You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 35.175.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪JJMC89‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:20, 2 March 2025.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:38, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:38, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 35.175.116.192. The blocked range is 35.175.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((short description|German World War I U-boat commander))
((more citations needed|date=January 2017))
((Infobox military person
| name          = Hellmuth von Ruckteschell
| birth_date    = ((birth date|1890|3|23|df=y))
| death_date    = ((death date and age|1948|9|24|1890|3|23|df=y))
| birth_place   = [[Hamburg]], [[German Empire]]
| death_place   = [[Fuhlsbüttel|Fuhlsbüttel Prison]], [[Hamburg]], [[Allied-occupied Germany]]
| image         = 
| caption       = 
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = <!--- ((flag|German Empire)) (to 1918)<br/>((flag|Weimar Republic)) (to 1933)<br/>---->((flag|Nazi Germany))
| branch        = <!----((navy|German Empire))<br />((navy|Weimar Republic))<br />--->[[Kriegsmarine]]
| serviceyears  = 1910–45
| rank          = [[Kapitän zur See]]
| commands      = [[German auxiliary cruiser Widder]]<br/>[[German auxiliary cruiser Michel]]<br/>((SMU|UB-34||2))<br/>((SMU|U-54||2))
| unit          = 
| battles       = [[World War I]]
----
[[World War II]]
| awards        = [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]]
| laterwork     = 
))
'''Hellmuth von Ruckteschell''' (22 March 1890 − 24 September 1948) was a German naval officer during [[World War II]]; he was one of the most successful [[merchant raider]] commanders of [[Nazi Germany]], serving as  the captain of the [[commerce raider]]s ''[[German auxiliary cruiser Widder|Widder]]'' and ''[[German auxiliary cruiser Michel|Michel]]''. After the war Ruckteschell was convicted of [[war crimes]] and died in prison.

==Naval career==
Born in 1890 in Hamburg, Ruckteschell joined the German navy in 1908. In 1916, with the rank of ''Oberleutnant zur See'', he transferred to the [[U-boat]] arm. He served as Watch Officer on ((SMU|U-3|Germany|2)) and ((SMU|U-57||2)), before being given his own command in July 1917, first of ((SMU|UB-34||2)), then in March 1918, of ((SMU|U-54||2)). He earned a reputation as an overly aggressive commander, which caused him to be placed on a black-list of officers the Allied powers considered to have breached the [[laws of war]]. After the end of World War I, he left Germany returning in the early 1930s.

Ruckteschell was recalled to duty in the Kriegsmarine in 1939 and given command of an auxiliary [[minelayer]]. He next took command of the ((ship|German auxiliary cruiser|Widder||2)) and sailed her into the [[Atlantic Ocean]] on 6 May 1940, commencing a five-month cruise that would sink or capture ten enemy merchant ships. When he brought ''Widder'' into port at [[Brest, France|Brest]], he refused the Naval Command's order to take the ship to [[Hamburg]], because the passage through British controlled territory was too risky. Instead, he assumed command of the commerce raider ((ship|German auxiliary cruiser|Michel||2)) for her first cruise (9 March 1942 to 1 March 1943), during which he captured or sank fifteen ships. Von Ruckteschell was relieved when he arrived in Japan at his own request for health reasons.

Ruckteschell was one of the more successful raider captains. The success of a commerce raider is measure by both the tonnage destroyed and the time spent at large. Ruckteschell accounted for ((GRT|152,727|disp=long)) (second only to [[Ernst-Felix Krüder]] of [[German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin|''Pinguin'']]) and stayed at large for 538 days, (second only to [[Bernhard Rogge (Naval officer)|Bernhard Rogge]] of [[German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis|''Atlantis'']]); however, Ruckteschell accomplished this over two voyages. Of the 13 voyages by 10 raiders, ''Michel'' and ''Widder'' claimed 15 ships of ((GRT|94,363)), and 10 ships of ((GRT|58,464)) (4th and 6th highest), and stayed at large for 358, and 180 days ( 4th and 9th longest).

==War crimes trial==
Ruckteschell was the subject of one of the first war crimes investigations undertaken by the British Admiralty. It was alleged that on several occasions Ruckteschell had continued firing on merchant vessels after they had surrendered. This contravened the laws of naval warfare, the Admiralty requested that Ruckteschell and his crew members be detained for interrogation. Ruckteschell spent the last years of the war on the staff of the German naval attaché in Japan. He was eventually located in an internment camp near [[Kobe]] and was sent back to Germany for trial.

