[61] As with the group that eventually sank Kretschmer ten days later, they were experienced and competent. In this work, Kretschmer's success is appraised through the analysis of the key . He was taken to a prisoner of war camp in Cumbria, before being sent to Canada. He enrolled at Exeter University (then University College of the South West of England) and studied under Professor Jacob Wilhelm Schopp (b. 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. The ship had been torpedoed by U-57 and abandoned. 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. [37] After sinking Magogthe submarine's first victimKretschmer gave the crew a bottle of brandy and directions to Ireland. His greatest success came in August with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. Prien sank the ship the following day. U-99 was returning from her seventh Feindfahrt (war patrol) and this was to be OTTOs last Feindfahrt. [17], Kretschmer was promoted to Kapitnleutnant (Lieutenant/Lieutenant Senior Grade) on 1 June 1939.[9]. Click on the prints to see their descriptions. [19] A second patrol (921 September) yielded no success either. 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. The OKM was established as the supreme command of the navy responsible for all facets of naval warfare. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days. Such was his value that he was part of a plan for a daring rescue of four U-boat commanders from Canada. Unfortunately, his mother died from tetanus after a medical incident, so he returned home to be with his family. 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. I am sunking. Yep Sunking is the word he used. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. [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. Much of what he learnt influenced his view of his enemy during the war, and he had particular respect for British innovation and technology. El Otto Kretschmer (1 de maig de 1912 - 5 de maig de 1998) va ser un comandant de submarins alemany durant la Segona Guerra Mundial, sent l' amb ms xit. However, he was haunted by the image of a lone survivor in a life raft who would surely die if not rescued. Schnee had the con and OTTO was in his bunk. [36] Kretschmer's tenth patrol (27 June21 July) yielded over 20,000GRT. Death and burial ground of Kretschmer, Otto Wilhelm August "Silent Otto". [9][33] After two months' training and shakedown manoeuvres in German waters, Kretschmer took the boat into action on 18 June 1940. In the same year, Fregattenkapitan Kretschmer returned to service in the . Husband of Elsie Gertrude Kretschmer. "[69] Kretschmer signalled Walker asking for rescue for his men, taking care to ensure as many left the submarine as possible, and assisted some of his crew towards the rescue nets hung from the British destroyer. [70], Kretschmer and his crew were landed in Liverpool. His I.W.O. He mastered the English language and came to respect British education: its practical focus complemented his scientific and theoreticalbased German background. [23] Kretschmer targeted the Danish Scotia, a 2,400GRT on 7 December. 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. Only five sailors survived. [59], On 22 February 1941 U-99 left Lorient for the final time. This was the first ever in the history of warfare that a submarine was detected on sound gear, tracked by sound gear, attacked by sound gear and destroyed all by the use of the sound gear. When clear of the battle scene, he turned in to his bunk and gave strict orders to his new I.W.O. Three days later he departed for his seventh war patrol. Kretschmer achieved good results in mathematics and chemistry and passed his Abitur (school-leaving certificate) at 17. The report contained the remark, "Kretschmer demonstrated his extraordinary courage in many instances. After sinking the Magog, he gave his crew brandy as a reward. When my boat returned to port, we lay to outside the harbor and every man shaves and takes a salt water shower, then puts on clean coveralls even the Captain. We do not come into port looking like pirates with dirty uniforms, untrimmed beards and with legs hanging over the side. Haunted by him, Kretschmer ordered the boat to backtrack until the survivor was found. [24] Following this patrol, he received the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 17 December. Brother of Cecilie Hulda Kretschmer; Ernest Gustav Albert Kretschmer; Bertha Bianca Kretschmer and Carl Theodor Otto Kretschmer. This is a trusted computer. [53] In December Kretschmer tried to intercept Convoy HX 90 but encountered only stragglers. Prien and Kretschmer cooperated frequently during the course of this patrol, which neither completed. [18], From 1 March to 31 October 1958, Kretschmer served as Admiralstabsoffizier (Astoofficer of the admiralty staff) with the Fleet Command. [72], Once in London, Royal Navy interrogators questioned the crew. 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. In 1943, the men dug a tunnel out of the camp ahead of an 870-mile journey across Canada to New Brunswick. [66], On 16 March 1941 Kretschmer attacked Convoy HX 112. Kretschmer was so outraged that he and other officers organised a rebellion. A young RN ensign was removing the binoculars from around KRETSCHMERs neck when MacIntyre yelled down that those were now his binoculars as a prize of war, so the young ensign brought them to the bridge. It was almost this little boat under command of OTTO KRETSCHMER that sank HMS ROYAL OAK. On 3 August 1998, they were on a luxury cruise boat on the Donau (Danube) River celebrating their 50th (Golden) wedding anniversary. Kretschmer formed part of "Crew 30" (the incoming class of 1930), 78strong intake of officer candidates. [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. COOPER returned to the bus, instructed everyone to check into their room then come right down to the dining room for the evening meal. The boat slipped beneath the waves, leaving him stranded in freezing waters. 