Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a German submarine commander during

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 ...

. He commanded the

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s and , and was recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

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 ...

Career

Metzler joined the ''Kriegsmarine'' in October 1933, after spending eight years in the merchant marine. He served on the

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

''T-196'' and on several

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. After 13 patrols on the minesweeper ''Grille'', he transferred to the

U-boat arm 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 branches, along with the ...

in April 1940, commissioning in November 1940. Metzler commanded from February to June 1943 without sailing on any patrols, and was appointed temporary

locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

commander of '' 5th U-boat Flotilla'' for two months before serving as commander of ''

19th U-boat Flotilla The 19th U-boat Flotilla (German ''19. Unterseebootsflottille'') was a unit of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. It was founded in October 1943 as a Training Flotilla (Ger. ''Ausbildungsflottille'') where future commanders rece ...

'' from October 1943 until the end of war. In 1954 Metzler published a memoir ''The Laughing Cow: The Story of U-69''. The title is derived from the time when ''U-69'' was first assigned to ''

7th U-boat Flotilla The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German 7. Unterseebootsflottille), also referred to as the Wegener Flotilla, was a combat unit within the ''Kriegsmarine'', the naval warfare branch of Nazi Germany. It was the seventh operational flotilla focused on U-bo ...

'' and the crew were instructed to paint

Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...

's snorting bull insignia on the U-boat's conning tower. No illustration was enclosed, so ''U-69''s First Watch Officer, ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Hans-Jürgen Auffermann instructed a shipyard worker to copy the head of laughing cow which appeared on the packaging of a popular French dairy product instead. This naturally proved to be a source of great amusement.

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

4th Class (1 June 1936)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 149. *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal () was commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal. It was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 18 October ...

(20 December 1939) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (21 December 1939) ** 1st Class (2 March 1941) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge () was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II. History The ''U-boat War Badge'' was originally instituted during the First World War on February 1, 1918. It was awarded ...

(1939) (12 April 1941) *

on 28 July 1941 as ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' and commander of ''U-69''Fellgiebel 2000, p. 309.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metzler, Jost 1909 births 1975 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg People from Altshausen