Bonte represented the experienced small-ship leadership the Kriegsmarine lost heavily during the Norwegian campaign. A protege of Gunther Lutjens, he led the destroyers sent the extraordinary distance to Narvik to land and support mountain troops. The force achieved its initial objective, but Bonte was killed when Wilhelm Heidkamp was torpedoed and exploded. His loss also deprived the expanding German destroyer arm of an officer who might have trained and shaped later crews.
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Friedrich Bonte and Germany's destroyer gamble at Narvik
Friedrich Bonte leads the destroyer force that carries German mountain troops to Narvik before his death aboard Wilhelm Heidkamp.