Type commander (Kriegsmarine)

The battleship and cruiser type commands were originally separate offices, beginning with an office inherited from the Reichsmarine known as the Befehlshaber der Linienschiffe (Commander of Liners). In November 1936, the command was renamed as Befehlshaber der Panzerschiffe. Rolf Carls was the first commander under the new title until 1938 when the post was assigned to Vizeadmiral Wilhelm Marschall. The following year, Marschall was named as the new Kriegsmarine fleet commander, and no successor was appointed to lead the battleship branch. The post remained vacant until June 1941 when it was merged with the cruiser type command to form the Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe (B.d.S) (Commander of Battleships).

Otto Ciliax served as commander of battleships until May 1942 when the command was abolished completely and thereafter battleship type affairs were placed back under the authority of the cruiser type commander. The cruiser type command had originally begun as an umbrella senior position, known as the Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsstreitkräfte (B.d.A.), which commanded all cruiser type vessels as well as serving as the superior officer for the type commanders of torpedo boats and minesweepers. This position was held by four Kriegsmarine officers between 1935 and 1941, when the title was disbanded and merged with the Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe (B.d.S).

• Vice admiral Hermann Boehm (Inaugural holder - carried over position from Reichsmarine since September 1934)
• Vice admiral Hermann Densch (September 1937 - October 1939)
• Vice admiral Günther Lütjens (October 1939 - April 1940)
• Vice admiral Hubert Schmundt (April 1940 - October 1941)

Between April and May 1942, the German surface fleet was reorganized with the torpedo boat and battleship type commands discontinued and placed under the authority of a new cruiser command known as the Befehlshaber der Kreuzer (B.d.K.). Vice Admiral Oskar Kummetz then became the first cruiser type commander serving until November 1943 when he was succeeded by Konteradmiral Erich Bey. In June 1944, the cruiser type command was renamed as the Befehlshaber der Kampfgruppe (B.d.K.) and the position assumed by Rear Admiral Rudolf Peters, who held the title until the end of the war.

The Kriegsmarine had in commission a total of sixteen battleship and cruiser type vessels during the Second World War.

The posting of commander of destroyers (Führer der Zerstörer) was first created in November 1939; prior to that time, all destroyer development and deployment had been under the authority of the commander of torpedo boats. All German destroyers were further divided into eight administrative flotillas (Z-Flotille), each contained between four and five destroyer with its own flotilla commander and flagship. Operationally, destroyers were deployed under the authority of the naval group commanders, leaving the commander of destroyers as little more than administrative head with little tactical control. In April 1942, the position was increased in its responsibility when all German torpedo boats were placed under the administrative control of the leader of destroyers.

The following officers served as commander of destroyers during the Second World War.

• Kommodore Friedrich Bonte (November 1939 – April 1940)
  • Duties assumed by deputy, Korvettenkapitän Schemmel, April–May 1940
• Kapitan zur See Erich Bey (May 1940 – December 1943)
• Kapitan zur See Max-Eckart Wolff (December 1943 – February 1944)
• Vizeadmiral Leo Kreisch (February 1944 – May 1945)

Ten destroyer escorts were also constructed by the Kriegsmarine for use in convoy protection duties. These ships were interspersed among five escort flotillas augmented by converted civilian craft and torpedo boats of the Torpedoboot Ausland program. A type commander for escort ships was never established with these vessels administratively under the command of the commander of destroyers.

The commander of submarines held the most authority and independence of any type commander and possessed direct operational and deployment ability. This was in contrast to other vessel class commanders which were administratively assigned with deployment and tactical operations usually under a Navy group commander. Karl Dönitz was the first and longest serving commander of submarines, a title which he inaugurated in January 1936 as the Führer der Unterseeboote. In the early days of Dönitz's tenure, his submarine force consisted of a single flotilla which he also commanded. At the height of World War II, the submarine force consisted of several U-boat regional commands within which were interspersed over thirty U-boat flotillas.

The submarine force would see its greatest amount of combat in the Battle of the Atlantic. Dönitz himself personally directed the movement of individual submarines from his headquarters and also invented the "wolfpack" concept where submarines would group together to attack multiple targets. The wolf packs were temporary tactical formations and were not permanently maintained as the U-boat flotillas were. U-boat flotillas and regions also did not maintain flagships on a particular U-boat, but instead operated from an established shore headquarters.

In January 1943, Dönitz succeeded Erich Raeder as Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy. In his new position, Dönitz channeled most of the remaining resources of the Kriegsmarine into the submarine force, leading to a neglect and downsizing of the surface fleet. Dönitz also retained his title as commander of submarines, but left the day-to-day operations to his deputy Eberhard Godt.