Rolf Carls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls |
| Born | 29 May 1885 Rostock, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Empire |
| Died | 24 April 1945 (aged 59) Bad Oldesloe, Schleswig-Holstein, Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1919) Ottoman Empire (1914 to 1917) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Imperial German Navy Ottoman Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine |
| Years of service | 1903–43 |
| Rank |  Generaladmiral |
| Unit | SMS Stein SMS Mars SMS Fürst Bismarck SMS Breslau |
| Commands | SM U-124 Hessen |
| Battles / wars | World War I
World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Rolf Hans Wilhelm Karl Carls (29 May 1885 – 24 April 1945) was a high-ranking German admiral and deputy to Kriegsmarine commander-in-chief Erich Raeder during much of World War II. Carls served as Flottenchef (Fleet Commander), the navy's highest ranking administrative officer, and was a member of the Oberkommando der Marine (High Command of the Navy). He was instrumental in planning German naval operations during Operation Weserübung – the invasion of Denmark and Norway. When Raeder resigned as head of the navy in early 1943, he suggested Carls as a candidate to succeed him. After Adolf Hitler appointed Admiral Karl Donitz to succeed Raeder, Carls was discharged from the navy. A recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, he was killed in a British air raid on the town of Bad Oldesloe on 24 April 1945.