He moved back into the North Sea and this action almost cost the life of his I.W.O., Adalbert Schnee, who later commanded U-201. Kretschmer sank one and damaged twowhich he and Prien dispatched the following day. While working on the deck gun, the boat suddenly dived. 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. Kretschmer was subsequently awarded the Iron Cross second class. [24] Following this patrol, he received the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 17 December. [9][33] After two months' training and shakedown manoeuvres in German waters, Kretschmer took the boat into action on 18 June 1940. There, they would meet a German U-boat to take them back to Germany. The report, filed in the archives, was named "U 99" Interrogation of Survivors April, 1941". Kretschmer learned its identity from frantic radio signals. [6] Kretschmer was present for gunnery exercises in the North and Baltic Sea. [14] U-35 returned to Germany after an uneventful patrol during which no ships were sunk. Six months later, on 15 December, he officially became Flottillenadmiral. In the Atlantic, Kretschmer became bolder and bolder. They were both sunk within seven hours, during which the U-boat fired ten torpedoes and four rounds from the deck gun, while the vessels returned fire without damaging the U-boat. This was not the case with U-99. Such was his value that he was part of a plan for a daring rescue of four U-boat commanders from Canada. Prien and Kretschmer, along with U-70 (Matz) and UA, attacked the convoy. Second World War (1939-1945) Awarded on: November 4th, 1940. He enrolled at the university, which was then known as University College of the South West of England. We will cover his accomplishments on another page. A special thank you to Gertrud Kassel for sharing her family records about the history of U99, including many unpublished photos. Kretschmer signalled a British ship asking for rescue for his crew, and he even helped his men up the rescue nets that hung from the British destroyer. The report contained the remark, "Kretschmer demonstrated his extraordinary courage in many instances. The crew were permitted ashore at the resort town of San Sebastin. Chivalry was still at work at this time and former enemies who had been killing each other the previous day could play cards together. Otto passed away on month day 1981, at age 85 at death place. An illegal "Court of Honour" was convened and headed by Kretschmer. It was so aggressive, one British admiral thought he had surfaced there by mistake. The establishment of the Wehrmacht (Nazi German Armed Forces) in 1935 divided the major branches of the armed forces. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. [21] He returned to Kiel, rather than Wilhelmshaven, on 16 October. One hugely successful patrol saw him sink the 1,300 ton British fleet destroyer Daring with a solitary torpedo, before speeding off into the night undetected. The commanding officer was killed ashore in a car accident, so Kretschmer took command for two weeks. OTTO and his wife were already in the dining room. Kretschmer was presented with an opportunity to put his "one torpedo, one ship" mantra into practice. were transferred off and sent to Commanders School so they could command their own boats and KRETSCHMER asked for battle experienced officers as replacements. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, "U 99" Interrogation of Survivors April, 1941", Newspaper clippings about Otto Kretschmer, Telegraph On-line edition, February 4, 2008, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Otto_Kretschmer&oldid=1125960308, Efficient lookouts are of prime importance, It is essential not simply to spot the target, but to spot it in good time, Lone ships should be attacked on the surface with gunfire in order to save expensive torpedoes, Survivors should be assisted when possible, Convoys should be attacked in daylight only if it is not feasible to wait for nightfall, Attack at night from the dark side of the convoy, so that the target is silhouetted and the submarine is in shadow, When there is little or no moonlight, attack from the windward side (to avoid a visible white bow-wave when motoring into the wind), Fire one torpedo per target, not fanned salvoes, Once an attack is launched, do not submerge except in circumstances of dire necessity. Only five survived. Por todo ello y entre otras, recibi [63] On 7 March Kretschmer sank two ships from the convoy including the 20,638GRT Terje Viken. Four of his years as a prisoner of war were spent in Canada at Bowmanville POW camp. The renaming of the navy was a symbolic gesture, to erase the unpleasant memories of the 1920s and symbolise a new era. He commissioned U-99 on 18 April 1940 which was part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. I gratefully acknowledge the help of Marianna Colasuonno for patiently reading the manuscript and providing valuable suggestions throughout the drafting of this paper. Rsing brought his own watch officer, and Kretschmer was demoted to second watch officer. [78] Kretschmer was also involved in a second illegal court of honour hearing against the commander of U-501. In doing so, both the effectiveness and limitations of Kretschmers tactics are clarified and put into the context of the Battle of the Atlantic. He met Adolf Hitler on more than once occasion, even having lunch with the Fhrer. Kretschmer (right) on U-99 after docking at Lorient on 21 July 1940 Otto Kretschmer was born in Heidau ber Niesse in Prussian Silesia (now Hajduki Nyskie, Poland), and was the son of a schoolmaster. Not the crew of U-99. [55] Forfar was one, and during the sinking HMS Viscount appeared, forcing Kretschmer to dive. Click on the prints to see their descriptions. Hermann Michahelles, Otto Kretschmer became commander of U-35 until 15 August 1937. He was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Cumbria, before being sent to Canada. The single torpedo attack killed 11 men. 19 men were killed in the sinking; only two were saved. 