Husband of Elsie Gertrude Kretschmer. He was eventually promoted to the rank of flotilla admiral, before becoming chief-of-staff of the NATO command. Kretschmer docked in Lorient on 21 July. 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. He captured the number one German U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer (whose Zeiss binoculars he took and used for the rest of the war); in the same battle, he directed the attack that killed the second-scoring ace Joachim Schepke. The German crew failed to sink the stationary vessel with torpedoes while the weather ruled out the use of the gun. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. COOPER said that this was one of the warmest compliments he had ever received. He met Adolf Hitler on more than once occasion, even having lunch with the Fhrer. Kretschmer waited for the crew to take to the lifeboats before destroying the ship with a torpedo. 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. Comes with leather case and all lens protectors.- 3) Swift Falcon wide angle fully coated optics. that he must not dive the boat under any circumstances; and he went to sleep. [17], Kretschmer was promoted to Kapitnleutnant (Lieutenant/Lieutenant Senior Grade) on 1 June 1939.[9]. My ship deserted me!. We will tell you accurately; How it was almost KRETSCHMER who sank HMS ROYAL OAK; OTTO KRETSCHMER got his first command; the Type II-B coastal boat (dugout canoe), U-23. Haunted by him, Kretschmer ordered the boat to backtrack until the survivor was found. A month after the Emden's return to Wilhelmshaven on 2 December 1931, Kretschmer and his crew mates were promoted to the rank of Fhnrich zur See (midshipman) on 1 January 1932. COOPER stated that KRETSCHMER was one of the absolutely finest men he had ever known totally honest and honorable. All Rights Reserved. The Greatest Submarine Commander of all time was Lothar von Arnaud de la Perrier who sank nearly 200 ships in World War One. [48] Kretschmer recommended his helmsman Stabsobersteuermann Heinrich Petersen for the Knight's Cross after twelve war patrols for saving U-99 from enemy detection. "[74], Following his capture, Kretschmer spent almost seven years as a prisoner of war (POW) in the hands of the British, initially at No 1 POW camp Grizedale Hall in Cumbria. "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. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Does not come with case. Note that OTTO KRETSCHMER (arrow) is wearing the regulation navy blue cap, not the traditional nut non-regulation White Cap. McIntyre was the commanding officer of Walker, one of the ships that was involved in the sinking of U-99. An illegal "Court of Honour" was convened and headed by Kretschmer. German propagandists feared the triple loss might be too damaging to morale. 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. There were two reasons for this; He was tough but he had a heart and was chivalrous as well. 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. 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. [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. This definitive work details his personal story and the political backdrop from his earliest days. ; otherwise, remain on the surface, This page was last edited on 6 December 2022, at 20:17. 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. A prize crew boarded to sail it to Bordeaux. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron) which he commanded from 3 January to 15 October 1957. [7] During this assignment, Kretschmer was promoted to Oberfhnrich zur See (Senior Midshipman) on 1 April 1934. At the time, Kretschmer . [22], U-23 departed from Kiel on 8 January 1940 for its sixth war patrol and Schnee had been replaced by Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen. He hand signed some of our very rare fine art prints. Suddenly one of the men spotted him and yelled the alarm and Captain MacIntyre stopped the ship. The boat went to the yard for repairs and. OTTO KRETSCHMER indeed, was a fine man! [36] Kretschmer's tenth patrol (27 June21 July) yielded over 20,000GRT. The OKM was established as the supreme command of the navy responsible for all facets of naval warfare. [22], The fourth patrol (19 November) was unsuccessful. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. In Otto configuration, the layer 2 of thickness e is dielectric and the metal is the third . [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. Such were his expertise, he re-joined the navy in 1955. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. The presentation was made by Dnitz following his return to Lorient. [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. The crew abandoned ship and were questioned by Kretschmer. The ship sank slowly. We will cover his accomplishments on another page. Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. 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. 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It went passed its crushing depth of 700m, and all looked lost. For some reason, little Juli came running at the cygnets, barking like mad. I had to surrender my ship to the British Captain and I had to be in complete uniform.. Second World War (1939-1945) Awarded on: November 4th, 1940. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. [31] 157 of the Daring crew were killed, including Commander Sydney Cooper. Kretschmer was subsequently awarded the Iron Cross second class. Almost every U-Boat had one or more emblems PAINTED on their conning tower fairweather. OTTO knew that the battleship was in this protected harbor, but he felt that a small boat, like his Type II-B, could penetrate the narrow entrance, make a successful attack and withdraw safely. He wants to be a naval officer.". Kretschmer was guided onto convoy OB-191. He admitted that he had become weary of the war some time ago, and latterly had got no satisfaction from sinking ship after ship. Comes with leather case. The small freighter was carrying pulp and Ferrochrome. Leather strap partially torn from case.- 2) Tasco 7x35 fully coated 304. He was given the opportunity to convey his opinions on the state of the U-boat war. Under water U-99 had no chance of catching her. Yes, OTTO was a great guy. He then caused havoc in the rest of the convoy, winning him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The booklet was the music and award document, and the flowers were handed to him by Fraulein von Ribbentrop. Joachim Schepke arrived in U-100 and sank seven. After the war he served in the German Federal Navy, from which he retired in 1970 with the flag rank of commodore. [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. 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. Kretschmer continued to search for stragglers and found SS Holmlea. [57] On 7 December 1940, Kretschmer sank the Dutch freighter Farmsum; the last success of the year. He was being transferred to a shore base where he would teach his tactics to Skippers in training. 702. His command ended on 31 March 1969. Later, a mated pair of swans came by with their offspring, about six cygnets, and they were looking for food as well. Serving on a U-boat was a very dangerous task, and one that many did not want. His father, a teacher, decided to send him to the UK, and Exeter was his destination. [20] Kretschmer departed from Kiel for the third war patrol on 1 October. The British report noted of Kretschmer, "His political views were less extremely Nazi than had been assumed. It took nine torpedoes and one dud to sink them; the latter was sunk after it stopped to pick up survivors from the former. The short range of the Type II submarine allowed for operations in the North Sea, but no further. [2] His father was a teacher at the local Volkschule (primary school), which Otto attended from 1918 to 1921. In a rush of roiling water that must have looked like a surfacing submarine, Papa Swan came roaring out of the water heading right at Juli who decided that it was time to leave but with about six feet of wingspan flailing about and huge clawed feet ripping chunks of OTTOs grass up, Papa Swan was hot after Juli all the while making a tremendous hissing sound. 3099067 Kretschmer was born in Heidau in what is now part of Poland, but then belonged to Germany. [69] Kretschmer surfaced and, under fire from the British vessels, scuttled his boat. 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. One morning on the breakfast patio at the KRETSCHMER home, OTTO was reading his newspaper while Mrs. Kretschmer and COOPER talked over breakfast tea. [64] Four ships were sunk, but two U-boats were sunk, one of which was U-47. It was almost this little boat under command of OTTO KRETSCHMER that sank HMS ROYAL OAK. Commanded from 3 January to 15 October 1957 survivor was found school ), which OTTO attended from to! U-99 had no chance of catching her navy blue cap, not the traditional non-regulation. He served in the German Federal navy, from which he commanded 3! Of which was U-47 Kretschmer departed from Kiel for the crew abandoned ship and were questioned by Kretschmer crew killed... From 3 January to 15 October 1957 it went passed its crushing depth of 700m, and one many... 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