Admiral Günther Lütjens (25 May 1889 - 27 May 1941) was a German Naval commander during World War II. May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Günther Lütjens was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, and entered the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) school in 1907. He spent his formative years on the light cruiser SMS Freya. After graduation he served on board SMS Elsass untill 1910, from 1910 to 1913 he served aboard the battleship SMS Konig Wilhelm, and from 1913 to 1914 he served as the commander of the 4.Flotilla. During World War I Lütjens served on the Flemish coast, partaking in raids against Dunkerque Wiesbaden is a city in central Germany. ... The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Location within France Dunkirk ( French: Dunkerque; Dutch: Duinkerke) is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the département of Nord, 10 km from the Belgian border. ...

After the war he worked as an officer at Wernemunde Ship Transportation Agency from 1918 till 1921, when he returned to the newly reorganized German Navy again as a Fleet Commander. Lütjens served until 1925 in the 3. Torpedo Flotilla. He later was promoted to commander of the flotilla. By 1936 Lütjens was Chief of Personnel in the Kriegsmarine. The Kriegsmarine or War Navy was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi reign. ...

During the Norwegian campaign, Lütjens served as Vice Admiral commanding the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during which he fought an inconclusive battle with HMS Renown. In June 1940 he became the third Flottenchef of the Kriegsmarine in World War II, a position roughly similar to the British Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet. Operation Weserübung was the German codename for Nazi Germanys assault on Scandinavia during World War II. The name translates as Weser Exercise, the Weser being a German river. ... Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ... Scharnhorst was a 31,500 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst, which was in turn named after the Prussian general Gerhard von Scharnhorst. ... Gneisenau was a 31,100 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Gneisenau, which was in turn named after the Prussian general August von Gneisenau. ... HMS Renown was the lead ship of a class of two 26,500-ton battlecruisers of the Royal Navy. ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Kriegsmarine or War Navy was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi reign. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdoms territorial waters. ...

His predessor Vice Admiral Wilhelm Marschall had repeated differences with the the German High Command over the extent the Flottenchef should be bound to orders while operating at sea. Operating with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau Marschall had realised the allies were retreating from Norway and ignored his original but by then outdated orders and attacked the retreating British forces, sinking the carrier HMS Glorious and its escorting destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent, but also receiving a torpedo hit on Scharnhorst. This resulted in Marschall being replaced by Lütjens. As the first Flottenchef had been removed for similar reasons, Lütjens was determined to follow his orders to the letter to avoid suffering the same fate. Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ... Scharnhorst was a 31,500 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst, which was in turn named after the Prussian general Gerhard von Scharnhorst. ... Gneisenau was a 31,100 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Gneisenau, which was in turn named after the Prussian general August von Gneisenau. ... HMS Glorious was a warship of the Royal Navy. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a self propelled torpedo, is a self-propelled guided projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... Scharnhorst was a 31,500 ton Gneisenau class battlecruiser of the German Kriegsmarine, named to commemorate the World War I armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst, which was in turn named after the Prussian general Gerhard von Scharnhorst. ...

In early 1941 he commanded Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in an Atlantic raider attack, during which they destroyed over 115.000 tons of British merchant shipping before returning to Brest, France. Because of the aformentioned success, Lütjens was appointed commander of Operation Rheinübung, which called for the sending of a powerful battle fleet to the Atlantic. Plans were the to send the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz, with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Because of several reasons, Tirpitz and the two battlecruisers could not be ready for the operation so the operation proceeded with only the Bismarck and the German cruiser Prinz Eugen. Location within France Brest, at the tip of Brittany Brest (population of the city: 146,000 inhabitants as of 2004 estimates; population of the metropolitan area: 303,484 inhabitants as of 1999 census) is a city in the Bretagne région, north-west France, subprefecture of the Finistère d... Bismarck was a battleship of Nazi Germany during World War II named after Otto von Bismarck, famous for sinking HMS Hood in 1941 and for her subsequent pursuit and sinking. ... Tirpitz was a battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, a sister ship to the German battleship Bismarck, and named for Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. ... The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fought as part of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy (Prinz Eugen in German). ...

After sailing out with his two ships, he encountered a British squadron comprising HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales in the early hours of May 24, 1941. During the combat that followed HMS Hood was sunk with nearly all hands and HMS Prince of Wales was heavily damaged. Lütjens decided to let her escape, applying his orders to avoid engagements with equal or superior forces unless forced to by the enemy even to the heavily damaged HMS Prince of Wales to the disbelieve of Bismarcks Kapitän Lindemann. HMS Hood was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Prince of Wales was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, built at Birkenhead, England. ... Ernst Lindemann was the captain of the German battleship the Bismarck. ...

In subsequent maneuvering, Bismarck was able to break contact, though its crew was not aware of this, as they could detect British radar but did not know that the return signals were too weak. Admiral Lütjens, despite Kapitän Lindemann's objections, foolishly transmitted a half-hour radio message which was intercepted although the British initially made some mistakes correctly using this information. Bismarck was spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft flying from Northern Ireland. Ernst Lindemann was the captain of the German battleship the Bismarck. ... Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ...

On 26 May, at dusk, she was attacked by British Swordfish torpedo planes from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. One torpedo hit jammed her rudder and steering gear, rendering her largely unmanoeuvrable, though the Bismarck was able to make some steerage by adjusting the revolution speed of her propellors. HMS Ark Royal (91), the lead ship of her class of aircraft carrier, was the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honor of the flagship of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. ...

Throughout the following night she was the target of incessant torpedo attacks by the destroyers HMS Cossack, HMS Sikh, HMS Maori and HMS Zulu, with the Polish Piorun. The battleships HMS King George V and HMS Rodney accompanied by several cruisers and destroyers finally sunk the Bismarck on May 27th, 1941. Admiral Lütjens went down with his ship. The second HMS King George V was the name ship of her class of battleships. ... HMS Rodney was a Nelson-class battleship of the Royal Navy. ...