- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Kapitän zur See (Navy Captain)
- Unit:
- Führer der Schnellboote
- Awarded on:
- June 13th, 1944
The following press article describes why Petersen received the Oakleaves to his Knight’s Cross…
“The Führer has awarded the 499th Oakleaves to the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross to the Commander of the Schnellboote, Kapitän zur See Rudolf Petersen, for the successful prosecution of the torpedo boat war against the British-US invasion fleet.
Born in 1905 in Atzerballig, Kapitän zur See Petersen has been involved in S-Boat operations since the beginning of the war. As commander of a Schnellbootsflottille he conducted a great number of successful operations until being named the Commander of the Schnellboote on 10.04.1942. In these last two years he has brought the S-Boat arm from humble beginnings to its present state. He has personally overseen the many operations of all flotillas in the English Channel and created the preconditions for the successful actions of the Schnellboote under the present difficult conditions. By the time of his receiving the Oakleaves his S-Boat formations had sunk a number of ships on the Invasion front, including over 20 assorted landing craft (with 36250 GRT), 1 cruiser, 2 destroyers and 1 monitor. To this can be added 1 cruiser and 1 landing ship torpedoed.”
499th award