Albrecht Obermaier (9 July 1912 – 1 August 2004) was a German naval officer who served in the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

in World War II, and in the postwar Navy of West Germany. He reached the rank of '' Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral), serving as the first chief of the Navy Office, and as commander of Naval Forces Baltic Approaches for NATO.

Career

Obermaier began his education in the German merchant marine in 1931, and twice circumnavigated twice Cape Horn in a sailing ship. In 1933, he joined the new Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany. During World War II, he was an officer in

fast attack craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

units, reaching the rank of '' Korvettenkapitän'' (lieutenant commander). From March 1941 to July 1944, he commanded the 6th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla (german: 6. Schnellbootsflottille), which was used in the North Sea and the English Channel. After the war he worked as a sales representative, and served as an advisor to the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...

. In 1956, Obermaier joined the new '' Bundesmarine''. Initially, he served at the Federal Ministry of Defence. In 1959, he was made head of the command responsible for commissioning of naval craft, and in 1960 he became the first commander of '' Zerstörer 5'' (the former U.S. Navy destroyer ''Dyson''), which he led until the end of 1961. In January 1964, he was promoted to '' Flottillenadmiral'' (flotilla admiral) and made commander of the Naval Command North Sea (german: Marineabschnittskommando Nordsee). In October 1964, Obermaier was promoted to '' Konteradmiral'' (rear admiral), and made commander of Naval Central Command (german: Zentrales Marinekommando), serving until September 1965. In March 1966, he was appointed the first head of the Navy Office. In December 1966, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the Fleet, and from April 1967 to September 1968 he was the Chief of Staff of the German Defence Staff, serving under

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

Ulrich de Maizière. In October 1968, Obermaier was promoted to '' Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral) and took up the command of Commander, Naval Forces Baltic Approaches, based at Karup in Denmark. He served in this position until his retirement in 1971.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obermaier, Albrecht 1912 births 2004 deaths Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II Bundesmarine admirals People from Freising NATO military personnel Vice admirals of the German Navy