Horst von Schroeter

__NOTOC__{{Infobox military person

|name=Horst von Schroeter

|birth_date={{birth date|1919|6|10|df=y}}

|death_date={{death date and age|2006|7|25|1919|6|10|df=y}}

|birth_place=

|image=File:Horst von Schroeter.jpg

|caption=

|nickname=

|allegiance={{flag|Nazi Germany}}
{{flag|West Germany}}

|branch=Kriegsmarine
German Navy

|serviceyears=

|rank=Kapitänleutnant
Vizeadmiral

|commands={{GS|U-123|1940|2}}
{{GS|U-2506||2}}
Allied Forces Baltic Approaches

|unit=

|battles=Battle of the Atlantic

|awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

|laterwork=}}

Horst von Schroeter (10 June 1919, Bieberstein – 25 July 2006) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. After World War II he joined the West German Navy and from 1976 to 1979 held the position of Commander of the NATO Naval forces in the Baltic Sea Approaches (COMNAVBALTAP).

U-123 sank the Spanish-registered motor ship Castillo Montealegre on 8 April 1943 west of Conakry, French Guinea. As per maritime rules, the neutral ship had the Spanish flag painted in both sides. Commander Horst von Schroeter ordered the shooting of 3 torpedoes and she sunk in less than a minute. The submarine surfaced, the commander asked from the conning tower "What ship?" to the survivors. Although being confirmed he had just sunk a neutral ship, he left without giving any assistance to the 40 men adrift (five went down with the ship).

A few days later the Hill-class naval trawler HMS Inkpen rescued 29 survivors from a boat. 11 on a separated raft died. The affair was hushed-up by the government of Franco; indeed, the survivors were ordered to shut-up. The career of Commander Horst von Schroeter was unaffected by this affair and after the war he even became a NATO commander.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
2nd Class (25 August 1941)
1st Class (10 February 1942)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 450.
U-boat War Badge (25 August 1941)
German Cross in Gold (12 December 1943)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 June 1944 as Oberleutnant zur See and Commandant of U-123Scherzer 2007, p. 685.Fellgiebel 2000, p. 389.
U-boat Front Clasp in Bronze and Silver
Bronze (14 October 1944)
Silver (15 March 1945)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 451.
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Cross of Merit (4 September 1971)
Cross of Merit 1st Class (4 September 1972)
Great Cross of Merit (30 September 1979)

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{Cite book

|last1=Busch

|first1=Rainer

|last2=Röll

|first2=Hans-Joachim

|year=2003

|title=Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945

|trans-title=The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945

|language=German

|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany

|publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn

|isbn=978-3-8132-0515-2

}}

{{Cite book

|last=Fellgiebel

|first=Walther-Peer

|authorlink=Walther-Peer Fellgiebel

|year=2000

|title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile

|trans-title=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

|language=German

|location=Friedberg, Germany

|publisher=Podzun-Pallas

|isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6

}}

{{Cite book

|last=Scherzer

|first=Veit

|year=2007

|title=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

|trans-title=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

|language=German

|location=Jena, Germany

|publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag

|isbn=978-3-938845-17-2

}}

{{s-ttl | title = Deputy Inspector of the Navy | years = October 1971 – September 1976}}

{{Subject bar

| portal1=Biography

}}

Category:1919 births

Category:2006 deaths

Category:People from Mittelsachsen