Adalbert Zuckschwerdt

Zuckschwerdt preempted the confiscation of his ship by the Americans by igniting preplanted explosives and scuttling her in Apra Harbor.

[1] Zuckschwerdt joined the Imperial German Navy on 4 April 1893 and served in different positions on land and sea.

He was involved in a raid against indigenous peoples on the German-occupied Bougainville Island in February 1914 and afterwards sailed onwards to Qingdao.

When German forces occupied France during World War II, Zuckschwerdt, by then in his late 60s, was appointed harbour commander of Nieuwpoort and later of Calais.

On 23 February 1941 he was appointed Kommandant der Seeverteidigung (Commander of Coastal Defense) at Loire water mouth and later at Languedoc.