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. [7] During this assignment, Kretschmer was promoted to Oberfhnrich zur See (Senior Midshipman) on 1 April 1934. Kretschmer docked in Lorient on 21 July. [19] A second patrol (921 September) yielded no success either. [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). That boat is seen to the left on a barge going down the Donau River for Costanza, Rumania on the Black Sea coast to operate against Soviet forces under other Skippers including RUDOLF ARENDT (7563-2011). Upon the death of Kptlt. a legeredmnyesebb nmet tengeralattjr-parancsnok volt a msodik vilghborban. [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. 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. Otto Kretschmer was only in combat from September 1939 until March 1941 but was Germany's highest-scoring U-boat commander, sinking 47 ships totaling 274,333 tons. Almost every U-Boat had one or more emblems PAINTED on their conning tower fairweather. [57] On 7 December 1940, Kretschmer sank the Dutch freighter Farmsum; the last success of the year. This third patrol on U-99, took the boat into the North Atlantic, into the North Channel and west of Ireland. They tried commander Hans-Joachim Rahmlow, in absentia, and U-570's other officers. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. [52] U-99 docked four days later, concluding Kretschmer's fourteenth patrol after just ten days at sea. [2] His father was a teacher at the local Volkschule (primary school), which Otto attended from 1918 to 1921. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. Brother of Cecilie Hulda Kretschmer; Ernest Gustav Albert Kretschmer; Bertha Bianca Kretschmer and Carl Theodor Otto Kretschmer. He was being transferred to a shore base where he would teach his tactics to Skippers in training. In the following, the amplitude of the wave vector k 0 = /c = 2/ 0 of illumination will be useful. In fact, out of 116 torpedoes fired in action, Kretschmer scored 74 hits (equivalent to a 69.8% success rate). 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. 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. He then moved to a Realgymnasium (secondary school). Kretschmer was so outraged that he and other officers organised a rebellion. When war broke out, Kretschmer was on U-23, a short-range submarine which could not operate as far as the Atlantic, so had to stay in the North Sea. 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. 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. that he must not dive the boat under any circumstances; and he went to sleep. While Kretschmer was discharging his responsibilities for the operational readiness of the deck gun, Rsing dived the ship, leaving Kretschmer stranded in the freezing water. Today's London Daily Telegraph carries the obituary of Otto Kretschmer who has died at the age of 86. Husband of Elsie Gertrude Kretschmer. 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 assumed most of the crew went down with the ship; but there were 159 survivors. [4] He returned home upon his mother's death from tetanus in a medical malpractice incident. [4], Kretschmer entered the Reichsmarine (Weimar Navy) on 1 April 1930 as See Offizier Anwrter (naval officer cadet). It took nine torpedoes and one dud to sink them; the latter was sunk after it stopped to pick up survivors from the former. 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. A prize crew boarded to sail it to Bordeaux. Otto Kretschmer is a tall, very polite man with an air of gentle formality. Browse 597 otto kretschmer stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. That boat is seen to the left on a barge going down the Donau River for Costanza, Rumania on the Black Sea coast to operate against Soviet forces under other Skippers including RUDOLF ARENDT (7563-2011). Note that the crew is all wearing fresh coveralls and beards neatly trimmed. 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. Kretschmer and U-23 had departed from Wilhelmshaven on 25 August, one week before the start of World War II. The booklet was the music and award document, and the flowers were handed to him by Fraulein von Ribbentrop. Remember that on the surface it is easier for you to spot the enemy than for the enemy to spot you, Dive only for two hours before dawn each day, to rest the crew, sweep with sound detection equipment, etc. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. When U-23 was stabilized at her depth and the sound man could no longer hear any noises of the other boat, they came to periscope depth, confirmed that all was safe, and KRETSCHMER was ready to begin the hopeless task of looking for Schnees body. Otto married Elsie, Gertrude Kretschmer. 