Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. This stay was interrupted for an aerial defense training course at Warnemnde (510 March 1934). [58], Several of Kretschmer's senior officers left the boat before the final patrol. [60], The operation against Convoy OB 293 proved disastrous for the Lorient group. Petersen had served as Kretschmer's helmsman on every war patrol on both U-23 and U-99. He was on a holiday cruisefrom Regensburg to Budapest when he tried climbing some almost vertical steps. [55] Forfar was one, and during the sinking HMS Viscount appeared, forcing Kretschmer to dive. [42], Four days later Kretschmer began his eleventh patrol which concluded on 5 August. (Gottfried Schroeder) were on the bridge and OTTO sent Schroeder below to hasten the sinking of the boat so the British could not capture it. [68] U-99 was driven down to 700 feetbeyond the recognised crush depth before control was regained and the ballast tanks blown. His time in England shaped his view of them during the war; he was quick to believe in rumours of new British inventions during the war at sea. [38] Acts of compassion in submarine warfare were "selective and fickle", one historian wrote when describing Kretschmer's rescue of a lone man in a raft. OTTO KRETSCHMER was almost lost in this actionA firm, almost hard-headed man, KRETSCHMER firmly DIS-believed the old sailors story that a sinking ship will create a suction that will pull down anyone in the water so as his U-99 was going down, OTTO stood at attention on the bridge and his boat sank out from under him; So you see, Harry, he told HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983), I did not desert my ship! I am grateful to the late Horst Bredow and Peter Monte at the Deutsches U-Boot-Museum for providing access to the unpublished records of U23 and U99. At the time, Kretschmer was president of the Deutscher Marinebund, a member club of the International Maritime Confederation. His first patrol, with Oberleutnant zur See Adalbert Schnee as first watch officer, took U-23 into the North Sea and along the coast of the Netherlands. One signalman sent a message to the escorts "we are sinking" and the firing stopped. The air crews sank eight and damaged several more. The next day, Kretschmer was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse). As U-99 returns from an early Feindfahrt, we see that the crew is neatly arranged (photo left) on the deck and there is no White Cap on the Skipper. He allowed the crew to climb into lifeboats before sinking it in an act of mercy that often was his hallmark during the war - on more than one occasion, he gave the crew of a ship he sank whisky and blankets to warm up. [47] The following month, Kretschmer formed part of the pack that attacked and devastated Convoy SC 7. Upon the death of Kptlt. He departed from Wilhelmshaven for his eighth war patrol on 9 February. Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. His greatest success came in August with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star. It was not this way with, . "[73], Of his personality and view of the war it stated, "He gave the impression of being a quiet, deliberate man, and looked more like a student than a U-Boat Captain. From September 1939 until his surrender in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. 176 men died. In this work, Kretschmers success is appraised through the analysis of the key characteristics of his attacks, and the conditions of the battlefield in which he operated. He spoke English quite well, though he lacked practice. They were sent to Lime Street Station to be transported to London for interrogation. [64] Four ships were sunk, but two U-boats were sunk, one of which was U-47. [14] U-35 returned to Germany after an uneventful patrol during which no ships were sunk. Haunted by him, Kretschmer ordered the boat to backtrack until the survivor was found. [77] Kretschmer was senior officer at the camp. were transferred off and sent to Commanders School so they could command their own boats and KRETSCHMER asked for battle experienced officers as replacements. [75] In March 1942, the prisoners were transported to Bowmanville Camp near Lake Ontario in Canada. Kretschmer was taken separately, but his crew had to negotiate the streets of Liverpool and were subjected to missiles thrown by angry civilians; the city had been heavily bombed and was closely linked with the Atlantic war. COOPER grinned and said;Lets ask this gentleman here. U-99 is preparing for her first Feindfahrt (war patrol), taking on supplies. Browse 597 otto kretschmer stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. [51] Kretschmer was awarded the 6th Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 4 November 1940. [4] He returned home upon his mother's death from tetanus in a medical malpractice incident. The ship was accompanied by three other vessels, but she was darkened and the black out aroused Kretschmer's suspicions. We use cookies to improve your website experience. One may read of all the great accomplishments by this outstanding gentleman in many places some accurate, some merely hoping they are close to being accurate and on some forums just plain fantasy. [21] The next day, he sank Tiberton, 5,225GRT, in the Moray Firth. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. [71] Winston Churchill disclosed the capture of Kretschmer to the House of Commons on 21 March. He was the best of the best he knew how to penetrate a destroyer screen and because he had lived in England and studied at Cambridge prior to the war, he read the English and French tactical books on anti-submarine warfare in the captured French HQ in Brest he knew what depth settings the Royal Navy used and so he kept his boat at depths they did not set on their charges. [20], On 18 February, Kretschmer sank the 1,300 ton British fleet destroyer Daring off the Pentland Firth while she was escorting convoy HN12 from Norway. He sank another vessel on his fifth patrol to earn the Iron Cross first class, and he notched up further kills as the war progressed. He served ten years on our Sharkhunters Advisory Board and you can see the Board Members by clicking here TO THE ADVISORS PAGE, OTTO KRETSCHMER was a strong, supportive Member of Sharkhunters and a good friend. