1WO means...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Markus Witt

Isn't this guy also reffered to as "obersteuermann" in the movie. This confused me as it sounds like the first officer.

'Der Alte' ('The Elder' or 'The Old Man') holds the rank of Kapitanleutnant, hence of course "Herr Kaleun"

Only two men are referred to as "Watch Officers". The 1WO ('the nazi') is an Oberleutnant, just like the LI. The 2WO ('the jokester') is a Leutnant, just like Werner. The Obersteurmann is Kriechbaum, the senior man to actually be given a name. His rank is Oberfanrich, which I originally thought of as the equivalent of an American Ensign, but apparently is the closest thing the KM had to an actual Warrant Officer. He does serve as 3WO, though he is never called that.

In SH3 the Oberfanriches are listed as officers.