Okay, back to the story of U-23 and 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. The officers were also taken to the prisoner-of-war camp at Grizedale Hall. From September 1939 until his surrender in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. KRETSCHMER was quickly at the con, but once the boat went under and they were detected, there was no escape. Heinrich Bleichrodt hit and sank two. BACK TO ADVISORS PAGE. Register to receive personalised research and resources by email. This was not OTTO KRETSCHMER! 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 boat slipped beneath the waves, leaving him stranded in freezing waters. He commissioned U-99 on 18 April 1940 which was part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. OTTO and his wife were already in the dining room. He did not return to England from his hiatus, but travelled through France, Switzerland and Italy. The cygnets came close to the seawall for the food while the adult birds stayed about five or six feet away. [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 air crews sank eight and damaged several more. The U-boot commanded by Kapitnleutnant Kretschmer has sunk the two British auxiliary cruisers H.M.S. In doing so, both the effectiveness and limitations of Kretschmers tactics are clarified and put into the context of the Battle of the Atlantic. . HMS WALKER had drifted several hundred yards from the spot U-99 had disappeared and, still wearing his full set of leathers AND sea boots (filled with water), OTTO made the difficult swim to HMS WALKER only to grab onto the scramble nets as the destroyer was beginning to pick up speed they didnt know he was on the nets! Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. 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. [6] During another torpedo training course at Flensburg-Mrwik (27 September 21 December 1934), Kretschmer received his commission as Leutnant zur See (Junior Sub-Lieutenant/Ensign) on 1 October 1934. Shortly after he surrendered, OTTO KRETSCHMER fell asleep in an overstuffed chair in the Captains cabin on HMS WALKER. As the passengers got into the lifeboats, OTTO noticed a great number of women and children. Leather strap partially torn from case.- 2) Tasco 7x35 fully coated 304. Ezzel a teljestmnyvel kirdemelte a Tlgyfalombokkal s kardokkal . Kretschmer indulged in sporting pastimes and scientific interests. At the time, Kretschmer was president of the Deutscher Marinebund, a member club of the International Maritime Confederation. Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. [41] A notable failure on the patrol occurred in the interception of HMS Manistee. The crew were permitted ashore at the resort town of San Sebastin. It was not this way with U-99. 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. I obey the rules. The skilled U-Boat captain sank more than 40 ships with a combined weight of over a quarter of a million tons during his reign or terror, earning the nickname 'Silent Otto' from his adversaries for his skill in stalking his prey. Husband of Elsie Gertrude Kretschmer. During the Spanish Civil War, Kretschmer was involved in several patrols as part of the international non-intervention force. Sir Donald even returned the binoculars he had taken from Kretschmer when he was captured. After completing his officer training and time on the training ship Niobe he served . One signalman sent a message to the escorts "we are sinking" and the firing stopped. [22], The fourth patrol (19 November) was unsuccessful. 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. 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. 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. "He spoke English quite well, though he lacked practice. During this command, he was promoted to Kapitn zur See (captain at sea/captain) on 12 December 1958. 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. We use cookies to improve your website experience. [Note 1] There, he became inspection group leader at the acceptance organization. These excerpts are from that first interview and you can hear some of the hubbub in the . Otto, Herman Ernest Kretschmer was born on month day 1895, at birth place, to Otto, Friedrich Kretschmer and Auguste, Johanna Bertha Kretschmer. Kretschmer ordered his U-boat to be turned around, and they rescued the lone sailor. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? Three of his men were lost, but Kretschmer and the remainder of U-99's crew were captured. 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. Otto Kretschmer. "He admitted that he had become weary of the war some time ago, and latterly had got no satisfaction from sinking ship after ship.". All 33 men aboard died. His nickname Silent Otto referred to his ability to remain undetected and his reluctance to provide the regular radio reports required by Dnitz: he had guessed that the Allies had broken German codes. Three days later he departed for his seventh war patrol. There were no deaths among the crew. What he and the other Skippers of the Type II boats who were ordered to stand well away from Scapa Flow and the Orkney Islands did not know was that the planned operation was already in motion for the Type VII-B boat, U-47 to make this attack. Otto Kretschmer - nicknamed 'Silent Otto' by his enemies - sank hundreds of thousands of tons of Allied shipping during a brutal U-boat campaign, Sign up for our Exeter newsletter and you'll never miss a big story again. He then caused havoc in the rest of the convoy, winning him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Why his average daily tonnage sinking equaled that of de la Perrier. Only five survived. The first watch is at attention on the foredeck and the second watch is at attention on the after deck. Kretschmer was guided onto convoy OB-191. 