Erich Bey
| Erich Bey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Achmed |
| Born |
23 March 1898 Hamburg, German Empire |
| Died | 26 December 1943 (aged 45) North Cape, Norway 72°16′N 28°41′E / 72.267°N 28.683°E |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Kaiserliche Marine Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
|
| Years of service | 1916–1943 |
| Rank | Konteradmiral |
| Commands held |
Z14 Friedrich Ihn 4. Zerstörerflottille |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Erich Bey (23 March 1898 – 26 December 1943), was a German naval officer who most notably served as a commander of the Kriegsmarine's destroyer forces and commanded the battleship Scharnhorst in the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943, during which the German ship was sunk. He was killed during that action. Bey was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Bey joined the Kaiserliche Marine on 13 June 1916 and served in its destroyer arm. Following the end of World War I, Bey stayed in the weakened German navy, now known as the Reichsmarine. He continued his career with the rise of the Nazi Party in power in Germany, and by the start of World War II was a Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain).
As a Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain) in the Kriegsmarine, Bey led the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of the destroyers Z11 Bernd von Arnim, Z12 Erich Giese and Z13 Erich Koellner, as part of Kommodore Friedrich Bonte's force that carried General Eduard Dietl's mountain troops for the occupation of Narvik during the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940. In the following Battles of Narvik 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 force that included the battleship HMS Warspite.
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