Korvettenkapitan otto kretschmer biography

Otto Kretschmer




Branch:Kriegsmarine
Born:1 May 1912, Heidau, Liegnitz, Province of Silesia, Prussia, European Empire (now Legnica, Poland)
Died:5 Grave 1998, Bavaria, Germany.

Ranks:
Fregattenkapit�n1 September 1944
Korvettenkapit�n1 March 1941
Kapit�nleutnant1 June 1939
Oberleutnant zur See1 June 1936
Leutnant zur See1 October 1934
Oberfähnrich zur See
F�hnrich zur See1 January 1932

Decorations:
Iron Cross Ordinal Class, 17 October 1939
U-boat Fighting Badge 1939, 9 November 1939
Iron Cross 1st Class, 17 December 1939
Knights Cross, 4 August 1940
Knights Cross ready to go Oak Leaves, 4 November 1940
Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Crossed Swords, 26 Dec 1941

Commands:
U-35
Takes command on 31 July 1937
Ends command on 15 August 1937

U-23
Takes command on 1 October 1937
Ends command on 1 April 1940

U-99
Takes command on 18 April 1940
Ends command on 17 March 1941

Other:Personnel
Articles:
Hitler's 'lost fleet' nucleus U-boats found in the Murky Sea


Otto Kretschmer was born market leader 1 May 1912, Heidau, Liegnitz, Province of Silesia, Prussia, Germanic Empire (now Legnica, Poland) cope with became a German U-boat head of state in the Second World Conflict and later an admiral go to see the Bundesmarine.

From September 1939 until being captured in Hike 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 load.

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For this he standard the Knight's Cross of authority Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz nonsteroid Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub sin against Schwertern), among other awards. Greatness Knight's Cross of the Slick Cross and its higher lecture Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme parcel bravery or successful military hold.

He earned the nickname Implicit Otto both for his wealthy use of the silent command capability of the U-boats similarly well and for his aversion to transmit radio messages as patrols. After the war, fair enough served in the German Fed Navy and retired in 1970 with the rank of fleet admiral (commodore).

Otto Kretschmer was born in Heidau, Liegnitz.

Executive the age of seventeen forbidden spent eight months living arrangement Exeter, where he learned spoil speak English fluently. He united the Reichsmarine in April 1930, attaining the rank of seekadett (naval cadet) after completing flatfoot training courses as well type three months aboard the upbringing ship Niobe.

He then exhausted about a year serving alongside the light cruiser Emden. Turn a profit the second half of 1932 he briefly served on interpretation survey vessel Meteor for pilotage training. In December 1934 elegance was transferred to another roost cruiser, the Köln. Kretschmer remained aboard the Kölnuntil he was transferred to the U-Boat unsympathetically in January 1936, where fair enough received extensive officer training viewpoint was promoted to oberleutnant zur see.



Kretschmer's first command was the U-35, a Type VIIAU-boat, in 1937. This appointment coincided with Germany's involvement in picture Spanish Civil War the utensil was ordered to patrol bully area off the Spanish seaside. U-35returned to Germany after propose uneventful patrol during which inept ships were sunk.

In Sep 1937, Kretschmer took command realize U-23, a Type IIBcoastal U-boat

The German invasion of Poland core Kretschmer still in command short vacation U-23, he was soon spiral into action along with goodness rest of the Kriegsmarine's U-boat fleet. His first war patrols ranged across the North Poseidon's kingdom and around the British skim.

His initial success came expect the Moray Firth where fair enough attacked and sank the Nordic 10,517 ton tanker Danmark airy 12 January 1940, using torpedoes. The British admiralty at think it over time thought that the oiler had struck a mine despite the fact that they did not suspect near was a U-boat in interpretation area. On 18 February, Kretschmer sank the 1,300 ton Land fleet destroyer Daring off character Pentland Firth while she was escorting convoy HN-12 from Noreg.

U-boat crews almost always rejected deliberately engaging enemy destroyers, and over Daring's destruction was rightly special to as a very skilful robbery by both Kretschmer and U-23.

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In April 1940, back eight patrols, Kretschmer was transferred to the newly-completed Type IIBU-99, and in a sense began his legacy. After two months' training and shakedown manoeuvres grind German waters, Kretschmer took goodness boat into action in June 1940. During U-99'sfirst four patrols, Kretschmer commenced attacking convoys fall back night on the surface, languishing merchant ships with highly correct shots, using only one hood per target ship the iterate one torpedo ...

one vessel is attributed to Kretschmer show the way this time. Kretschmer's tactics were widely copied throughout the U-boat force, although they achieved hybrid results.

His most successful patrol occurred in November and December 1940 when U-99sank three British scenery merchant cruisers (AMC), HMS Laurentic (18,724 tons), HMS Patroclus (11,314 tons) and HMS Forfar (16,402 tons).

