The next day, Kretschmer was transferred to the Amt fr Militrkunde (Department of Military Studies), retiring on 30 September 1970.[18]. Kretschmer formed part of "Crew 30" (the incoming class of 1930), 78strong intake of officer candidates. Otto Kretschmer, Comandante alemn de U-Boot de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, fue sin duda el ms eficaz de toda la Kriegsmarine. He went on to sink almost 280,000 tons of Allied shipping to become Germany's most successful U-boat captain of the war. U-99 was returning from her seventh Feindfahrt (war patrol) and this was to be OTTOs last Feindfahrt. Three of his men were lost, but Kretschmer and the remainder of U-99's crew were captured. A fall caused fatal injuries. At the time, Kretschmer . [9] Kretschmer joined the U-boat service in January 1936. Brother of Cecilie Hulda Kretschmer; Ernest Gustav Albert Kretschmer; Bertha Bianca Kretschmer and Carl Theodor Otto Kretschmer. There were no deaths among the crew. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. Its commander, Hugo Frster, was repatriated to Germany and committed suicide before the end of the war. Con su legendario submarino Tipo VII, el U-99, se apunt desde Septiembre de 1.939 hasta Marzo de 1.941, 47 barcos hundidos con un total de 274.333 toneladas. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days. Why his average daily tonnage sinking equaled that of de la Perrier. The renaming of the navy was a symbolic gesture, to erase the unpleasant memories of the 1920s and symbolise a new era. While working on the deck gun, the boat suddenly dived. Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. [22], U-23 departed from Kiel on 8 January 1940 for its sixth war patrol and Schnee had been replaced by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen. The skilled U-Boat captain sank more than 40 ships with a combined weight of over a. Laurentic and Patroclus were attacked on the night of 3/4 November. There, they would meet a German U-boat to take them back to Germany. He warned Schroeder that the boat was nearly at neutral buoyancy and was riding on the vents so he should open the valves slowly and carefully. Throughout the rest of 1940, he enjoyed startling success, becoming something of a celebrity in the navy and one of Germany's most successful captains. Leather strap partially torn from case.- 2) Tasco 7x35 fully coated 304. Joachim Schepke arrived in U-100 and sank seven. A detachment of the Home Guard apprehended him, shooting him when he tried to escape. In December 1934, he was transferred to the light cruiser Kln, then in January 1936 made the move to the fledgling U-boat service. [72], Once in London, Royal Navy interrogators questioned the crew. This was not the case with U-99. Kretschmer was presented with an opportunity to put his "one torpedo, one ship" mantra into practice. Click on the prints to see their descriptions. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. 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. [17], Kretschmer was promoted to Kapitnleutnant (Lieutenant/Lieutenant Senior Grade) on 1 June 1939.[9]. [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. Prien achieved several sinkings, Kretschmer did not; the pair was chased off by destroyers. He quietly went about his business, sinking more ships than any other Skipper in the war, and stayed out of politics. [31] 157 of the Daring crew were killed, including Commander Sydney Cooper. [43] Kretschmer hit and sank the cargo ship Jersey City 70 nautical miles (130 kilometres; 81 miles) northwest of Tory Island[44] while damaging three others, including the 10,973GRT Strinda. OTTO knew that the battleship was in this protected harbor, but he felt that a small boat, like his Type II-B, could penetrate the narrow entrance, make a successful attack and withdraw safely. [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. 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. The small freighter was carrying pulp and Ferrochrome. The OKM was established as the supreme command of the navy responsible for all facets of naval warfare. [71] Winston Churchill disclosed the capture of Kretschmer to the House of Commons on 21 March. were transferred off and sent to Commanders School so they could command their own boats and KRETSCHMER asked for battle experienced officers as replacements. [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). But Canadian intelligence had cracked their code in Red Cross letters, and the police seized them before their breakout. 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. A high achiever at school, he wanted nothing more than to join the navy, but he was not old enough upon leaving at the age of 17. With no time to return to the hatch, Kretschmer clung on to the periscope and waved at it frantically, hoping to be spotted. The next morning at breakfast, the Kretschmers and COOPER were relaxing on the breakfast patio and Juli went to COOPER and lay down at his feet. [Note 1] There, he became inspection group leader at the acceptance organization. The nomination was approved on 5 November 1940. Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? Death: November 08, 1981 (85) Millicent, South Australia, Australia. As the passengers got into the lifeboats, OTTO noticed a great number of women and children. Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. Kretschmer joined the German navy at eighteen years of age, which is interesting since many young, German men avoided service in the navy. Comes with leather case. The single torpedo attack killed 11 men. Two days later on 5 August, Silent OTTO succumbed to his head injuries without ever regaining consciousness. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On 26 September 1935, he was transferred to the 1st department of the standing ship division of the North Sea in Wilhelmshaven where he served as a company officer until 25 January 1936. A Short Sunderland appeared briefly, and Kretschmer was forced to accomplish the destruction of the ship with torpedoes, submerged. I obey the rules. Only five of the 161-strong crew survived. [6] Kretschmer was present for gunnery exercises in the North and Baltic Sea. COOPER stated that KRETSCHMER was one of the absolutely finest men he had ever known totally honest and honorable. She told COOPER that he was such a fine man that she knew there would never be another like him. 