The following press article, dated 29.01.1941, describes Heye’s Knight’s Cross action as follows…
“At the head of his small formation, Kapitän zur See Heye succeeded in cracking the defenses of the fortified Drontheim fjord. By doing so he brought the Drontheim harbour, crucial for the occupation of central Norway, into German hands. Afterwards he and his cruiser were able to achieve outstanding successes during various operations in the North Sea.”
56th Award.
Heye graduated from high school in Berlin in early 1914 and immediately joined the Imperial Navy. From April 1939 to September 1940 he commanded the Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper. While taking his ship to Trondheim in April 1940 to land invasion troops there (Operation Weserübung), he encountered the British destroyer Glowworm and sank it. Heye sent a message to the British Admiralty through the Red Cross praising the gallantry of Glowworm’s commander and crew, and this contributed to LtCdr Gerard Roope receiving the earliest Victoria Cross of World War II, although the award was not made until 1945.
In 1942 Heye was promoted to Vice Admiral, and from September to November 1942 he was commanding admiral of the German naval forces in the Black Sea. From April 1944 onward he was commanding admiral of the small naval combat forces, which included mini-submarines, combat divers, etc. He received the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 January 1941.
