Otto Kähler
German Konteradmiral (1894–1967)
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Otto Kähler (3 March 1894 – 2 November 1967) was a German admiral during World War II. He commanded the German auxiliary cruiser Thor, a merchant raider, on two combat patrols and sank or captured 12 ships, for a combined tonnage of 96,547 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Kähler relinquished command of Thor on 20 July 1941 to Günther Gumprich.
Otto-Cuno Kähler | |
|---|---|
Otto Kähler | |
| Born | 3 March 1894 |
| Died | 2 November 1967 (aged 73) |
| Allegiance | |
Branch | |
Rank | Konteradmiral |
| Commands | |
Conflicts | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Other work | Sales Representative for Industrial Supplies 1947-1955 |
He was appointed the commander of the naval forces in Brittany in September 1944. He was captured by US forces soon thereafter. Repatriated February 1947, soon after his release he began working as a Sales Representative for Industrial Supplies in Kiel until the year 1955.[1] He died in Kiel on 2 November 1967.[2]
Awards and decorations
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class and 1st Class[3]
- Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (April 1915)[3]
- U-boat War Badge (1918)[3][4]
- Germany WWI Flanders Cross 1914-1918 (1921?)
- The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (1934)[5]
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Class (2 October 1936)
- Spanish Cross in Silver without Swords (1939)
- Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class & 1st Class[4]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (22 December 1940) [6]
- War Merit Cross 2nd and 1st Class with Swords[5]
- Auxiliary Cruiser Badge (1941)[5]
- 583rd Oak Leaves on 15 September 1944 as Konteradmiral and sea-commander of the fortress Brest[7]
