla based in Lorient, France, where he remained to the end of the war. From May 1945 to January 1948 Kals was held in French captivity. He died in 1979.[1]

Awards

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Kapitän zur See Ernst Kals". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/men/kals.htm. Retrieved 18 April 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d Busch and Röll 2003, p. 255.
  3. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 250.
Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer & Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
  • Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze		 Commander of 2nd U-boat Flotilla
January, 1943 – October, 1944		 Succeeded by
disbanded