Hermann Büchting

Hermann Wilhelm Georg Büchting (14 March 1916 in Neumünster – 27 June 1992 in Rellingen) was a German Schnellboot commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career
Herman Büchting was born on 14 March 1916 in Neumünster/Holstein. He joined the Navy in April 1935 and went through training in Stralsund. Following his training, he went aboard the new sail training ship Gorch Fock for two months of seamanship training. This was followed by a nine-month goodwill tour aboard the light cruiser Karlsruhe which would take it from Keil, around the Cape of Good Hope to the Far East and return to Kiel by way of the Panama Canal.

Büchting then attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik, Flensburg, graduating from his officer training as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) in March 1937. He continued his cadet training program by attending a series of courses, including torpedo school and intelligence school, before being sent to the Torpedo Boat Training Flottille as a Wache Offizier.

Promotions came quickly as he was elevated to Oberfähnrich on 1 January 1939 and commissioned Leutnant zur See in April. In October, after completing his torpedo boat training, he was ordered to the 5. Torpedobootsflottille. He was assigned to the Torpedoboot Grief, one of the first 12 new torpedo boats built for the German navy. The boat carried a 122-man crew, displaced 930 tons, and could steam at 33 knots. On 1 October 1939 Büchting was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See.

With the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, he served in the North Sea and Skagerrak on mine laying and coastal security duties. Skagerrak is a triangular area of water with Norway and Sweden to the north and Denmark to the south. (On 31 May and 1 June 1916, the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet clashed in this area, known as the "Battle of Jutland", or "The Battle of Skagerrak" in Germany.)

Kapitänleutnant Erich Bey formed the first Schnellboot (E-boat) flotilla in the mid-1930s. The early Schnellbooten could reach a maximum speed of 37 knots and saw action during the Spanish Civil War. In 1938, a second flotilla was formed at Wilhelmshaven and had a complement of 18 boats at the start of the war.

Büchting transferred to the Schnellbooten in March 1940. He was attached to the 1. Schnellbootsflotille, where he commanded several boats, including S-18, S-21, S-25, S-27 and S-51. On 20 April 1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class.

With the evacuation of British and French forces from Dunkirk on 26 May 1940, E-boats were immediately deployed and sank the French destroyers Orage and Sirocco. They were also responsible for sinking the British ship Wakeful and damaging another.

These boats began operating from bases in occupied France and saw action in the English Channel and the mouth of the Thames River. They were particularly successful in the Straits of Dover. Büchting received his next decorations, the Iron Cross 1st Class, on 3 January 1941.

In mid 1941, Büchting was in action off the Finnish Coast, and in early 1942 he was transferred to the Black Sea. This was followed by a promotion to Kapitänleutnant on 1 June 1942.

on April 22, 1943 Büchting, commander of S51 of the 1.Schnellbootsflottile, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his successes as an E-boat commander. On 1 September 1943 he was given command of 1.Schnellbootsflotilla, a position that he would retain until the end of the war.

The E-boats continued to give the Allies trouble along the coasts of Europe. About 250 E-boats were built, and after 1943 the bridges were armed to protect against low-flying airplanes.

Büchting continued his operations in the Black Sea and was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 June 1944. During the last several months of the war, Büchting and the 1. Schnellbootsflotille were back in the Baltic seeing action in the Danzig-Grotenhafen area. They were also active along the Kurland (Latvia) Coast, where they helped in defending the evacuation of large numbers of civilian refugees and military personnel, which otherwise would fall victim to Russian captivity or even death. Büchting would become a prisoner of war on 9 May 1945 and would remain a POW until 18 August 1945.

After the war, Büchting became a successful businessman and died in Rellingen, Germany on 27 June 1992.

Awards

 * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (5 April 1939)
 * Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
 * Memel Medal (20 December 1939)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (20 April 1940)
 * 1st Class (3 January 1941)
 * Wound Badge
 * in Black (25 April 1940)
 * in Silver (18 May 1943)
 * Fast Attack Craft War Badge (16 December 1940)
 * Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class (4 November 1941)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (22 April 1943) as Kapitänleutnant and commander of Schnellboot S-27 in the 1. Schnellbootsflottille