Type commander (Kriegsmarine)

A type commander in the Kriegsmarine was a permanently assigned administrative officer in the organization of the Kriegsmarine which oversaw the development, deployment, and in some cases operational activities of the various classes of German naval vessels. Due to cross jurisdiction with the Navy group commanders, who tactically commanded all vessels at sea, some type commanders were little more than ceremonial officers who held a title with little authority. Others, such as Karl Dönitz who commanded the German U-boat force, exercised near total independence and held enormous authority, both operationally and administrative.

The type commands of minesweepers and patrol boats were under direct control of the Harbor Security Command (Sicherungsstreitkräfte) and thus were not considered as regular type commanders in comparison to other classes of vessels.

The battleship and cruiser type commands were originally separate offices, beginning with an office inherited from the Reichsmarine known as the Befehlshaber der Linienschiffe (Commander of Liners). In November 1936, the command was renamed as Befehlshaber der Panzerschiffe. Rolf Carls was the first commander under the new title until 1938 when the post was assigned to Vizeadmiral Wilhelm Marschall. The following year, Marschall was named as the new Kriegsmarine fleet commander and no successor was appointed to lead the battleship branch. The post remained vacant until June 1941 when it was merged with the cruiser type command to form the Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe (B.d.S) (Commander of Battleships).

Otto Ciliax served as commander of battleships until May 1942 when the command was abolished completely and thereafter battleship type affairs were placed back under the authority of the cruiser type commander. The cruiser type command had originally begun as an umbrella senior position, known as the Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsstreitkräfte (B.d.A.), which commanded all cruiser type vessels as well as serving as the superior officer for the type commanders of torpedo boats and minesweepers. This position was held by four Kriegsmarine officers between 1935 and 1941, when the title was disbanded and merged with the Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe (B.d.S).

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