Heinrich Petersen (naval officer)

This article is about the Kriegsmarine naval officer. For the Waffen-SS officer, see Heinrich Petersen (SS officer).

Heinrich Petersen
Born	(1902-11-03)3 November 1902 Hamburg
Died	Kiel
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1919–45
Rank	Oberleutnant zur See of the Reserves
Unit	Berlin tender Nordsee minesweeper M-75 torpedo boat T-152, T-155 U-23 U-99
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinrich Petersen (3 November 1902 – 6 June 1963) was a German U-boat machinist in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He participated on eight war patrols on U-23 before transferring to U-99 for further eight war patrols. All of his war patrols were made under the command of Otto Kretschmer.

Kretschmer had recommended Petersen for the Knight's Cross after twelve war patrols for saving U-99 from enemy detection. Petersen was taken prisoner of war on 17 March 1941 when U-99 was scuttled after depth charging by HMS Walker.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd class (19 November 1939)
  • 1st class (25 February 1940)
• U-boat War Badge (1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 November 1940 as Stabsobersteuermann and watch officer and coxswain on U-99