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Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a ''Korvettenkapitän'' with the ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II, commander of the U-boats and , and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ((ドイツ語:Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes)). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. ==Career== Metzler joined the ''Kriegsmarine'' in October 1933, after spending eight years in the merchant marine. He served on the torpedo boat ''T-196'' and on several minesweepers. After 13 patrols on the minesweeper ''Grille'', he transferred to the U-boat arm in April 1940, commissioning in November 1940. On his first patrol, sailing from Kiel to St. Nazaire in early 1941, he sank three ships for a total of 18,576 tons.〔 On his second patrol south-west of Iceland, he sank a single ship of 3,759 tons and damaged another. Metzler's third patrol on ''U-69'' was the most successful. He laid 16 mines in the harbour of Lagos, Nigeria, where they later sank a British steamer. He then sank another five ships for a total of 25,544 tons.〔 Metzler developed renal colic a few days after leaving St. Nazaire on his fourth patrol in August 1941, forcing the U-boat to return to port. After two months in hospital he served as the leading training officer in ''25th'' and ''27th U-boat Flotilla'' until February 1943.〔 Metzler commanded from February to June 1943 without sailing on any patrols, and was appointed temporary locum commander of ''5th U-boat Flotilla'' for two months before serving as commander of ''19th U-boat Flotilla'' from October 1943 until the end of war.〔 In 1954 Metzler published a memoir ''The Laughing Cow: The Story of U-69''. The title is derived from the time when ''U-69'' was first assigned to ''7th U-boat Flotilla'' and the crew were instructed to paint Günther Prien's snorting bull insignia on the U-boat's conning tower. No illustration was enclosed, so ''U-69''s First Watch Officer, ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Hans-Jürgen Auffermann instructed a shipyard worker to copy the head of laughing cow which appeared on the packaging of a popular French dairy product instead. This naturally proved to be a source of great amusement. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jost Metzler」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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