Karl Spindler

Born in Königswinter, Germany, on May 29, 1887, he served as an officer in the Imperial German Navy and later became known as the author of Gun Running for Casement in the Easter Rebellion, 1916. The book grew out of his role in the attempt to bring German arms to Irish rebels before the Easter Rising.

He commanded the vessel Libau, disguised as the Norwegian ship Aud, on a secret mission to deliver weapons to Ireland in 1916. The operation failed, but his account remains valuable because it describes the venture from the perspective of someone directly involved.

He died on November 29, 1951, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Today, his writing is mainly remembered for its connection to Irish revolutionary history and for the unusual path that turned a naval officer into a source for a major political event.