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. [59], On 22 February 1941 U-99 left Lorient for the final time. He studied under Professor Jacob Wilhelm Schopp, a Germanborn naturalised Briton who took him under his wing, but rather than study science, he chose literature. He fired a single torpedo that missed before he lost the ship in thick mist. Karl Dnitz, Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU), ordered attacks on Allied shipping at sea, beginning the Battle of the Atlantic. The ship was accompanied by three other vessels, but she was darkened and the black out aroused Kretschmer's suspicions. Otto married Elsie, Gertrude Kretschmer. The crew were permitted ashore at the resort town of San Sebastin. Petersen had served as Kretschmer's helmsman on every war patrol on both U-23 and U-99. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days. All 33 men aboard died. "On seeing the craters of a stick of bombs near Buckingham Palace he was genuinely shocked that an attempt had so obviously been made by his countrymen to bomb the Palace. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. [24] Following this patrol, he received the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 17 December. 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. They provided clothes and alcohol, then transferred him to a lifeboat at the first opportunity. 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. Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. After a running convoy battle in which KRETSCHMER did not sleep for two days straight, he exhausted his torpedoes and set course for home. On the night of 18/19 October, Berndt escaped from the camp. Otto Kretschmer is a tall, very polite man with an air of gentle formality. He wants to be a naval officer. Only five survived. 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. Her eyes misted up and a smile came to her lips, and then she said; A canal ran along behind the Kretschmer house and here we see Mrs. Kretschmer feeding the ducks with their little Schnauzer Juli. Ezzel a teljestmnyvel kirdemelte a Tlgyfalombokkal s kardokkal . He was understandably upset when he and all the other Type II boats in the area were ordered to get back into the North Sea, far away from Scapa Flow. In his bunk, OTTO felt the sharp downward angle of the boat and was immediately on his feet as the bridge watch tumbled past him all by Schnee, and now green water was flooding through the open hatch from the Zentralle to the conning tower. [48] Kretschmer recommended his helmsman Stabsobersteuermann Heinrich Petersen for the Knight's Cross after twelve war patrols for saving U-99 from enemy detection. He demonstrated a cool approach to combat: his mantra one torpedo for one ship proved that the best way for his boat to succeed against a convoy was to remain surfaced as much as possible, penetrating the convoy and using the boats high speed and small silhouette to avoid retaliation. Laurentic of 18.724 brt and H.M.S. This was not OTTO KRETSCHMER! Not the crew of U-99. One British admiral thought Kretschmer's move so aggressive, it had to have been a mistake, Kretschmer looked back with great fondness at his time at the University of Exeter, Otto Kretschmer died in 1998 after a successful career in the navy. 19 men were killed in the sinking; only two were saved. 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. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. 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. He joined the German navy - the Reichsmarine - on April 1, 1930, as an officer candidate. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 4 September. [21] The next day, he sank Tiberton, 5,225GRT, in the Moray Firth. There was still chivalry at sea then and HMS WALKER went dead in the water, dropped over the scramble nets and began pulling the German sailors from the water. I was a lieutenant on U-35, in the second submarine flotilla, and together with U . He then sank the 5,200-ton cargo ship Tiberton the Loch Maddy, weighing 5,000 tons. The Greatest Submarine Commander of all time was Lothar von Arnaud de la Perrier who sank nearly 200 ships in World War One. Rsing's successor, Hermann Michahelles, was killed in a car accident and Kretschmer assumed command for two weeks. Otto Kretschmer. He was upset, but he was a proper officer and obeyed his orders. Kretschmer learned its identity from frantic radio signals. [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. Kretschmer ordered his U-boat to be turned around, and they rescued the lone sailor. [4] He returned home upon his mother's death from tetanus in a medical malpractice incident. So how was it that he was sunk? [2] In the aftermath of World War I the Kretschmer family remained aloof from the political turbulence of the Weimar era. Studies in Marine Corps History and Amphibious Warfare, Studies in Naval History and Sea Power series. Prepared by Stephen Ames. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began the war in Europe. Patroclus of 11.314 brt as well as the armed Britsish merchantman Casanare of 5.376 brt. [20] Another neutral Scandinavian ship was sunk. Kretschmer was released after seven years as a prisoner of war. Kretschmer was guided onto convoy OB-191. He was transported to the London Cage, a facility for MI19 to hold valuable enemy prisoners. Our DVD-56 features OTTO KRETSCHMER and you may get a glimpse of that DVD click here: SCENE 1 SCENE 2 SCENE 3, OTTO KRETSCHMER was with us for several of our Patrols in Germany and also in the USA. Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. For 13 days Kretschmer sailed without success. Otto had 4 siblings: Cecilie Hulda and 3 other siblings. 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. He then attended a training course (16 October 1957 28 February 1958) for amphibious forces in the United States. He commissioned U-99 on 18 April 1940 which was part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. He was aware that the battleship was in the Home Fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow and he was formulating a way to enter and sink the ship. During this time, he developed his own theory about submarine warfare. 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