Career
He commanded the Type IXC U-boat U-130 on five patrols, and sank twenty ships, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping, becoming the sixteenth highest scoring U-Boat ace of World World War World War II He was awarded the Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Kals joined the Reichsmarine in 1924. In October 1940, after a period of service on torpedo boats and light cruisers, he transferred to the Ubootwaffe ("U-boat force").
After one patrol on U-37 under the command of Nicolai Clausen as commander in training, he took command of U-130 in June 1941.
He was awarded the Knight"s Cross in September 1941. In April 1942, Kals, in U-130, bombarded the Allied petroleum tank farm on Curaçao, in the Netherlands Antilles.
He went on to sink a total of 20 ships on five patrols, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping. In five minutes he sank three United States troopships, the Edward Rutledge, Hugh L. Scott and Tasker H. Bliss.
In January 1943 Kals became commander of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla which based in Lorient, France.
Promoted to Kapitän zur See in September 1944, he remained in this position until the end of the war. Kals was held in French captivity from May 1945 to January 1948. He died at Emden in 1979 at the age of 74.
Ships attacked As a U-boat commander of U-130 and Ernst Kals is credited with the sinking of 17 merchant ships for a total of 111,249 gross register tons (GRT), three auxiliary warships for a total of 34,407 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one further ship of 6,986 GRT. Iron Cross (1939) Wehrmachtbericht reference.
