Ranks

From Wolves at War

Oberleutnant zur See
In the prewar years the Leutnant needed one year and six to nine months to reach this rank. At 1938 were roughly 2 years usual. The Oberleutnant zur See wear one
star on the plain shoulder-strap, the Oberleutnant (Ing.) has a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap. They had one stripe on the shade of cap. On the sleeve they wear
two stripes and the star (engineer officers also wore the cog-wheel). During WWII this was the most common rank of U-boat commanders.

Kapitänleutnant
The Oberleutnant zur See usually needed 3 to 4 years to be promoted to this rank, but is was also possible to reach this rank in 2 years, depending on position and
obtained successes. The Kapitänleutnant wear the plain shoulder-strap with two stars, the Kapitänleutnant (Ing.) had a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap (see left).
They had one stripe on the shade of cap. On the arm they wear two broad strips, in the middle one narrow and over it the star (engineer officers also wore the
cog-wheel).

Korvettenkapitän
The Kapitänleutnant had to serve an average of 5 years or longer before being promoted to Korvettenkapitän (Dönitz needed almost 8 years in the twenties), but in the
war this time also became shorter. 'Teddy' Suhren got his promotion after only 8 months in 1942! The Korvettenkapitän wear the plain braid shoulder-strap (see left),
the Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) has a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap.They had a broader stripe on the shade of cap. On the arm they wear three broad stripes and the
star (engineer officers also wore the cog-wheel).

Fregattenkapitän
There were no exact rules for reaching this rank from the rank of Korvettenkapitän. During the war it was usually at least 18 months. The Fregattenkapitän wore the
braid shoulder-strap with one star (see left), the Fregattenkapitän (Ing.) has a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap. They had a broader stripe on the shade of cap. On
the sleeve they wear three broad strips, between the second and the third stripe was a narrow one and the star at the top (engineer officers also wore the cog-wheel).

Kapitän zur See
Outstanding was the promotion of Korvkpt. Wolfgang Lüth, who got in 18 months the rank of a Fregattenkapitän and a Kapitän zur See. (The promotion to the Fregattenkapitän
was antedated for a month.) The Kapitän zur See wear the braid shoulder-strap with two stars, the Kapitän zur See (Ing.) has a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap. They had a
broader stripe on the shade of cap. On the arm they wore four broad strips and the star (engineer officers also wore the cog-wheel).

Konteradmiral

Vizeadmiral

Admiral

Grossadmiral