Hugo Kraft (10 February 1866, in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

– 15 November 1925) was a Vice admiral of the ''

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

''.

Biography

Hugo Kraft joined the Imperial Navy on April 16, 1883. On April 17, 1886, he was promoted to

Leutnant zur See ''Leutnant zur See'' (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF1 in Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, NATO, equivalent to an Ensign (rank), Ensign in the United States Navy, and an Acti ...

, on March 25, 1890 to

Oberleutnant zur See ''Oberleutnant zur See'' (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the '' Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as OF-1 in NATO. The rank was introduced in the Imp ...

, on August 19, 1896 to

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

, and on October 8, 1902 to

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...

. In 1888, he was a company officer in the II Shipyard Division (Wilhelmshaven). From September 1905 to 30 September 1907, he was commander of the cruiser . In this position, he was promoted to

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

on April 27, 1907. He then served as department chief in the Admiral's Staff of the Navy until May 1910. He was then in command of the

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

) until November 1911. From January 1911 to March 1911, he was additionally assigned to conduct the business of the chief of the cruiser squadron. As a (promoted on 13 October 1908), he was in command of the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

from 17 April 1912 to 3 October 1913. He was promoted to the rank of Captain. On 14 July 1914, he was promoted to

Konteradmiral ''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to '' Generalmajor'' in the '' Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' ...

. From March 1914 until April 1916, Kraft was Chief Shipyard Director of the Wilhelmshaven shipyard. Subsequently, he was promoted to Vice Admiral on 25 November 1916 and he was Director of the Shipyard Department in the

Reichsmarineamt The Imperial Naval Office (german: Reichsmarineamt) was a government agency of the German Empire. It was established in April 1889, when the German Imperial Admiralty was abolished and its duties divided among three new entities: the Imperial Na ...

until December 1917. In January/February 1918 and again in June/July 1918, he was deputy chief of IV Squadron. In the meantime, he was deputy chief of III Squadron in April/May 1918. From August 1918 to November 1918 he then took over III Squadron as chief. During the Kiel Sailor's Uprising in November 1918, he was commander of III Squadron, which was considered the main source of unrest. Kraft had several sailors and stokers arrested, contributing to the escalation of the unrest. He was discharged on 8 January 1919.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft, Hugo 1866 births 1925 deaths Military personnel from Hamburg Vice admirals of the Imperial German Navy