Rolf Johannesson

Rolf Johannesson
Born	22 July 1900 Berlin
Died	6 December 1989 (aged 89) Hamburg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Service/branch	Kaiserliche Marine  Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine  German Navy
Years of service	1918–45 1957–61
Rank	Konteradmiral (Kriegsmarine) Konteradmiral (Bundeswehr)
Commands held	Z15 Erich Steinbrinck ZG 3 Hermes
Battles/wars	World War I Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of the Mediterranean
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Rolf Johannesson (22 July 1900 – 6 December 1989) was a highly decorated Konteradmiral in the Kriegsmarine during World War II and Konteradmiral in the Bundeswehr. He was also a 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. Rolf Johannesson was captured by British troops at the end of the war and was held until 1946. He joined the post war Bundesmarine in 1957 and retired in 1961 as a Konteradmiral.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (19 July 1919)^[1]
• Baltic Cross
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords
• Destroyer War Badge (1940)^[1]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • Clasp to 2nd Class (6 November 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (15 December 1939)^[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 12 February 1942 as Fregattenkapitän on Z-15 "Erich Steinbrinck"^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 7 December 1942 as Kapitän zur See and commander of destroyer Hermes ^[3]
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (12 June 1961)^[1]

References

Citations

1. Dörr 1995, p. 285.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 211.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 201.

Bibliography

• Dörr, Manfred (1995). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 1: A–K [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2453-2.
• 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.