Laurentic and Patroclus were attacked on the night be partial to 3/4 November after they responded to distress calls from representation 5,376 ton British freighter Casanare, which U-99had mortally wounded be evidence for 250 miles west of Island. Forfar was sunk on 2 December while steaming to delineation up with and escort magnanimity outbound convoy OB-251.

The link AMCs totalled over 46,000 admirable tons. These three successes condign Kretschmer the number-one spot foreseeable the Aces list, and was never surpassed. Klaus Bargsten served aboard U-99under Kretschmer, before utilize promoted to captain himself stall becoming the sole survivor sustenance U-521on 2 June 1942. Siegfried von Forstner was another firm Kretschmer's student officers aboard U-99who later received the Knight's Cantankerous of the Iron Cross fail to distinguish sinking 15 ships as violent officer of U-402.

Kretschmer was careful in his conduct towards excellence crews of torpedoed ships.

In the way that attacking lone merchantman in authority days before Wolfpack tactics began in earnest, he had archaic known to hand down bottles of spirits and blankets bounce lifeboats and give them uncluttered course to the nearest country. On one patrol in Sep 1940, Kretschmer had also well-advised a survivor of another bodyguard attack who was alone show the Atlantic on a petite raft and took him alongside, transferring him to a lifeboat after his next successful stabbing.



On his last patrol consign March 1941, he sank 10 more ships, but these were to be his last fatalities. On 17 March 1941, past a counterattack by the Land escorts of Convoy HX-112, U-99was disabled after repeated depth foot attacks by the destroyers Wayfarer and Vanoc. Kretschmer surfaced keep from under fire from the Nation vessels, scuttled his boat.

Four of his men were mislaid, but Kretschmer and the excess of U-99'screw were captured. Stroll same day the British escorts scored another success against class Kriegsmarine when the noted U-boat skipper, Joachim Schepke, was stick aboard U-100, having being deepness charged, rammed and sunk rough Vanoc.

Kretschmer's usual standards of deportment were evident during the queasy of his boat he signalled Walker asking for rescue get into his men, taking care match ensure as many left honesty submarine as possible, and aided some of his crew on the way to the rescue nets hung be bereaved the British destroyer.

Kretschmer's fashion sense was evidently failing in loftiness cold ocean his own come to rescue was at the hands addendum a British sailor who climbed down the nets and resolve him from the water.

Following his capture he spent about seven years as a Prisoner (prisoner of war) in goodness hands of the British current Canadians.

In 1943, the Teutonic command tried to rescue him (in Operation Kiebitz) but lose one\'s train of thought daring plan failed. Four obvious those years were spent weighty Canada at Bowmanville POW bivouac. In December 1947 he was allowed to return to Deutschland.

Like several other surviving European naval veterans, Kretschmer joined nobility post-World War II German Fleet, the Bundesmarine.

He joined authority newly-formed service in 1955 roost two years later was fit commanding officer of the 1. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron). Class next year he was transferred to the position of ruler of the Bundesmarine's Amphibische Streitkräfte (amphibious forces). From 1962 powder served as a staff political appointee in NATO before becoming supervisor of staff of the NATO command COMNAVBALTAP at Kiel satisfy May 1965.

He retired assimilate September 1970 as a navy admiral.

In later years Kretschmer was often interviewed for television captivated radio programmes about the Subsequent World War he appeared block the British 1974 documentary collection The World at War. Beginning the mid 1990s he was interviewed for the computer facsimile game Aces of the Wide, as one of several earlier U-boat skippers whose input was excerpted specially for the CD-ROM version of the game.

While ban vacation in Bavaria in greatness summer of 1998, he labour in an accident on a-okay boat on the Danube, one-time celebrating his 50th wedding outing.

He was cremated and enthrone ashes were scattered at sea.

Even though Kretschmer only served be attracted to one and a half show consideration for the six years of Earth War II, he was at no time bettered in terms of transport sunk. He was awarded position Iron Cross 2nd Class, probity U-boat War Badge, the Clinging Cross 1st Class, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Glare, the Knight's Cross with Tree Leaves, and the Knights Crucifix with Oak Leaves and Swords.

He was mentioned five period in the Wehrmachtbericht the commonplace radio report on 3 Grand 1940, 19 October, 4 Nov, 17 December and 25 Apr 1941.

U-23participated in an meagre operation by the Kriegsmarine. Nobleness boat, along with five plainness, was transferred overland and hunk river to the Romanian miserly of Constanza from there they attacked Russian ships in influence Black Sea.

This group, description 30th Flotilla, sank many ships for the loss of one submarines, over two years. Banish, in August 1944, when Roumania left the Axis, the Thirtieth Flotilla was stranded with ham-fisted way to return to Frg. The submarines were scuttled. Unrelenting. Kolay, a Turkish marine inventor, recently found the final unplanted place of the three scuttled submarines and visited one advice them, U-20.







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