The British charges submitted to the [[United Nations War Crimes Commission]] claimed "at least one clear case of mass murder and several equally clear cases of the sinking of vessels whose crew were on the vessels when they were fired on, and were not picked up subsequently when on boats, rafts and in the water."<ref name=Madsen>((cite book | last = Madsen | first = Chris | title = The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942-1947 | publisher = Taylor & Francis | year = 1998 | pages = 181–182 | isbn = 0-7146-4373-4))</ref>

===Charges===
*1. Regarding ((SS|Davisian)), which was attacked on 10 July 1940 by ''Widder''.
:The charge was that he continued to fire after the radio was knocked out and the signal to surrender acknowledged. It was charged that the ''Widder(('))s'' gunners continued to fire for eight minutes after a signal was sent indicating that the ''Davisian(('s))'' crew was abandoning ship.
:The defence maintained that no signal had been seen or received and that three seamen on board the ''Davisian'' were seen heading towards her ship's gun.

*2. Regarding SS [[SS Anglo Saxon (1929)|''Anglo Saxon'']], attacked on 21 August 1940 by ''Widder''.
:The charge was that Ruckteschell fired on the [[lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]], and failed to ensure the crew's survival. Able Seaman Robert Tapscott of the ''Anglo Saxon'', although unavailable to attend Ruckteschell’s trial, testified that the ''Widder'' had opened fire on the boats and rafts as they moved away from the sinking ship.
:The defence maintained Ruckteschell was firing over their heads at the ship, and that the boats attempted to escape and were lost sight of in the dark.
:Ruckteschell was found guilty of "not providing for the safety of the crew".

*3. Regarding ((SS|Beaulieu)), attacked on 4 August 1940 by ''Widder''.
:The charge was that he failed to ensure the safety of the survivors. Ruckteschell chose to leave 28 of them adrift over ((convert|1200|mi|abbr=on)) from the nearest land.
:The defence maintained it was dark, and that ''Widder'' had searched for them for 2½ hours without success.
:He was initially found guilty on this charge, but was later acquitted on appeal in August 1947.

*4. Regarding ((MV|Empire Dawn)), attacked on 11 September 1942 by ''Michel''.
:The charge was that he continued to fire after she had surrendered.
:The defence maintained that the surrender signal was not seen. Also, that there was confusion on the bridge of ''Michel'' whether the ship was using a radio.

===Trial===
The trial was held in Hamburg between 5 and 21 May 1946. Ruckteschell chose as his defence counsel Dr. [[Otto Zippel]], who had earlier represented [[Karl-Heinz Moehle]]. Zippel tried to define the limitations of international law, called [[Admiral|Vizeadmiral]] [[Bernhard Rogge (Naval officer)|Bernhard Rogge]] as an [[expert witness]], and questioned the testimony of the British sailors. In closing, he asserted that "the law has recognized that in matters of sea even clever people are more liable to commit an error than in other walks of life".<ref name=Madsen/>

The British military court convicted Ruckteschell on three of the four charges - Charges 1, 2, and 3 were upheld, while Charge 4 was rejected - and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Three years were later remitted from his sentence on 30 August 1947, when he was acquitted of one more of the charges.

The trial raised serious concerns about further war crimes trials involving naval affairs, since only one junior naval officer had sat as a judge during the trial, and army officers could not be expected to have a good knowledge of naval warfare. Zippel stated during the appeal that "a court composed of experienced sea officers would have arrived at a different judgment in the case". Royal Navy officers acknowledged that there was a real chance of a miscarriage of justice and the naval authorities actually discouraged further naval-related war crimes trials because of the difficulty of finding suitable naval officers to take part in them.((citation needed|date=December 2018)) Ruckteschell's trial was the last held under the [[Royal warrant (document)|Royal Warrant]] on behalf of the Royal Navy.<ref name=Madsen/>

Ruckteschell died in the Hamburg-[[Fuhlsbüttel]] prison on 24 June 1948, shortly after he had been informed that he was going to be released due to his deteriorating heart condition.

