Okay, back to the story of U-23 and HMS ROYAL OAK. The ship did not reach port. Six months later, on 15 December, he officially became Flottillenadmiral. Otto Kretschmer was the Watch Officer of U-35 from 03 November 1936 - 30 July 1937. Kretschmer stated that he was unmarried. During the Spanish Civil War, Kretschmer was involved in several patrols as part of the international non-intervention force. 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. 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. [9] Kretschmer joined the U-boat service in January 1936. U-99 tried in vain to assist Prien in U-47, against OB290. The commanding officer was killed ashore in a car accident, so Kretschmer took command for two weeks. Heinrich Bleichrodt hit and sank two. Otto Kretschmer. After completing his officer training and time on the training ship Niobe he served . In doing so, both the effectiveness and limitations of Kretschmers tactics are clarified and put into the context of the Battle of the Atlantic. Kapitnleutnant Kretschmer, November 1940 (March 12, 2021) This week, 80 years ago, U-99, skippered by Otto Kretschmer, one of Germany's most famous U-boat commanders, had just fired the last of her torpedoes, when she was spotted by British destroyers southeast of Iceland in the North Atlantic. He joined the German navy - the Reichsmarine - on April 1, 1930, as an officer candidate. 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. In 1955, MacIntyre returned the Zeiss binoculars to 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. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. That day, he was made chief-of-staff of the NATO command COMNAVBALTAP at Kiel, taking command on 15 June. Restore content access for purchases made as guest, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing & Allied Health, 48 hours access to article PDF & online version, Choose from packages of 10, 20, and 30 tokens, Can use on articles across multiple libraries & subject collections. On 3 August 1998, they were on a luxury cruise boat on the Donau (Danube) River celebrating their 50th (Golden) wedding anniversary. Miraculously, power was restored and it limped back to the surface. [9], On 27 August 1941, U-570 was captured by the Royal Navy. The renaming of the navy was a symbolic gesture, to erase the unpleasant memories of the 1920s and symbolise a new era. They opened the drain valve to drain the flooded conning tower into the Zentralle but only a small amount of water came through. Later in the war, his ship was torpedoed; before that he nursed a bent-nosed destroyer back to port after ramming a U-boat. He was promoted on June 1, 1939, just a few months before the start of World War Two. They fought Canadian troops armed with ice hockey sticks, and only surrendered when the guards brought in high-pressure water hoses. 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. Chivalry was still at work at this time and former enemies who had been killing each other the previous day could play cards together. 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. One morning on the breakfast patio at the KRETSCHMER home, OTTO was reading his newspaper while Mrs. Kretschmer and COOPER talked over breakfast tea. [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). 3099067 He then sank the 5,200-ton cargo ship Tiberton the Loch Maddy, weighing 5,000 tons. His wife was so devastated that she just gave up and died two years later, almost to the day. He wants to be a naval officer.". This was not OTTO KRETSCHMER! We use cookies to improve your website experience. Kretschmer sank six and disabled a seventh. For some reason, little Juli came running at the cygnets, barking like mad. [2] In the aftermath of World War I the Kretschmer family remained aloof from the political turbulence of the Weimar era. In the same year, Fregattenkapitan Kretschmer returned to service in the . [20] Another neutral Scandinavian ship was sunk. Why? 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. For 13 days Kretschmer sailed without success. [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. Later that year, he had a lucky escape which almost cost him his life. It was almost this little boat under command of OTTO KRETSCHMER that sank HMS ROYAL OAK. [Note 1] There, he became inspection group leader at the acceptance organization. Leather strap partially torn from case.- 2) Tasco 7x35 fully coated 304. His school report contained the remark: "Kretschmer demonstrated his extraordinary courage in many instances. I am sunking. Yep Sunking is the word he used. [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). An illegal "Court of Honour" was convened and headed by Kretschmer. Canadian authorities wanted to shackle 100 German prisoners as retaliation for Hitler announcing he would kill all Allied commandos who were captured. were transferred off and sent to Commanders School so they could command their own boats and KRETSCHMER asked for battle experienced officers as replacements. We will cover his accomplishments on another page. 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. With this result, Kapitnleutnant Kretschmer has reached . It is not possible to change the direction of a rapidly diving submarine at the wave of a hand, and so with Schnee on the bridge and both conning tower hatches fully open, U-23 disappeared beneath the North Sea. Instead, OKM sent him an administrative officer, H. J. von KNEBEL-DOBERITZ (681-1988) as his new I.W.O. The Norwegian Varild 1,085GRT was sunk east of the Shetland Islands. One attack saw him surface in the midst of a convoy before opening fire. On 4 October 1939 he sank the coastal ship Glen Farg (876GRT). Prien's reports were picked up by the Luftwaffe which sent Focke-Wulf Fw 200s from I. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 40 (KG4040th Bomber Wing) to attack the convoy. He had to return to port to repair the damage. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron) which he commanded from 3 January to 15 October 1957. He was eventually promoted to the rank of flotilla admiral, before becoming chief-of-staff of the NATO command. [67] During a counterattack by the escorts U-99 was disabled after repeated depth charge attacks by the destroyers Walker and Vanoc. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. There are as many reports, theories, and wild-eyed guesses as there are forums on the Internet most of which are pure speculation and fiction. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Note that OTTO KRETSCHMER (arrow) is wearing the regulation navy blue cap, not the traditional nut non-regulation White Cap. Kretschmer was subsequently awarded the Iron Cross second class. He sank four ships and damaged three. - 1998. augusztus 5.) Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. The air crews sank eight and damaged several more. [64] Four ships were sunk, but two U-boats were sunk, one of which was U-47. 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. [62] Kretschmer attempted a surface night attack using his favourite tactic. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began the war in Europe. Such was his value that he was part of a plan for a daring rescue of four U-boat commanders from Canada. Kretschmer ordered his U-boat to be turned around, and they rescued the lone sailor. Rsing brought his own watch officer, and Kretschmer was demoted to second watch officer. From September 1939 until being captured in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. [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. [79], In 1943, the German navy tried to rescue him in Operation Kiebitz but that daring plan (later dramatized in the novel The Bowmanville Break and the film, The McKenzie Break) failed. [71] Winston Churchill disclosed the capture of Kretschmer to the House of Commons on 21 March. Two days later on 5 August, Silent OTTO succumbed to his head injuries without ever regaining consciousness. He did not return to England from his hiatus, but travelled through France, Switzerland and Italy. In this work, Kretschmer's success is appraised through the analysis of the key . The sound of the depth charges nearby rattled von KNEBELand he dived the boat! It noted that the destroyers "did not know how to help" and busied themselves firing star shells on a moonlit night. [36] Kretschmer's tenth patrol (27 June21 July) yielded over 20,000GRT. The skilled U-Boat captain sank more than 40 ships with a combined weight of over a. 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. [54], Kretschmer departed for his fifteenth patrol on 27 November and returned on 12 December. The nomination was approved on 5 November 1940. After completing his officer training and time on the training ship Niobe he served aboard the light cruiser Emden. [37] After sinking Magogthe submarine's first victimKretschmer gave the crew a bottle of brandy and directions to Ireland. The Reichsmarine was renamed the Kriegsmarine, a Nazi creation. Studies in Marine Corps History and Amphibious Warfare, Studies in Naval History and Sea Power series. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. U-99 was returning from her seventh Feindfahrt (war patrol) and this was to be OTTOs last Feindfahrt. 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