__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 Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 Ap ...

) in April 1940. Bonte joined the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

in April 1914 and was retained in the German navy, where he had a steady career, reaching the rank of ''

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'' ...

'' (Commander) in April 1937. In November 1938, he was given command of the Second Destroyer Flotilla, and in April 1939 he was promoted to ''

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 ...

'' (Captain). On 26 October 1939, Bonte was type commander of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

s (''

Führer der Zerstörer The organization of the ''Kriegsmarine'' refers to the operational and administrative structure of the German Navy from 1935 to 1945. Many of the organizational tenets of the Kriegsmarine were inherited from its predecessor the Reichsmarine. As ...

'') 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 ...

's ''

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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

''. He relinquished command of the torpedoboats at the end of November 1939, but held the command over the destroyers until his death. On 10 February 1940 he was promoted to Kommodore. During the German invasion of Norway, Bonte commanded the ten destroyers carrying General Dietl's mountain troops to Narvik on 9 April 1940. On the morning of 10 April, the flotilla was attacked in Narvik fjord by British destroyers under the command of Commodore

Bernard Warburton-Lee Captain Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee, VC (13 September 1895 – 10 April 1940) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded ...

. In the ensuing battle, Bonte's flagship, the destroyer ''

Wilhelm Heidkamp Pumpenmeister (mil. rank: Maat) Wilhelm Heidkamp (20 January 1883 – 5 October 1931) was a German sailor who fought in World War I. Biography Heidkamp was born in Herkenrath and joined the Imperial German Navy as a machinist in 1902. He ...

'', was hit by a torpedo and exploded. Bonte and most of the crew perished. Bonte was posthumously awarded the

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' ...

. At the Viktoria Gymnasium (now Helmholtz-Gymnasium) in Potsdam, he was a classmate and friend of pianist

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations ...

's.

Awards

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 es ...

(1914) 2nd Class (1 August 1916) & 1st Class (5 March 1922)Dörr 1995, p. 68. *

Cross of Honor The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (german: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Presiden ...

(24 October 1935) *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

4th to 2nd Class; 1st Class (1 April 1939) *

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); 1st Class (13 November 1939) *

on 17 October 1940 (posthumously) as ''

'' and ''Führer der Zerstörer'' (leader of the destroyers) and of

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germ ...

NarvikScherzer 2007, p. 234.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonte, Friedrich 1896 births 1940 deaths Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II People from the Province of Brandenburg Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class 20th-century Freikorps personnel Military personnel from Potsdam