Бірінші және Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстардағы неміс теңізшісі Гельмұт фон Руктешелль

German World War I U boat commander

Hellmuth von Ruckteschell (22 March 1890 − 24 September 1948) was a German naval officer during World War II. He was a prominent and highly successful merchant raider commander for Nazi Germany, serving as the captain of the commerce raiders Widder and Michel. After the war Ruckteschell was convicted of war crimes and died in prison.

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 and , before being given his own command in July 1917, first of , then in March 1918, of 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 German auxiliary cruiser Widder 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, 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 German auxiliary cruiser Michel 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 (second only to Ernst Felix Krüder of Pinguin) and stayed at large for 538 days, (second only to Bernhard Rogge of Atlantis); however, Ruckteschell accomplished this over two voyages. Of the 13 voyages by 10 raiders, Michel and Widder claimed 15 ships of , and 10 ships of (4th and 6th highest), and stayed at large for 358, and 180 days ( 4th and 9th longest).

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."

1. Regarding , 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 Widders gunners continued to fire for eight minutes after a signal was sent indicating that the Davisian 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 Anglo Saxon, attacked on 21 August 1940 by Widder. The charge was that Ruckteschell fired on the 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 , 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 1200 mile (1931 km) 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 , 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.