Ernst Kals
title: "Ernst Kals" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1905-births", "1979-deaths", "german-prisoners-of-war-in-world-war-ii-held-by-france", "u-boat-commanders-(kriegsmarine)", "recipients-of-the-knight's-cross-of-the-iron-cross", "reichsmarine-personnel", "military-personnel-from-saxony", "people-from-glauchau"] topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Kals" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ernst Kals |
| birth_date | |
| death_date | |
| birth_place | Glauchau, Saxony, German Empire |
| death_place | Emden, West Germany |
| image | Ernst Kals.jpg |
| image_size | 200 |
| caption | Ernst Kals |
| serviceyears | 1924–45 |
| rank | Kapitän zur See |
| awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| :: |
|name=Ernst Kals |birth_date= |death_date= |birth_place=Glauchau, Saxony, German Empire |death_place=Emden, West Germany |image=Ernst Kals.jpg |image_size=200 |caption=Ernst Kals |nickname= |allegiance=
- Weimar Republic (1924-1933)
- Nazi Germany (1933-1945) |branch=
|serviceyears=1924–45 |rank=Kapitän zur See |commands=
- 2nd U-boat Flotilla |unit=
- SSS Niobe
- torpedo boat Luchs
- cruiser Köln
- cruiser Emden
- cruiser Admiral Scheer
- cruiser Leipzig
|battles=
- World War II
- :Battle of the Atlantic
- :Battle of the Caribbean
- :Operation Torch
- :Bombardment of Curaçao
- :Battle of Casablanca |awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |laterwork=}}
Ernst Kals (2 August 1905 – 2 November 1979) was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the Type IXC U-boat on five patrols. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Career
Kals joined the Reichsmarine in 1924. In October 1940, after a period of service on torpedo boats and light cruisers, he transferred to the Ubootwaffe ("U-boat force"). After one patrol on under the command of Nicolai Clausen as commander in training, he took command of in June 1941. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in September 1941.
In April 1942, Kals, in U-130, bombarded the Allied petroleum tank farm on Curaçao, in the Netherlands Antilles. He went on to sink a total of 20 ships on five patrols, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping. In five minutes he sank three United States troopships, the , and .
In January 1943 Kals became commander of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla, based in Lorient, France. Promoted to Kapitän zur See in September 1944, he remained in this position until the end of the war.
Later life
Kals was held in French captivity from May 1945 to January 1948. He died at Emden in 1979 at the age of 74.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (18 December 1939) & 1st Class (18 December 1941)
- U-boat War Badge (1939) (18 December 1941)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 September 1942 as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-130
- War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)
References
Notes
Bibliography
- {{Cite book |last1=Busch |first1=Rainer |last2=Röll |first2=Hans-Joachim |year=2003 |title=Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 |trans-title=The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945 |language=German |location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany |publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn |isbn=978-3-8132-0515-2
- {{Cite book |last=Fellgiebel |first=Walther-Peer |authorlink=Walther-Peer Fellgiebel |year=2000 |orig-date=1986 |title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile |trans-title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches |language=German |location=Friedberg, Germany |publisher=Podzun-Pallas |isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
- {{Cite book |last=Scherzer |first=Veit |year=2007 |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 |language=German |location=Jena, Germany |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
before=Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze| after=disbanded| title= Commander of 2nd U-boat Flotilla| years=January, 1943 – October, 1944
| portal1=Biography
References
- "''Kapitän zur See'' Ernst Kals". uboat.net.
- Busch & Röll 2003, p. 255.
- Fellgiebel 2000, p. 250.
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