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began the war in Europe. Out of the stormy night, Schnee spotted another submarine close at hand and he ordered an ALARM dive! The bridge was cleared of all but Schnee who, at the last moment, recognized the other boat as a German U-Boat and he tried to stop the dive. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Incredibly though, this war hero, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - Germany's highest award for gallantry - had lived in Exeter before the war while he studied at the city's university. Only five survived. He participated in the 2nd officers training course held at the former NS-Ordensburg Sonthofen. [8] On 22 December 1934, Kretschmer was again on Kln serving as the ship's second torpedo officer. U-99 was returning from her seventh Feindfahrt (war patrol) and this was to be OTTOs last Feindfahrt. Prien's reports were picked up by the Luftwaffe which sent Focke-Wulf Fw 200s from I. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG4040th Bomber Wing) to attack the convoy. Prien achieved several sinkings, Kretschmer did not; the pair was chased off by destroyers. Otto Kretschmer, Comandante alemn de U-Boot de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, fue sin duda el ms eficaz de toda la Kriegsmarine. [34] His greatest success was the sinking of Auckland Star, a 13,212GRT ship on 28 July followed by another two totalling 12,811GRT on 29 and 31 July. Klaus Bargsten served aboard U-99 under Kretschmer, before being promoted to captain himself and becoming the sole survivor of U-521 on 2 June 1942. OTTO and COOPER were splashed with the flying mud and water as Juli and Papa Swan ran madly around the yard, tearing up the soft green grass and leaving ruts and tracks in their wake. On 1 June 1965, he was promoted to Flottillenadmiral (flotilla admiral/Commodore/Rear Admiral), a rank which he initially held on probation. He then ordered the merchant Skipper to put everyone back aboard then gave him a course to steer for one of the German bases on the French coast, and ordered the merchant Skipper to surrender the ship to the harbor authorities there. [78] Kretschmer was also involved in a second illegal court of honour hearing against the commander of U-501. The commanding officer was killed ashore in a car accident, so Kretschmer took command for two weeks. Por todo ello y entre otras, recibi [2] His father was a teacher at the local Volkschule (primary school), which Otto attended from 1918 to 1921. Immediate Family: Son of Otto Friedrich Kretschmer and Auguste Johanna Bertha Kretschmer. The short range of the Type II submarine allowed for operations in the North Sea, but no further. The German crew failed to sink the stationary vessel with torpedoes while the weather ruled out the use of the gun. Register to receive personalised research and resources by email. [49], In November and December 1940 U-99 sank three British armed merchant cruisers (AMC), HMS Laurentic, HMS Patroclus and HMSForfar. KLAUS BARGSTEN (328-1987) and his II.W.O. [6] Kretschmer was present for gunnery exercises in the North and Baltic Sea. His I.W.O. The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 4 September. On 4 October 1939 he sank the coastal ship Glen Farg (876GRT). [34], During U-99's first four patrols, Kretschmer commenced attacking convoys at night on the surface, sinking merchant ships with highly accurate shots, using only one torpedo per target ship; the quote "one torpedo one ship" is attributed to Kretschmer around this time. The presentation was made by Dnitz following his return to Lorient. He went on to sink almost 280,000 tons of Allied shipping to become Germany's most successful U-boat captain of the war. Thistle was sunk weeks later by U-4. While on holiday in Bavaria in the summer of 1998, Kretschmer died in an accident during a boating expedition on the Danube to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary, at the age of 86. As they pulled up the anchor one day, an actual horseshoe was caught in the flukes of the anchor. Kretschmer was born in Heidau near Neisse, then in the German Empire on 1 May 1912 to Friedrich Wilhelm Otto and Alice (ne Herbig) Kretschmer. 702. From September 1939 to March 1941, Germany's Otto Kretschmer terrorised Allied shipping on the high seas. Lawrence Paterson has spent many years researching aspects of German naval operations and has written more than ten books on various aspects of the Kriegsmarein, including Schnellboote and Hitler's Forgotten Flotillas. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . [18] Kretschmer served in this function until 18 June 1964 when he was appointed chief-of-staff of the Befehlshaber der Seestreitkrfte der Nordsee (German national Commander Naval Forces North Sea). His crew loved and respected him, and would have got into hell if that was the order he gave. Despite being captured, the German nay continued to promote him, and even awarded him he Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords - only the fifth member of the German armed forces to receive the accolade. [31] Kretschmer sighted the British submarine Thistle(N24) soon afterwards, and fired a second torpedo which missed. In addition, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on 26 December 1941. [20] Another neutral Scandinavian ship was sunk. [56] Laurentic and Patroclus had been loaded with wooden barrels to increase buoyancy. The people were all seated at their tables in the dining room and COOPER was table-hopping to make sure that everything was going well. Prien along with his crew disappeared, presumably in a depth charge attack. Rsing's successor, Hermann Michahelles, was killed in a car accident and Kretschmer assumed command for two weeks.
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