Ernst Lindemann
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| Ernst Lindemann | |
|---|---|
| 28 March 1894 - 27 May 1941 | |
| Place of birth | Altenkirchen |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |  Kriegsmarine |
| Years of service | 1913 - 1941 |
| Rank | Kapitän zur See |
| Commands | Bismarck |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Denmark Strait, Last battle of the battleship Bismarck |
| Awards | Iron Cross,
Knight's Cross (posthumously) |
Ernst Lindemann (March 28, 1894 – May 27, 1941) was the captain of the German battleship Bismarck.
Ernst Lindemann was born in Altenkirchen (now Rhineland-Palatinate). In 1913 he joined the Kaiserliche Marine, and was a gunnery officer on the SMS Elsass and SMS Schleswig-Holstein during World War I. Between 1931 and 1934 he was a lecturer at the Naval Gunnery School and between 1936 and 1938 he was an advisor and later head of the construction department at the Naval High Command. In 1938 he was promoted to the rank of Kapitän zur See, and in August of 1940 he was given command of the battleship Bismarck.
Lindemann was respected amongst his crew. Lindemann showed a great deal of attachment to the ship as well, referring to it as "he" rather than the traditional "she" because, he felt, the ship showed a sense of masculine strength.[citation needed] In the Battle of the Denmark Strait Bismarck sank the Hood and badly damaged the Prince of Wales. The Bismarck was sunk less than a week later after a concentrated effort by the British navy to avenge the Hood.
Lindemann died sometime during or after the sinking of the Bismarck. He was last spotted by an anti-aircraft gunner standing on the bow. He saluted, and the ship rolled over with him apparently trapped under it. His body was never recovered. He earned both classes of the Iron Cross in World War I, and was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross in 1941, for sinking the British battlecruiser HMS Hood.
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