Hermann Büchting Hermann Wilhelm Georg Büchting ( 14 March 1916 in Neumünster – 27 June 1992 in Rellingen ) was a German Schnellboot commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . Career . Herman Büchting was born on 14 March 1916 in Neumünster / Holstein . He joined the Navy in April 1935 and went through training in Stralsund . Following his training , he went aboard the new sail training ship " Gorch Fock " for two months of seamanship training . This was followed by a nine - month goodwill tour aboard the light cruiser " Karlsruhe " which would take it from Keil , around the Cape of Good Hope to the Far East and return to Kiel by way of the Panama Canal . Büchting then attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik , Flensburg , graduating from his officer training as a Fähnrich zur See ( officer cadet ) in March 1937 . He continued his cadet training program by attending a series of courses , including torpedo school and intelligence school , before being sent to the Torpedo Boat Training Flottille as a Wache Offizier . Promotions came quickly as he was elevated to Oberfähnrich on 1 January 1939 and commissioned " Leutnant zur See " in April . In October , after completing his torpedo boat training , he was ordered to the 5 . Torpedobootsflottille . He was assigned to the Torpedoboot Grief , one of the first 12 new torpedo boats built for the German navy . The boat carried a 122 - man crew , displaced 930 tons , and could steam at 33 knots . On 1 October 1939 Büchting was promoted to " Oberleutnant zur See " . With the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 , he served in the North Sea and Skagerrak on mine laying and coastal security duties . Skagerrak is a triangular area of water with Norway and Sweden to the north and Denmark to the south . ( On 31 May and 1 June 1916 , the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet clashed in this area , known as the " Battle of Jutland " , or " The Battle of Skagerrak " in Germany . ) Kapitänleutnant Erich Bey formed the first Schnellboot ( E - boat ) flotilla in the mid - 1930s . The early Schnellbooten could reach a maximum speed of 37 knots and saw action during the Spanish Civil War . In 1938 , a second flotilla was formed at Wilhelmshaven and had a complement of 18 boats at the start of the war . Büchting transferred to the Schnellbooten in March 1940 . He was attached to the 1 . Schnellbootsflotille , where he commanded several boats , including " S - 18 " , " S - 21 " , " S - 25 " , " S - 27 " and " S - 51 " . On 20 April 1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class . With the evacuation of British and French forces from Dunkirk on 26 May 1940 , E - boats were immediately deployed and sank the French destroyers Orage and Sirocco . They were also responsible for sinking the British ship Wakeful and damaging another . These boats began operating from bases in occupied France and saw action in the English Channel and the mouth of the Thames River . They were particularly successful in the Straits of Dover . Büchting received his next decorations , the Iron Cross 1st Class , on 3 January 1941 . In mid 1941 , Büchting was in action off the Finnish Coast , and in early 1942 he was transferred to the Black Sea . This was followed by a promotion to " Kapitänleutnant " on 1 June 1942 . on April 22 , 1943 Büchting , commander of S51 of the 1 . Schnellbootsflottile , was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross for his successes as an E - boat commander . On 1 September 1943 he was given command of 1 . Schnellbootsflotilla , a position that he would retain until the end of the war . The E - boats continued to give the Allies trouble along the coasts of Europe . About 250 E - boats were built , and after 1943 the bridges were armed to protect against low - flying airplanes . Büchting continued his operations in the Black Sea and was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 June 1944 . During the last several months of the war , Büchting and the 1 . Schnellbootsflotille were back in the Baltic seeing action in the Danzig - Grotenhafen area . They were also active along the Kurland ( Latvia ) Coast , where they helped in defending the evacuation of large numbers of civilian refugees and military personnel , which otherwise would fall victim to Russian captivity or even death . Büchting would become a prisoner of war on 9 May 1945 and would remain a POW until 18 August 1945 . After the war , Büchting became a successful businessman and died in Rellingen , Germany on 27 June 1992 .