He captured the number one German U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer (whose Zeiss binoculars he took and used for the rest of the war); in the same battle, he directed the attack that killed the second-scoring ace Joachim Schepke. . On February 22, 1941, Kretschmer set off on his final patrol. [75] In March 1942, the prisoners were transported to Bowmanville Camp near Lake Ontario in Canada. His first operational posting was to the 2nd U-Flotillas Type VII U35 where he survived almost being drowned during training in the Baltic Sea. OTTO and his L.I. 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. Kretschmer was also involved in the Battle of Bowmanville. [43] Following his third war patrol with U-99, Kretschmer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 4 August. As the passengers got into the lifeboats, OTTO noticed a great number of women and children. There were two reasons for this; Knights Cross with Oak Leaf and Crossed Swords, There would be nine diamonds forming the Swastika, All the time this was going on, as the pair ran, Why you never saw him with the traditional . "[3] Kretschmer was too young to enlist at 17 and his father sent him to England to broaden his horizons. Second World War (1939-1945) Awarded on: November 4th, 1940. Kretschmer learned its identity from frantic radio signals. , 4,996GRT, was sunk on 22 February. Death and burial ground of Kretschmer, Otto Wilhelm August "Silent Otto". Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. In later years, Kretschmer was often interviewed for television and radio programmes - including an appearing in the landmark British 1974 documentary series The World at War. [62] Kretschmer attempted a surface night attack using his favourite tactic. She had been married before, to a doctor who was killed in action with the Afrika Korps. 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. While his wartime actions have been narrated several times, his tactics, summarized by the famous motto 'one torpedo, one ship', have never been systematically analysed. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. 1999-2020 Sharkhunters International. "[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. Schnee had the con and OTTO was in his bunk. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in Mnchen but it was to no avail. [9], On 27 August 1941, U-570 was captured by the Royal Navy. Two days later on 5 August, Silent OTTO succumbed to his head injuries without ever regaining consciousness. On 1 October 1937, Kretschmer took command of U-23. [20] Another neutral Scandinavian ship was sunk. Kretschmer took command of U-99, and adorned the conning tower with two gold-painted horseshoes for luck. Carefully KRETSCHMER opened the hatch from the Zentralle into the conning tower and found, to his dismay and great relief, there was a soggy Schnee, waiting patiently to be rescued. German U-boat commander Otto Kretschmer studied literature at the University of Exeter before becoming a German war hero, Kretschmer spent almost a year at the University of Exeter - known as University College of the South West of England, Seamen abandoning a blazing tanker in an oil painting by John Hamilton. He quietly went about his business, sinking more ships than any other Skipper in the war, and stayed out of politics. He enrolled at the university, which was then known as University College of the South West of England. After a running convoy battle in which KRETSCHMER did not sleep for two days straight, he exhausted his torpedoes and set course for home. [80], On 1 December 1955, Kretschmer joined West Germany's navy, at the time named the Bundesmarine (Federal Navy), holding the rank of Fregattenkapitn (Commander). Kretschmer then met Hitler at the Reich Chancellery and he repeated his opinions on the war situation. 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. During this time, he developed his own theory about submarine warfare. [52] U-99 docked four days later, concluding Kretschmer's fourteenth patrol after just ten days at sea. "[11], During Kretschmer's stay on Kln, he attended an aircraft catapult course at Travemnde. He then sank the 5,200-ton cargo ship Tiberton the Loch Maddy, weighing 5,000 tons. The boat went to the yard for repairs and. [53] In December Kretschmer tried to intercept Convoy HX 90 but encountered only stragglers. [46] Kretschmer's logbook recorded the chaos. Kretschmer was guided onto convoy OB-191. [20] On his fifth patrol (515 December) he was ordered to explore the inner waters around the Orkney Islands and engage any remaining Home Fleet units that had departed from Scapa Flow in the aftermath of Gnther Prien's attack. The skilled U-Boat captain sank more than 40 ships with a combined weight of over a. He very nearly drowned as, in the icy water, he no longer had the strength to climb up himself, only for a British sailor to clamber down and rescue him from the ocean. I had to surrender my ship to the British Captain and I had to be in complete uniform.. COOPER returned to the bus, instructed everyone to check into their room then come right down to the dining room for the evening meal. Otto Kretschmer Fregattenkapitn ( Crew 30) U-boat Commands Kptlt. [5] He underwent basic military training in the 2nd department of the standing ship division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund (1 April 1930 30 June 1930). Kretschmer was transferred to the training ship Niobe (1 July 1930 9 October 1930), attaining the rank of Seekadett (cadet) on 9 October 1930 before embarking on a 14-month stay on board the cruiser Emden (10 October 1930 4 January 1932), which took him to the Far East through the Mediterranean and Suez canal. [9] Kretschmer's first operational experience on a submarine was as a lieutenant on the U-35 in 1937 as first watch officer under the command of Klaus Ewerth and then Hans-Rudolf Rsing. From September 1939 until his surrender in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. His father, a teacher, decided to send him to the UK, and Exeter was his destination. His whole demeanour was calm and quiet, and he seemed anxious to be friendly; he was also less suspicious of British officers than was his First Lieutenant. 