Re question #1, my understanding of the Kriegsmarine of the 1930s-40s was that officers who chose or were chosen for the "engineering path" in their training were considered specialists in that realm and were not line officers, i.e., they were not in line to command a combat unit.
The Kriegsmarine had separate insignia on the uniforms of engineering officers which distinguished them from officers of the line who actually were part of the chain of command. (For the engineers, a cog wheel, I believe - for line officers, a star.)
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