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

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 military branch, branche ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and in the postwar

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. 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 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Career

Obermaier began his education in the German merchant marine in 1931, and twice circumnavigated twice

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

in a

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

. In 1933, he joined the new Kriegsmarine of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. During World War II, he was an officer in fast attack craft units, reaching the rank of ''

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

'' (lieutenant commander). From March 1941 to July 1944, he commanded the 6th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla (), which was used in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. After the war he worked as a sales representative, and served as an advisor to the Egyptian 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 (). In October 1964, Obermaier was promoted to '' Konteradmiral'' (rear admiral), and made commander of Naval Central Command (), 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

Ulrich de Maizière Karl Ernst Ulrich de Maizière (; 24 February 1912 – 26 August 2006) was a German general. He served in the army of three German states: the '' Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany, and the German Army of W ...

. 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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. 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