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[[File:Gustav Kleikamp.png|thumb|Gustav Kleikamp]]
'''Gustav Kleikamp''' (born 8 March 1896 in [[Fiddichow an der Oder]]; died 13 September 1952 in [[Mülheim an der Ruhr]]) was a German naval officer, and a [[Vizeadmiral]] in [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[Kriegsmarine]].

==Imperial German Navy==

On 1 April 1913, Kleikamp entered the [[Imperial German Navy]] as a [[Seekadett]] on the [[protected cruiser]] {{SMS|Vineta|1897|6}}. After basic training, he transferred to [[Marineschule Mürwik]] on 3 April 1914. After the outbreak of World War I, he was posted as a communications officer to the [[battlecruiser ]]{{SMS|Derfflinger}}, where he received promotion to [[Leutnant zur See]] in 1915.

From March 1918 he attended [[Ubootschule]] and later served as watch officer on {{SMU|U-9}} until October 1918, when he became clerical officer of the [[1. U-Kreuzerflottille]] until the end of the year.

==Reichsmarine==
Kleikamp remained with the navy after the collapse of the monarchy in November 1918, serving in the [[Marine-Brigade Ehrhardt]]. He received a provisional promotion to [[Oberleutnant zur See]] on 7 January 1920, which was confirmed on 14 May 1921.

On 1 October 1920, Kleikamp was posted on {{SMS|Hamburg||2}} as communications and watch officer. On 4 December 1921 he was transferred to the pre-dreadnought battleship {{SMS|Braunschweig||2}} in the same capacity, where he served until he was given command of the {{ship|German minesweeper|M 113}} on 1 October 1922.

After a year as commanding officer, Kleikamp joined the faculty at the [[Marinenachrichtenschule]] on 1 October 1923. Having received promotion to [[Kapitänleutnant]] in 1925, he joined the battleship {{SMS|Hannover||2}} on 24 September 1926 as [[Rollenoffizier]]. When ''Hannover'' was put out of service, he transferred to {{SMS|Schlesien||2}}, the new flagship of [[Marinestation Nordsee]], in the same role.

From 28 September 1928 Kleikamp was the officer responsible for training and education on the cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Emden||2}}, before being appointed director of the [[Nachrichtenmittelversuchsanstalt]] on 11 February 1930. He served in this position until October 1932, when he was appointed naval liaison officer to the [[Wehrkreiskommando I]] in [[Königsberg]], having been promoted to [[Korvettenkapitän]]. Following the [[Nazi Party]] takeover in January 1933, Kleikamp became 4. Admiralstabsoffizier in the Fleet Command.

==Kriegsmarine==
On 26 September 1935 Kleikamp was made [[Executive officer (military)|first officer]] on {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}, the ship which he would eventually command after a stint as director of the [[Gruppe Technisches Nachrichtenwesen]] in the Navy High Command.

On 26 April 1939, having been promoted to [[Kapitän zur See]] a year earlier, was given command of ''Schleswig-Holstein'', which had returned from a tour to South America a few weeks earlier. ''Schleswig-Holstein'' was slated to be retired and converted into a remotely controlled target ship, but preparations for the [[Invasion of Poland]], saw the ship assigned a war mission.

Late in August 1939, ''Schleswig-Holstein'' was sent to [[Danzig]] on a friendship visit, in place of the cruiser ''Königsberg''. The visit was a ruse to bring a landing force to Danzig in order to neutralize Polish fortifications in the harbour. For this purpose ''Schleswig-Holstein'' had received 60 men with five 2&nbsp;cm AA guns and six machine guns. While en route, ''Schleswig-Holstein'' rendezvoused with the {{ship|German minesweeper|M-1}} and other vessels, carrying the 225-men strong [[Marinestosstruppkompanie]] from [[Memel, East Prussia|Memel]].

==World War II==
On 1 September 1939 at 04:45, Kleikamp gave the order for the [[Battle of Westerplatte|attack on the Westerplatte]] and two minutes later the first shells left the barrels of ''Schleswig-Holstein''{{'}}s 28&nbsp;cm guns. 

In April 1940 ''Schleswig-Holstein'' was flagship of ''Kriegsschiffgruppe 7'', which was tasked with the [[Invasion of Denmark|occupation of the Danish ports]] [[Nyborg]] and [[Korsør]].

After the [[Fall of France]] Kleikamp was appointed [[Chef der Seebefehlsstelle Calais]] double-hatting as [[Chef der Transportflotte C]] for [[Operation Sea Lion]] on 29 August 1940. After the invasion of Britain was cancelled, Kleikamp transferred to Naval High Command as [[Chef der Militärischen Amtsgruppe]] in [[Hauptamt Kriegsschiffbau]], a position he held until 21 February 1943.

From March 1943 until the end of 1944, Kleikamp, having been promoted to [[Konteradmiral]] and ultimately [[Vizeadmiral]], served as [[Naval_regions_and_districts_of_the_Kriegsmarine#France_and_the_Low_Countries|Kommandierender Admiral in den Niederlanden]]. From 1 January until 14 March 1945, he was at the disposal of the [[Naval_regions_and_districts_of_the_Kriegsmarine#Naval_Region_North_Sea|Oberbefehlshaber des Marineoberkommandos Nord]]. On 15 March 1945 he took over as [[Naval_regions_and_districts_of_the_Kriegsmarine#Naval_districts|Kommandierender Admiral Deutsche Bucht]].

==Post-War==
Kleikamp became a [[Prisoner of War]] on 7 May 1945 and remained in British custody until 18 April 1947. In poor health, he was unemployed until Spring 1952, when he joined [[Hugo Stinnes]] in [[Mülheim an der Ruhr]]. There he died on 13 September 1952.

==Dates of rank==

*[[Seekadett]] – 1 April 1913
*[[Fähnrich zur See]] – 3 April 1914
*[[Leutnant zur See]] – 18 September 1915
*[[Oberleutnant zur See]] – 14 May 1921 (dated 7 January 1920)
*[[Kapitänleutnant]] – 1 February 1925
*[[Korvettenkapitän]] – 1 October 1932
*[[Fregattenkapitän]] – 1 October 1936
*[[Kapitän zur See]] – 1 April 1938
*[[Konteradmiral]] – 1 April 1942
*[[Vizeadmiral]] – 1 October 1943

==Military orders and decoration==
*[[Clasp to the Iron Cross]], 1st class
*[[Hanseatenkreuz]] (Hamburg)
*[[German Cross in Gold]]

<!-- ==References== -->

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book | last = Hildebrand | first = Hans | title = Deutschlands Admirale : 1849-1945 : die militärischen Werdegänge der See-, Ingenieur-, Sanitäts-, Waffen- und Verwaltungsoffiziere im Admiralsrang |volume = 2 | publisher = Biblio | location = Osnabrück | year = 1989 | isbn = 3764814993 | pages= 246–247}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155134/http://reocities.com/Pentagon/bunker/7729/WEHRMACHT/KRIEGSMARINE/Vizeadmirals/KLEIKAMP_GUSTAV.html Gustav Kleikamp]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before = Kapitän zur See [[Gustav Kieseritzky]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Commanding officer, German battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}}  | years = 26 April 1939 – 28 August 1940}}
{{s-aft | after = Korvettenkapitän [[Guido Zaubzer]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleikamp, Gustav}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:Vice admirals of the Kriegsmarine]]
[[Category:Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Reichsmarine personnel]]
[[Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People from Gryfino County]]