Rudolf Mühlbauer

Rudolf Mühlbauer
Born (1919-03-23)23 March 1919
Königsbrück, Saxony, Germany
Died 26 March 2000(2000-03-26) (aged 81)
Laußnitz, Saxony, Germany
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1939–45
Rank Oberbootsmannsmaat
Unit Template:GSU-123
Template:GSU-170
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Rudolf Mühlbauer (23 March 1919 – 26 March 2000) was a Oberbootsmannsmaat in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Early life

Mühlbauer was born in Königsbrück, Saxony, Germany. In 1925, his mother and his step-father, who part-owned a quarry, moved to nearby Laußnitz. There Mühlbauer went to elementary school before starting an apprenticeship in his father's business in 1933. After compulsory service in the Reichsarbeitsdienst, he volunteered for service in the Kriegsmarine in April 1939. After basic training in Glückstadt, he received training as a ship's cook on submarines in Neustadt in Holstein.

War service

In early 1940 he formed part of the crew for U-123, to be commissioned 30 May 1940. After two war patrols under the command of Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Moehle, Mühlbauer was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class, and the U-Boat Front Clasp on 11 December 1940. Under Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen, U-123 participated in Operation Drumbeat off the US east coast in 1942. During this time, Mühlbauer received promotion to Matrosenobergefreiter and was presented the Iron Cross, 1st class by Grand Admiral Raeder upon return to Lorient in May 1942. Promoted to Bootsmannsmaat, Mühlbauer attended a training course for gun captains in Swinemünde from September 1942, before joining the crew intended for U-170, still under construction in Bremen, in January 1943. After commissioning, U-170, Kptlt. Günther Pfeffer commanding, underwent work-up training in the Baltic Sea before starting her first war patrol in the Mid-Atlantic in May 1943. Mühlbauer rose to rank of Oberbootsmann, and after the last patrol of U-170, Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Gerold Hauber commanding, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 December 1944 along with the U-boat Front Clasp in Silver.[1] The presentation by Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg took place in Kiel on 18 December 1944.

For the rest of the war, U-170 remained in the Baltic until surrendering to British forces in Horten in May 1945. Mühlbauer, along with most of the crew, became a prisoner-of-war until his release in July 1945.

Mühlbauer had spent 822 days at sea, during which time 309,500 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping had been sunk by the U-boats he served in as look-out. He was the only non-commissioned officer of the U-boat arm to be presented the Knight's Cross.

Later life

Mühlbauer retired to Flensburg in 1987, but return to Laußnitz after German re-unification in 1990, where he died, a day before his 81st birthday, in 2000.

Awards

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Busch & Röll 2003, p. 490.
  2. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 317.
  3. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 553.

Bibliography

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2. 
  • 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 Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. 
  • 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). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.