Franz von Hipper

Franz von Hipper.

Franz Ritter von Hipper (September 13, 1863 - May 25, 1932) was a German admiral.

Born in Weilheim in Bavaria, Franz Hipper joined the German Imperial Navy in 1881 as an 18-year-old cadet, serving on the frigates SMS Niobe and SMS Leipzig. From 1884 to 1903 he commanded German torpedo boats until he received command of the armored cruiser SMS Friedrich Karl. In October 1913 he was appointed commander of the High Seas Fleet Scouting Forces.

After World War I broke out in 1914 Hipper led his battlecruisers on several raids against the English coastal towns, most notably in December 1914 at Scarborough. He commanded the German battlecruisers at the Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) (24 January 1915) and in the Battle of Jutland (31 May - 1 June 1916). In the latter he inflicted critical damage on the Royal Navy, sinking three British battlecruisers, which won him great renown both in Germany and in Britain. Indeed, of the four main admirals involved on both sides at Jutland (Jellicoe, Beatty, Scheer, and Hipper), he was the only one considered to have performed flawlessly. Shortly after the battle King Ludwig III of Bavaria knighted him.

In August 1918 Hipper was promoted to Admiral and succeeded Admiral Reinhard Scheer as commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet. When the Kiel mutiny broke out (4 November 1918) he appealed to the sailors, but this proved fruitless. In his last days of active service he organized the fleet's transfer to Scapa Flow.

He retired on 30 November 1918, and spent the rest of his life in Othmarschen near Hamburg. His urn was returned to his home town.

The WWII heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper was named after him.