(Photo courtesy of Gareth Collins)
Admiral Günther Lütjens
Born: 25 May 1889 in Wiesbaden
Died: 27 May 1941 On Board the Battleship ‘Bismarck’ in the Atlantic
Promotions:
Fähnrich zur See (21 Aug 1908); Leutnant zur See (28 Sep 1910); Oberleutnant zur See (27 Sep 1913); Kapitänleutnant (24 May 1917); Korvettenkapitän (01 Apr 1926); Fregattenkapitän (01 Oct 1931); Kapitän zur See (01 Jul 1933); Konteradmiral (01 Oct 1937); Vizeadmiral (01 Jan 1940); Admiral (01 Sep 1940)
Career:
Entered the Navy as a Seekadett and Attended Basic-Training and on Board the Heavy-Cruiser ‘Freya’ (03 Apr 1907-30 Mar 1908)
Naval-School and Special-Briefings (09 Apr 1908-30 Sep 1909)
On Board the Liner ‘Elsaß’ (01 Oct 1909-14 Sep 1910)
Placed to the Disposal of the I. Naval-Inspection (15 Sep 1910-25 Sep 1910)
Training-Officer on the School-Ship ‘König Wilhelm’ (26 Sep 1910-31 Mar 1911)
Cadet-Officer on the Heavy Cruiser ‘Hansa’ (01 Apr 1911-31 Mar 1913)
Training-Officer on the School-Ship ‘König Wilhelm’ (01 Apr 1913-30 Sep 1913)
Company and Watch Officer in the I. Torpedo-Division (01 Oct 1913-31 Jul 1914)
Transferred to the Port-Flotilla of Jade (01 Aug 1914-06 Dec 1914)
At the same time, Commandant of the Torpedo-Boat ‘T 68’ (04 Sep 1914-06 Dec 1914)
Company-Officer in the I. Torpedo-Division (07 Dec 1914-04 May 1915)
At the same time, Commandant of the Torpedo-Boat ‘T 21’ (16 Jan 1915-13 Mar 1915)
Commandant of the Torpedo-Boats ‘A 5’ and ‘A 20’ of the Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla Flaunders (05 May 1915-00 Feb 1916)
Chief of the A-Half-Flotilla and Commandant of the Torpedo-Boat ‘A 40’ of the Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla Flaunders (00 Feb 1916-10 Nov 1918)
Redeployed at Kiel and Placed to the Disposal of the Naval-Station of the Baltic Sea (11 Nov 1918-30 Nov 1918)
Leader of the Sea-Transport-Office Warnemünde (01 Dec 1918-23 Jan 1919)
Leader of the Sea-Transport-Office Lübeck (24 Jan 1919-07 Feb 1919)
Leader of the Sea-Transport-Office Warnemünde (08 Feb 1919-09 Mar 1919)
Detached for Service to the Reichsmarineamt (10 Mar 1919-07 Jul 1919)
Leader of the Sea-Transport-Office Lübeck (08 Jul 1919-14 Sep 1919)
Company-Leader in the Coastal-Defence-Battalion IV (15 Sep 1919-06 Jun 1921)
Department-Head in the Fleet Department, Naval Command (07 Jun 1921-30 Sep 1923)
Chief of the 3rd Torpedo-Boat-Half-Flotilla (04 Oct 1923-25 Sep 1925)
1st Adjutant in the Staff of the Naval-Station of the North Sea (26 Sep 1925-02 Oct 1929)
Chief of the I. Torpedo-Boat-Flotilla (03 Oct 1929-16 Sep 1931)
Department-Head in the Fleet and Naval-Officers-Personnel-Department, Naval Command (17 Sep 1931-25 Sep 1932)
Chief of the Naval-Officers-Personnel-Department, Naval Command (26 Sep 1932-15 Sep 1934)
Commandant of the Cruiser ‘Karlsruhe’ (16 Sep 1934-23 Sep 1935)
Chief Of Staff of the Naval-Station of the North-Seas (24 Sep 1935-15 Mar 1936)
Chief of the Naval-Officers-Personnel-Department, OKM (16 Mar 1936-30 Sep 1936)
Chief of the Naval-Personnel-Department, OKM (01 Oct 1936-03 Oct 1937)
Leader Of Torpedo-Boats (08 Oct 1937-20 Oct 1939)
Commander Of Reconnaissance Forces (21 Oct 1939-17 Jun 1940)
At the same time, Acting-Fleet-Chief (11 Mar 1940-23 Apr 1940)
Fleet-Chief, Fleet Command (18 Jun 1940-27 May 1941)
At the same time, Sea-Commander West (Operation ‘Seelöwe’) (03 Aug 1940-26 Oct 1940)
At the same time, Acting-Commander Of Security West (03 Aug 1940-19 Oct 1940)
Killed-in-Action on Board the Battleship ‘Bismarck’ (27 May 1941)

Decorations & Awards:
- Ritterkreuz (16): am 14.06.1940 als Vizeadmiral und Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsstreitkräfte
- Ritterkreuz des Kgl. Preuss. Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern: 00.12.1917
- 1914 EK I: 00.08.1916
- 1914 EK II: 00.10.1915
- Grossherzoglich Oldenburgisches Friedrich August-Kreuz II. Klasse mit Spange “Vor dem Feinde”
- Grossherzoglich Oldenburgisches Friedrich August-Kreuz I. Klasse
- Ritterkreuz II. Klasse des Grossherzoglich Badischen Ordens vom Zähringer Löwen mit Schwertern
- Hamburgisches Hanseatenkreuz
- k.u.k. Österr. Militär-Verdienstkreuz III. Klasse mit der Kriegsdekoration
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer 1914/1918: 12.09.1934
- Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung IV. bis I. Klasse
- Komturkreuz des Kgl. Ungar. Verdienstordens mit Stern: 20.08.1938
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 01.10.1938: 20.12.1939
- Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkehr des Memellandes: 26.10.1939
- Spange zum EK I: 14.10.1939
- Spange zum EK II: 04.09.1939
- Zerstörer-Kriegsabzeichen: 11.11.1940
- Wehrmachtbericht: 22.03.1941; 25.05.1941; 28.05.1941
- Flottenkriegsabzeichen: 09.05.1942


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