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). As OTTO said;I am a Prussian officer; we are not pirates!. 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. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days. [35] U-99's first patrol ended in Wilhelmshaven on 25 June. 8x40 model no. Kretschmer stated that he was unmarried. He spoke English quite well, though he lacked practice. 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. They fought Canadian troops armed with ice hockey sticks, and only surrendered when the guards brought in high-pressure water hoses. His brother was later killed in action. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. He mastered the English language and came to respect British education: its practical focus complemented his scientific and theoreticalbased German background. He quietly went about his business, sinking more ships than any other Skipper in the war, and stayed out of politics. "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. 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). Kretschmer was presented with an opportunity to put his "one torpedo, one ship" mantra into practice. His greatest success came in August with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. He was given the opportunity to convey his opinions on the state of the U-boat war. It went passed its crushing depth of 700m, and all looked lost. She told COOPER that he was such a fine man that she knew there would never be another like him. Kretschmer was subsequently awarded the Iron Cross second class. [61] As with the group that eventually sank Kretschmer ten days later, they were experienced and competent. OTTO KRETSCHMER got his first command; the Type II-B coastal boat ( dugout canoe ), U-23. The Life of Germany's Highest Scoring U-boat Commander. In fact, out of 116 torpedoes fired in action, Kretschmer scored 74 hits (equivalent to a 69.8% success rate). [9], On 27 August 1941, U-570 was captured by the Royal Navy. COOPER returned to the bus, instructed everyone to check into their room then come right down to the dining room for the evening meal. From September 1939 until being captured in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. [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. German radio acknowledged the capture and the death of Schepke. At 2250hrs on 3 November, 1940, one of the most dramatic battles of the U-boat war began. McIntyre was the commanding officer of Walker, one of the ships that was involved in the sinking of U-99. Kretschmer sank all but one of the ships lost by the convoy. Kretschmer was born in Heidau in what is now part of Poland, but then belonged to Germany. For 13 days Kretschmer sailed without success. [9] Kretschmer joined the U-boat service in January 1936. Kretschmer and U-23 had departed from Wilhelmshaven on 25 August, one week before the start of World War II. OTTO peered over the top of his newspaper and said;Juli is happy. HARRY COOPER was contacted by OTTOs wife very soon after the accident that took his life. [20] Another neutral Scandinavian ship was sunk. On 16 June 1956, he was tasked with the creation of 1. [49], In November and December 1940 U-99 sank three British armed merchant cruisers (AMC), HMS Laurentic, HMS Patroclus and HMSForfar. He departed from Wilhelmshaven for his eighth war patrol on 9 February. Second World War (1939-1945) Awarded on: November 4th, 1940. He wants to be a naval officer. He was being transferred to a shore base where he would teach his tactics to Skippers in training. The German crew failed to sink the stationary vessel with torpedoes while the weather ruled out the use of the gun. Six months later, on 15 December, he officially became Flottillenadmiral. The report contained the remark, "Kretschmer demonstrated his extraordinary courage in many instances. The ship sank slowly. 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. Does not come with case. [69] Kretschmer surfaced and, under fire from the British vessels, scuttled his boat. Under water U-99 had no chance of catching her. A British intelligence report on him said: "His political views were less extremely Nazi than had been assumed. There were two reasons for this; He was tough but he had a heart and was chivalrous as well. Otto married Elsie, Gertrude Kretschmer. 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. 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. [65] British reports of the action mention a large red glow appearing deep below the surface amid the depth charge explosions. 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! Kretschmer was also involved in the Battle of Bowmanville. [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. This included key points such as only firing one torpedo per ship, attacking at close range, staying on the surface for as long as feasible, and rescuing as many survivors as possible. [9], In 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. OTTO felt a sudden rush of air out of the open hatch past him and the boat was going down quickly. 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