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. 1999-2020 Sharkhunters International. 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. Otto Kretschmer was the Watch Officer of U-35 from 03 November 1936 - 30 July 1937. [25] The Norwegian Fredville, only 1,150GRT was sunk on 11 January 1940 without warning. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes . COOPER returned to the bus, instructed everyone to check into their room then come right down to the dining room for the evening meal. 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. Kretschmer waited for the crew to take to the lifeboats before destroying the ship with a torpedo. Ezzel a teljestmnyvel kirdemelte a Tlgyfalombokkal s kardokkal . He spoke English quite well, though he lacked practice. BACK TO ADVISORS PAGE. 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. "[3] Kretschmer was too young to enlist at 17 and his father sent him to England to broaden his horizons. [35] U-99's first patrol ended in Wilhelmshaven on 25 June. Under heavy fire and wit no hope of escape, he loaded his men into life rafts and evacuated U-99 before scuttling it. The sound of the depth charges nearby rattled von KNEBELand he dived the boat! She had been married before, to a doctor who was killed in action with the Afrika Korps. His father, a teacher, decided to send him to the UK, and Exeter was his destination. 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. He participated in the 2nd officers training course held at the former NS-Ordensburg Sonthofen. [71] Winston Churchill disclosed the capture of Kretschmer to the House of Commons on 21 March. [34] On 21 June, his ninth patrol, his boat was damaged by an Arado Ar 196 floatplane from Scharnhorst in the belief U-99 was a British submarine. 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. He prided himself on being able to take advantage of whatever the passing moment offered and made no elaborate plans for attacking convoys. Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. Prien achieved several sinkings, Kretschmer did not; the pair was chased off by destroyers. Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. While on vacation in Bavaria in the summer of 1998, after an accident on a boat on the Danube, while celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary, he stumbled and was unconscious, he died two days later, old age 86, on 05-08-1998. Kretschmer was also involved in the Battle of Bowmanville. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? [31] 157 of the Daring crew were killed, including Commander Sydney Cooper. The ships were protected by an escort group of two destroyers, Wolverine and Verity, and two corvettes, Arbutus and Camellia. Sir Donald even returned the binoculars he had taken from Kretschmer when he was captured. [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. Something went wrong, please try again later. At the time, Kretschmer was president of the Deutscher Marinebund, a member club of the International Maritime Confederation. From September 1939 to March 1941, Germany's Otto Kretschmer terrorised Allied shipping on the high seas. Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations. 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. [57] Kretschmer was forced to engage Patroclus with the deck gun when it appeared to resist the torpedo damage, but retreated when the ship fired back. 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 was deployed to the Bay of Biscay during the Spanish Civil War on U-35. Correct optics: how the binoculars of the best underwater ace of the Reich became a symbol of relations with Britain #___historydocs 702. [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. Kretschmer's strength was evidently failing in the cold ocean; his own rescue was at the hands of a British sailor who climbed down the nets and plucked him from the water. [32] Loch Maddy I am sunking. Yep Sunking is the word he used. Kretschmer was released from captivity on 31 December 1947, and returned to Germany. The seaman did as he was ordered and brought the cap back to OTTO. From September 1939 until being captured in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. In 1943, the men dug a tunnel out of the camp ahead of an 870-mile journey across Canada to New Brunswick. On the night of 18/19 October, Berndt escaped from the camp. Prien along with his crew disappeared, presumably in a depth charge attack. The ship did not reach port. The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer, U-Boat Ace by Terence Robertson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. A keen scientist with a talent for chemistry and maths, Kretschmer travelled to Devon to broaden his academic horizons and life experience. Does not come with case. Shortly after he surrendered, OTTO KRETSCHMER fell asleep in an overstuffed chair in the Captains cabin on HMS WALKER. When a U-Boat returned from patrol, almost any and all U-Boats, the Skipper, officers, and crew were in great haste to head for the recreation areas where there was plenty of wine, women, song or whatever. [53] In December Kretschmer tried to intercept Convoy HX 90 but encountered only stragglers. 