19 men were killed in the sinking; only two were saved. He had to return to port to repair the damage. Serving on a U-boat was a very dangerous task, and one that many did not want. U-99 was returning from her seventh Feindfahrt (war patrol) and this was to be OTTOs last Feindfahrt. U-99 is preparing for her first Feindfahrt (war patrol), taking on supplies. One signalman sent a message to the escorts "we are sinking" and the firing stopped. [21] The next day, he sank Tiberton, 5,225GRT, in the Moray Firth. However, he was haunted by the image of a lone survivor in a life raft who would surely die if not rescued. Keep me logged in. OTTO reached into the torrent, grabbed the lanyard and slammed the hatch but where was Schnee? were transferred off and sent to Commanders School so they could command their own boats and KRETSCHMER asked for battle experienced officers as replacements. Joachim Schepke arrived in U-100 and sank seven. He was transported to the London Cage, a facility for MI19 to hold valuable enemy prisoners. He was on a holiday cruisefrom Regensburg to Budapest when he tried climbing some almost vertical steps. A prize crew boarded to sail it to Bordeaux. The first watch is at attention on the foredeck and the second watch is at attention on the after deck. He sank four ships and damaged three. A single torpedo was fired, then Kretschmer ordered a u-turn and sped away on the surface; the destroyers neither sighted him nor detected him with ASDIC. [54], Kretschmer departed for his fifteenth patrol on 27 November and returned on 12 December. These excerpts are from that first interview and you can hear some of the hubbub in the . 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. We do not come into port looking like pirates with dirty uniforms, untrimmed beards and with legs hanging over the side. [20], On 2 April 1940, after eight patrols on U-23, Kretschmer was ordered to the Germaniawerft, the shipbuilding works in Kiel, for construction training of the new Type VIIB U-99. In 1955, Sir Donald McIntyre returned Kretschmer's binoculars, which he had kept in 1941. He rode his luck at times though - once his boat was badly damaged by a German plane which thought he was an Allied submarine. U-99 was one of the most successful German U-boats in the war, sinking 38 ships for a total tonnage of 244,658 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping in eight patrols. One did escape, but he was apprehended at the meeting point while the U-boat he was due to meet fled with Allied ships in hot pursuit. [63] On 7 March Kretschmer sank two ships from the convoy including the 20,638GRT Terje Viken. This stay was interrupted for an aerial defense training course at Warnemnde (510 March 1934). For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. The Life of Germany's Highest Scoring U-boat Commander. On 4 October 1939 he sank the coastal ship Glen Farg (876GRT). Something went wrong, please try again later. Prepared by Stephen Ames. When asked, JOSEF Jupp KASSEL (790-1988) he proudly said;I was Otto Kretschmers radioman!. He was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Cumbria, before being sent to Canada. German propagandists feared the triple loss might be too damaging to morale. OTTO peered over the top of his newspaper and said;Juli is happy. Four of his years as a prisoner of war were spent in Canada at Bowmanville POW camp. Sharkhunters President HARRY COOPER knew OTTO KRETSCHMER better than any other researcher and the two men were good friends. A fall caused fatal injuries. [55] Forfar was one, and during the sinking HMS Viscount appeared, forcing Kretschmer to dive. He was given the opportunity to convey his opinions on the state of the U-boat war. [39], Among the victims was the Estonian ship, Merisaar, 2,126GRT. [64] Four ships were sunk, but two U-boats were sunk, one of which was U-47. Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. 1) Black Otto Walter no.12.507.- prismen glaser8x40 reflexfreie on right side. ; otherwise, remain on the surface, This page was last edited on 6 December 2022, at 20:17. Kretschmer achieved good results in mathematics and chemistry and passed his Abitur (school-leaving certificate) at 17. Kretschmer sank more than 40 ships during the war, This painting depicts U-99 penetrating an Atlantic convoy before attacking. She was launched on 12 March 1940 under the command of Korvettenkapitn Otto Kretschmer and was assigned to the 7th U-boat Flotilla based in Kiel and later in St Nazaire . Flotilla Admiral Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German U-boat commander in the Second World War and later an admiral in the Bundesmarine. 2.6K views, 39 likes, 4 loves, 2 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from German U-Boats Crews and Commanders: Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was the most successful German. This is a trusted computer. Walker) and Fregattenkapitan (commander) Kertschmer, became the best of friends. Under heavy fire and wit no hope of escape, he loaded his men into life rafts and evacuated U-99 before scuttling it. The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 4 September. It was not this way with U-99. 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. Kretschmer travelled the world as he rose up through the ranks, before joining the U-boat service in 1936. Many thanks to Valeria Basso, Alessio Basso and Francesco Signorino for helping in the retrieval of a few rare archival sources, and for stimulating discussions. The 28-ship convoy was poorly defended by a destroyer and a corvette. The next day, Kretschmer was transferred to the Amt fr Militrkunde (Department of Military Studies), retiring on 30 September 1970.[18]. [42], Four days later Kretschmer began his eleventh patrol which concluded on 5 August. Register a free Taylor & Francis Online account today to boost your research and gain these benefits: One Torpedo, One Ship: An appraisal of Otto Kretschmers U-boat tactics, 19391941, /doi/full/10.1080/00253359.2021.1898209?needAccess=true. 702. Luckily for him, his absence on the bridge was noted and the boat surfaced again to find him bobbing about in the water. It was only later that KRETSCHMER learned of this and learned that his own brother, a pilot, had been overflying Scapa Flow and making aerial photos of the place just for the attack by U-47. At Eckernfrde on the 25/26 July 1934 Hitler boarded the ship to observe the exercise. Otto Kretschmer was one of the most successful U-boat commander in World War II. [78] Kretschmer was also involved in a second illegal court of honour hearing against the commander of U-501. The vast majority of Kretschmer's attacks - at least 83 - were launched on the surface. Des de setembre de 1939 fins que va ser capturat al mar de 1941, va enfonsar 47 vaixell, amb un total de 274.333 tones. 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