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Theodor Detmers

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Theodor Detmers
Born22 August 1902
Witten
Died4 November 1976(1976-11-04) (aged 74)
Rahlstedt, Hamburg
Allegiance
Service / branch
Years of service1921–1945
RankKapitän zur See
UnitKriegsmarine
Commands
Battles / wars
Awards
Other workAuthor[1][2]

Theodor Detmers (22 August 1902 – 4 November 1976) was a German naval officer and captain of the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran during World War II.[3] He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.[4][5] Detmers commanded the commerce raider Kormoran when it sunk the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney in a mutually destructive battle.

Career

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Detmers joined the Reichsmarine in 1921 and served on the battleships Hannover and Elsass. He was educated on the sail training ship Niobe and also served on Berlin. Detmers became a sublieutenant on the cruiser Emden. From 1926 to 1928, he served on the Albatross. In 1927, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 1930 to 1932, he served as staff officer and was then stationed on the cruiser Köln, on which he visited Australia in 1933.[6]

In 1934, he served on torpedo boats and destroyers of the Reichsmarine. In October 1938, he was in command of the destroyer Hermann Schoemann and participated in Operation Weserübung in April to June 1940.

HSK Kormoran

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Main article: German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran

In July 1940, Detmers became captain of the commerce raider Kormoran, and captured or destroyed 11 enemy merchant ships. On 19 November 1941 Kormoran was intercepted by HMAS Sydney. Detmers tried to pose as a Dutch merchant ship. He allegedly lacked the necessary naval codes, however, and was finally forced to engage Sydney.[7] Detmers sank the Australian cruiser in battle off Western Australia. His own ship was severely damaged and had to be scuttled,[8] after which Detmers was captured and became a prisoner of war (POW).[3]

In December 1941, Detmers was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and in 1943, was promoted to the rank of Kapitän zur See. He had earlier received the first class Iron Cross.

Prisoner of war and later life

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Detmers' Prisoner of War Service and Casualty Form

From 1941 to January 1947, Detmers was held as a POW at HM Prison Dhurringile. While a prisoner, he wrote a coded account of the battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran that survived the war.[9][failed verification] Detmers tried to escape Australian captivity with other members of his crew, through a tunnel and then hoped to capture a sailboat to get to Indonesia; however, the attempt was unsuccessful. Later during his imprisonment, he suffered a stroke.[3]

Detmers returned to Germany in 1947 and was released from British captivity in Munster. Due to his stroke, he was incapacitated for service in the post-war German navy. In the early 1950s he married Ursula Reinhardt, daughter of a Protestant pastor. They had no children and he died in Rahlstedt, Hamburg in 1976. Detmers wrote a book about his Kormoran experiences,[1] which was translated into English.[2]

Awards and decorations

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Selected works

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  • Theodor Detmers (1959). The Raider Kormoran. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald (1st ed.). London: William Kimber. ASIN B0007JJ5XC. OL 22451411M. Wikidata Q131399698.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Theodor Detmers; Jochen Brennecke (1959). Kormoran: Der Hilfskreuzer, der die ›Sydney‹ versenkte (in German). Biberach an der Riss: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft. OCLC 9302457. OL 52479697M. Wikidata Q131400279.
  2. ^ a b Theodor Detmers (1959). The Raider Kormoran. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald (1st ed.). London: William Kimber. ASIN B0007JJ5XC. OL 22451411M. Wikidata Q131399698.
  3. ^ a b c "Captain Theodor Anton Detmers". Australian War Memorial. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b 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 Holders of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas. p. 135. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. OCLC 1463536895.
  5. ^ a b 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). Ranis: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. OCLC 213394371.
  6. ^ Asmussen, John (2014). "Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Kormoran". Bismarck & Tirpitz. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  7. ^ Nicholson, Ian (29 February 2000). "Captain Detmers' book revisited by a member" (PDF). Quarterly Newsletter (78, March 2000). Palmyra: Australian Association of Maritime History: 7–8. ISSN 1440-5164. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2008. Admiral Doenitz in his memoirs of 1959, the same year Deters' book was published, states they were able to read most signals giving the position of British ships, convoys and submarines, and this was a very great advantage, especially as it was not suspected that the codes were being broken.
  8. ^ "Sydney-Kormoran action". Australian War Memorial. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  9. ^ "HMAS Sydney and Kormoran Documents". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
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