1999-2020 Sharkhunters International. Kretschmer was also involved in the Battle of Bowmanville. [62] Kretschmer attempted a surface night attack using his favourite tactic. [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 attempted to sink the ship with gunfire, but return fire and the appearance of an aircraft forced him to submerge. Here, however, we focus on OTTO KRETSCHMER, the man. A prize crew boarded to sail it to Bordeaux. He was given the opportunity to convey his opinions on the state of the U-boat war. A British intelligence report on him said: "His political views were less extremely Nazi than had been assumed. Pyers Symon. Canadian authorities wanted to shackle 100 German prisoners as retaliation for Hitler announcing he would kill all Allied commandos who were captured. 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. 8x40 model no. Does not come with case. Kretschmer then met Hitler at the Reich Chancellery and he repeated his opinions on the war situation. 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 wife were already in the dining room. OTTO reached into the torrent, grabbed the lanyard and slammed the hatch but where was Schnee? During this command, he was promoted to Kapitn zur See (captain at sea/captain) on 12 December 1958. Kretschmer stated that he was unmarried.". He continued to serve as Watch Officer of U-35 until 30 September 1937. It noted that the destroyers "did not know how to help" and busied themselves firing star shells on a moonlit night. 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. Paterson: Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat captain of the Second World War, and the term 'scoring' relates to the total tonnage of shipping that he sank while commander of both U23 and U99. Otto Kretschmer (Straubing, 1912. mjus 1. The next day, Kretschmer was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse). For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes . That same day the British escorts scored another success against the Kriegsmarine when the noted U-boat skipper Joachim Schepke was killed aboard U-100, having been depth charged, rammed and sunk by Vanoc. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron) which he commanded from 3 January to 15 October 1957. 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. 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. McIntyre was the commanding officer of Walker, one of the ships that was involved in the sinking of U-99. Its commander, Hugo Frster, was repatriated to Germany and committed suicide before the end of the war. Heinrich Bleichrodt hit and sank two. Otto married Elsie, Gertrude Kretschmer. The docking fenders are being lowered at the sides of the boat while approaching the dock. 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. Although he fought doggedly for Nazi Germany during the war, his affection for Exeter remained with him until his death. [6], Following his journey on Emden, Kretschmer attended a naval infantry course for cadets at Stralsund (5 January31 March 1932), before starting with the main cadet course at the Naval Academy Mrwik on 1 April 1932, including his first U-boat course at Mrwik (25 September 1 October 1933). The boat went to the yard for repairs and OTTO left no doubt that he wanted his boat and his crew back at sea in the shortest possible time. Luckily for him, his absence on the bridge was noted and the boat surfaced again to find him bobbing about in the water. 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. He dispensed with the standard practice of firing salvoes of torpedoes from long distances. 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. [64] Four ships were sunk, but two U-boats were sunk, one of which was U-47. . 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. 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. Kretschmer experienced The crew abandoned ship and were questioned by Kretschmer. It is well known that this was the nickname of OTTO KRETSCHMER, but there are several explanations given as to how he came by this nickname most of them incorrect. The nomination was approved on 5 November 1940. 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. Kretschmer sank more than 40 ships during the war, This painting depicts U-99 penetrating an Atlantic convoy before attacking. [41] A notable failure on the patrol occurred in the interception of HMS Manistee. I was a lieutenant on U-35, in the second submarine flotilla, and together with U . 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 and song or whatever. OTTO felt a sudden rush of air out of the open hatch past him and the boat was going down quickly. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? [63] On 7 March Kretschmer sank two ships from the convoy including the 20,638GRT Terje Viken. His brother was later killed in action. (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. The crew were permitted ashore at the resort town of San Sebastin. One signalman sent a message to the escorts "we are sinking" and the firing stopped. Kretschmer sank one and damaged twowhich he and Prien dispatched the following day. 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. The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 4 September. Gustav Albert Kretschmer ; Bertha Bianca Kretschmer and Carl Theodor OTTO Kretschmer and chemistry and passed his Abitur school-leaving! ; s success is appraised through the analysis of the ships that was involved in the interception HMS... Bridge was noted and the political backdrop from his earliest days torpedoed by U-57 and abandoned with! Definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days ships during the course this. Kapitnleutnant ( Lieutenant/Lieutenant Senior Grade ) on 1 June 1939. 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