Wilhelm Meentzen

Wilhelm Meentzen ( born March 19, 1915 in Emden, † 8 May 2001) was a German naval officer, most recently as Vice- Admiral of the German Navy.

Service in the Imperial Navy and

Meentzen joined after high school in 1934 as an officer cadet in the Imperial Navy and was trained as a naval officer. He served as a deck officer on torpedo boats of the Raptor class. In 1940 he was a Lieutenant Commander and Vice Flotilla Commander in the 2nd Schnellbootflottille with which he operated in the English Channel and the Gulf of Finland. From October 1941 to May 1943 he was naval staff officer in the German Navy command Italy.

In May 1943 Meentzen commander of the torpedo boat T 10 and from November 1943 the torpedo boat T 24 was the case of the sinking of this boat by British Mosquito aircraft on 24 August 1944 Meentzen was wounded. He was taken to recovery in the enclosed fortress Gironde -South, where he fell in French captivity.

Post-war period

The prisoner spent Meentzen in a prison camp and worked as a lecturer for German officers. After returning to Germany he worked as a shipyard and shipping agent. In 1953 he joined the Seegrenzschutz and became Chief of Seegrenzschutzverbandes II

Service in the German Navy

1956 Meentzen joined as a lieutenant commander in the newly established German Navy and was in charge of personnel affairs of the Marine in the Federal Ministry of Defence. 1959 Meentzen went to education in the United States to ask there as commander of the destroyer 3 in service.

1961 Meentzen was as Captain Head of the Operations Department in Fleet Command. From October 1963 to September 1964 he was commander of the 3rd Destroyer Squadron. After further work at the Ministry, he was Commodore in 1968 as Deputy Chief of Staff for leadership and operational planning in the Joint Staff of the Navy.

In 1971 he became. Among promotion to Vice Admiral NATO commander of the naval forces Baltic Approaches From this post he retired from on 30 September 1974.

Other activities

After his Zurruhesetzung Meentzen worked as an independent consultant for various companies, including shipbuilding, works. He also held various honorary positions, among others for the German Society for Sea Rescue. From 1978 to 1982 he was chairman of the Marine Officers Association.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 30, 1944
• 1973: Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany