__NOTOC__ Kurt August Viktor Weyher (30 August 1901 – 17 December 1991) was a German

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

of the navy (

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

) of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he commanded a

merchant raider Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels. History Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The cap ...

. Although it was not mentioned in his book "The Black Raider", it seems that Weyher was a non-trivial painter; in a feature article author Keith Gordon tells that on the voyage of the ''Orion'' Weyher did about 30 paintings on subjects connected with the ship's activities. The one painting illustrated seems to have had narrative merit and to have represented the topographic background recognisably.

Awards

* Silesian Eagle 2nd and 1st GradeDörr 1996, p. 350. *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1939) 2nd Class (9 July 1940) & 1st Class (30 August 1940) * '' Kriegsabzeichen für Hilfskreuzer'' (23 August 1941) *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), 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. The Knight' ...

on 21 August 1941 as ''

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'' ...

'' and commander of auxiliary cruiser Orion (HSK-1) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 18 May 1944 as ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

'' and chief of the ''Deutsches Marinekommando Konstanza'' (German naval command Constanța)Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 510. * Cross of Merit on ribbon (29 April 1977)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * Weyher, Kurt; "The German navy in the south-eastern area of Europe from the summer of 1941 to the autumn of 1944 ; under the orders of the Southern Naval Command". Publisher: U.S. Navy (1947). * Weyher, Kurt; Ehrlich, Hans Jürgen; "The Black Raider". Pub: ELEK Books London (1955) hardback. Also: Panther Books; Panther edition (1958) paperback. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weyher, Kurt 1901 births 1991 deaths Counter admirals of the Kriegsmarine Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Grudziądz Military personnel from West Prussia Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel