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 ' ...

Erich Bey (23 March 1898 – 26 December 1943) was a German admiral 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 opposing ...

. He served as commander of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer forces and commanded the battleship ''Scharnhorst'' in the

Battle of the North Cape The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, wa ...

on 26 December 1943, during which his ship was sunk and he was killed.

Career

Bey joined 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 ...

on 13 June 1916 and served in its destroyer arm. Following the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he stayed in the navy and continued his career with the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in power in Germany. By the start of World War II he was commissioned a ''

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'' ...

'' (frigate captain). Bey led the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

, consisting of the destroyers Z11 ''Bernd von Arnim'', Z12 ''Erich Giese'' and Z13 ''Erich Koellner'', as part of ''

Kommodore (pronounced ''kom-o-'dor-eh'') was the highest senior officer rank () in the German ''Kriegsmarine'', comparable to commodore in anglophone naval forces. There was no counterpart in the German '' Heer'' and'' Luftwaffe'', but ''Kommodore'' wou ...

Friedrich Bonte __NOTOC__ Friedrich Bonte (19 October 1896 – 10 April 1940) was the German naval officer commanding the destroyer flotilla that transported invasion troops to Narvik during the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) in April 1940. Bon ...

's force that carried

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Eduard Dietl Eduard Wohlrat Christian Dietl (21 July 1890 – 23 June 1944) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 20th Mountain Army. He was magnanimously awarded of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Na ...

's mountain troops for the occupation of Narvik during the German

invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

on 9 April 1940. In the following

Battles of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

on 10 April and 13 April, Bey distinguished himself by leading a small group of destroyers in a brave though doomed action against a superior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

force that included the battleship . Bey was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 May 1940. The next day he was promoted to Captain and appointed commander of the German destroyer force (''Führer der Zerstörer''), succeeding Commodore Bonte, who had been killed on 10 April in the

first Battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. ...

. Bey then commanded the destroyer screen protecting the ships of the Brest Group (''Scharnhorst'', ''Gneisenau'', ''Prinz Eugen'') during

Operation Cerberus The Channel Dash (german: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War. (Cerberus), a three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. A (German Navy) squadron compris ...

(the “Channel Dash”) in February 1942. Of the three, ''Scharnhorst'' suffered extensive damage, having struck a naval mine laid off the Dover Straits.

Battle of the North Cape

Promoted to ''

'' (Rear Admiral), on 1 March 1943, Bey on 26 December led a task force consisting of the battleship ''Scharnhorst'' and the destroyers Z29, Z30, Z33, Z34 and Z38 out of Alta Fjord in Operation Ostfront. The first and only surface sortie ordered by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, Bey's objective was to intercept the Allied

Convoy JW 55B Convoy JW 55B was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely. ...

en route to

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

. Bey's initial force of ''Scharnhorst'' and five destroyers was superior to the convoy's escorting British cruisers and destroyers in terms of firepower. However, Bey's flagship was outmatched by Admiral Bruce Fraser's battleship which led the

British Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

fleet shadowing the convoy. ''Scharnhorst'' was expected to use her speed to avoid an engagement with the ''Duke of York''. Poor weather, heavy seas and inadequate Luftwaffe reconnaissance prevented Bey from initially locating the convoy, so he detached his destroyers to fan out and assist in the search. However, the storm meant that Bey's destroyers ended up playing no part in the battle. Bey in the ''Scharnhorst'' managed to locate the convoy, but in the first engagement of the ensuing

Battle of North Cape The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, was ...

, while trading fire with the British convoy's screening cruisers, ''Scharnhorst''s radar was destroyed, rendering her more or less blind during the long winter night. ''Scharnhorst'' was then caught by the more powerful ''Duke of York'' and suffered critical damage before being sunk after several torpedo hits from destroyers. Of ''Scharnhorst''s crew of 1,968, Royal Navy vessels fished 36 men alive from the icy sea, not one of them an officer.

Awards

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939), 2nd Class (16 October 1939)Dörr 1995, p. 40. * Iron Cross (1939), 1st Class (20 November 1939) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 May 1940 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 4. Zerstörer-FlottilleFellgiebel 2000, p. 132.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Claasen, A.R.A.: ''Hitler's Northern War: The Luftwaffe’s Ill-Fated Campaign, 1940–1945''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001. pp. 92–93, 230–232 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bey, Erich 1898 births 1943 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel Military personnel from Hamburg Counter admirals of the Kriegsmarine Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 2nd class Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel People lost at sea