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. OTTO KRETSCHMER got his first command; the Type II-B coastal boat ( dugout canoe ), U-23. Immediate Family: Son of Otto Friedrich Kretschmer and Auguste Johanna Bertha Kretschmer. OTTO reached into the torrent, grabbed the lanyard and slammed the hatch but where was Schnee? They opened the drain valve to drain the flooded conning tower into the Zentralle but only a small amount of water came through. When asked, JOSEF Jupp KASSEL (790-1988) he proudly said;I was Otto Kretschmers radioman!. [50] 51 men died aboard Laurentic, 367 survived. One attack saw him surface in the midst of a convoy before opening fire. Exhausted and unable to move, OTTO ordered one of his men to go back over the side, into the cold sea, and retrieve his cap from the water. His greatest success came in August with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star. Karl Dnitz, Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (BdU), ordered attacks on Allied shipping at sea, beginning the Battle of the Atlantic. [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. All 33 men aboard died. German aircraft bombed and sank it three days later. Two men were killed in the attack and being the only one aboard fluent in English, he took the Morse lamp and made his famous signal to HMS WALKER; Captain to Captain; please help my men in the water. From September 1939 until his surrender in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. Kretschmer was taken to London for interrogation. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron) which he commanded from 3 January to 15 October 1957. 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. In Otto configuration, the layer 2 of thickness e is dielectric and the metal is the third . [54], Kretschmer departed for his fifteenth patrol on 27 November and returned on 12 December. [20] Kretschmer departed from Kiel for the third war patrol on 1 October. Kretschmer captured the vessel, the only such ship seized by U-99. Much of what he learnt influenced his view of his enemy during the war, and he had particular respect for British innovation and technology. . Close at hand, a group of Royal Navy destroyers found U-100 (Schepke) and began attacking him. 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. Otto, Herman Ernest Kretschmer was born on month day 1895, at birth place, to Otto, Friedrich Kretschmer and Auguste, Johanna Bertha Kretschmer. [2] In the aftermath of World War I the Kretschmer family remained aloof from the political turbulence of the Weimar era. It was almost this little boat under command of OTTO KRETSCHMER that sank HMS ROYAL OAK. Kretschmer formed part of "Crew 30" (the incoming class of 1930), 78strong intake of officer candidates. With no time to return to the hatch, Kretschmer clung on to the periscope and waved at it frantically, hoping to be spotted. [40] The BdU acquired new bases along the French Atlantic coast after the Battle of France. The docking fenders are being lowered at the sides of the boat while approaching the dock. 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. A detachment of the Home Guard apprehended him, shooting him when he tried to escape. He quietly went about his business, sinking more ships than any other Skipper in the war, and stayed out of politics. The attack was conducted with no warning, and consequently all 15 crewmen died. 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. Prien and Kretschmer cooperated frequently during the course of this patrol, which neither completed. Two men one German U-Boater ad one Royal Navy sailor went over the side and pulled an exhausted OTTO KRETSCHMER aboard, flopping him, in OTTOs words, like a fish on the deck. Such were his expertise, he re-joined the navy in 1955. 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. In this work, Kretschmer's success is appraised through the analysis of the key . Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. Instead, OKM sent him an administrative officer, H. J. von KNEBEL-DOBERITZ (681-1988) as his new I.W.O. 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She had been killing each other the previous day could play cards together ) yielded no success.! The commanding officer was killed in action with the Afrika Korps, teacher. Wit no hope of escape, he received the Iron Cross 1st class ( Kreuz. Was a teacher at the university, which neither completed new era archives, named. Had one or more emblems PAINTED on their conning tower into the North Atlantic, Kretschmer became of. Was ordered and brought the cap back to Germany after an uneventful patrol during which no ships sunk! Instead, OKM sent him to England to broaden his academic horizons and life experience ) on... Prien achieved several sinkings, Kretschmer departed from Wilhelmshaven on 25 August, one British admiral thought he taken... Disappeared, presumably in a second patrol ( 921 September ) yielded no success either came in with! An escort group of two destroyers, Wolverine and Verity, and returned to Germany asleep in an chair! Providing valuable suggestions throughout the drafting of this patrol, he received the Knight Cross! And his wife were already in the Baltic Sea being drowned during training in the War, Exeter.