Original Postwar Signature on a Postcard of Hans-Werner Kraus. Kapitänleutnant Hans-Werner Kraus (01.07.1915 † 25.05.1990) earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on June 19, 1942 as Kapitänleutnant und Kommandant of U-83. Good condition. Signed on the back dedicated to the veteran.
He was on board the latter when it was attacked by Brazilian Air Force aircraft on 27 June 1943. Kraus evaded only to be targeted by a VP-74 Mariner (BuNo 6571) piloted by Lt. Harold C. Carey. The German crew shot it down and the crew were killed.
Kraus was sunk by aircraft off the coast of Brazil on 31 July 1943. Captured, he was sent as a POW to the United States. Kraus was one of the 25 POWs who escaped from Camp Papago Park, Arizona, during the night of 23–24 December 1944 but was recaptured. (Read more on Hans-Werner Kraus)
Provenance: This signature comes from one of the largest postwar signature collection I’ve ever commissioned. This collection was started by a Waffen-SS Veteran, Werner H., in the 1950’s until he passed away.