==Awards==
* [[Auxiliary Cruiser Badge]] with diamonds
* [[Iron Cross]] (1914) 2nd Class (10 October 1915) & 1st Class (3 November 1916)<ref name="Thomas p228">Thomas 1998, p. 228.</ref>
<!----* [[Hanseatic Cross]] of [[Hamburg]] (29 May 1916) & of [[Bremen]] (29 December 1917)
* [[House Order of Hohenzollern|Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern]] with Swords (13 August 1918)
* [[Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918]]---->
* [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]] (1939)  2nd Class (22 June 1940) & 1st class (1940)<ref name="Thomas p228"/>
* [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]]
** Knight's Cross on 31 October 1940 as [[Korvettenkapitän|Korvettenkapitän der Reserves]] and commander of auxiliary cruiser "Widder" (HSK-3)<ref name="Scherzer p643">Scherzer 2007, p. 643.</ref><ref>Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 366, 502.</ref>
** 158th Oak Leaves on 23 December 1942 as [[Kapitän zur See|Kapitän zur See der reserves]] and commander of auxiliary cruiser "Michel" (HSK 9)<ref name="Scherzer p643"/><ref>Fellgiebel 2000, p. 64.</ref>

==Notes==
((Reflist|30em))

==References==
((Refbegin))
* ((Cite book
 |last=Dörr
 |first=Manfred
 |year=1996
 |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger der Überwasserstreitkräfte der Kriegsmarine—Band 2: L–Z
 |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Surface Forces of the Navy—Volume 2: L–Z
 |language=de
 |location=Osnabrück, Germany
 |publisher=Biblio Verlag
 |isbn=978-3-7648-2497-6
))
* ((Cite book
 |last=Fellgiebel
 |first=Walther-Peer
 |year=2000
 |orig-year=1986
 |title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile
 |trans-title=The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches
 |language=de
 |location=Friedberg, Germany
 |publisher=Podzun-Pallas
 |isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6
))
* August Karl Muggenthaler : ''German Raiders of World War II'' (1977) ((ISBN|0-7091-6683-4))
* Paul Schmalenbach : ''German Raiders 1895-1945''  (1977 )    ((ISBN|0 85059 351 4))
* Stephen Roskill : ''The War at Sea 1939-1945'' Vol I (1954)     ISBN (none)
* ((Cite book
  |last=Scherzer
  |first=Veit 
  |year=2007
  |title=Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives
  |trans-title=The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives
  |language=de
  |location=Jena, Germany
  |publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag
  |isbn=978-3-938845-17-2
))
* ((Cite book
 |last=Thomas
 |first=Franz
 |year=1998
 |title=Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z
 |trans-title=The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z
 |language=de
 |location=Osnabrück, Germany
 |publisher=Biblio-Verlag
 |isbn=978-3-7648-2300-9
))
((Refend))

((Subject bar
| portal1=Biography
))
((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Ruckteschell, Helmuth Von))
[[Category:1890s births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hamburg]]
[[Category:Reichsmarine personnel]]
[[Category:Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Bremen)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class]]
[[Category:German people convicted of war crimes]]
[[Category:German people who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:Prisoners who died in British military detention]]
[[Category:Kriegsmarine personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

German auxiliary cruiser Michel (edit)
German auxiliary cruiser Widder (edit)
Hellmuth von Ruckteschell (edit)
MV Empire Dawn (edit)
SM U-3 (Germany) (edit)
SM U-54 (edit)
SM U-57 (edit)
SM UB-34 (edit)
SS Beaulieu (view source)
SS Davisian (view source)
Template:' (view source) (protected)
Template:'s (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Apostrophe (view source) (protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Birth date (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Both (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Br separated entries (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Template:Citation needed (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Convert (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Country data Nazi Germany (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Death date and age (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Delink (view source) (protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix/category (view source) (protected)
Template:Flag (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Flag/core (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:GRT (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:ISBN (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox military person (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNUMBER (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MV (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Refbegin (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Refbegin/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Refend (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:SMU (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:SS (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ship (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Subject bar (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Template:Yesno-no (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno-yes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Age (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Check isxn (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Convert (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Convert/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Convert/text (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Date (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Delink (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:Portal (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal/images/b (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal bar (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal bar/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Separated entries (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Subject bar (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:WPMILHIST Infobox style (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:WPSHIPS utilities (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:WPSHIPS utilities/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wd (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wd/i18n (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Hellmuth von Ruckteschell.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellmuth_von_Ruckteschell"