otto kretschmer binoculars

This stay was interrupted for an aerial defense training course at Warnemnde (510 March 1934). A fall caused fatal injuries. [30] The destroyer crew lifted the black-out curtains, making the attack easy. Correct optics: how the binoculars of the best underwater ace of the Reich became a symbol of relations with Britain #___historydocs I had to surrender my ship to the British Captain and I had to be in complete uniform.. "[11], During Kretschmer's stay on Kln, he attended an aircraft catapult course at Travemnde. [50] 51 men died aboard Laurentic, 367 survived. He assumed most of the crew went down with the ship; but there were 159 survivors. When clear of the battle scene, he turned in to his bunk and gave strict orders to his new I.W.O. [47] The following month, Kretschmer formed part of the pack that attacked and devastated Convoy SC 7. Kretschmer stated that he was unmarried.". Knights Cross ALMOST HOME CONVOY IN SIGHTwith Oak Leafand Crossed Swords, U-99 vs. HMS LAURENTIC and HMS PATROCLEUS, OTTO KRETSCHMER served ten years on our Sharkhunters Advisory Boats.Click here to view the entire Board. One British admiral thought Kretschmer's move so aggressive, it had to have been a mistake, Kretschmer looked back with great fondness at his time at the University of Exeter, Otto Kretschmer died in 1998 after a successful career in the navy. The boat was ordered to patrol the Bay of Biscay off the Spanish-French border. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Otto Kretschmer was the Watch Officer of U-35 from 03 November 1936 - 30 July 1937. Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 - 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War . Sir, do you think that OTTO KRETSCHMER will be with us on this trip? to which OTTO smiled and replied; I think he is already here. at which point the Member nearly fell out of his chair. [66], On 16 March 1941 Kretschmer attacked Convoy HX 112. Otto Kretschmer (Straubing, 1912. mjus 1. [32] Loch Maddy He was the fifth member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. Note that the crew is all wearing fresh coveralls and beards neatly trimmed. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. 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. 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. One did escape, but he was apprehended at the meeting point while the U-boat he was due to meet fled with Allied ships in hot pursuit. The bridge was cleared of all but Schnee who, at the last moment, recognized the other boat as a German U-Boat and he tried to stop the dive. On March 16, his boat was badly damaged by British depth charges, and it began to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Later in the war, his ship was torpedoed; before that he nursed a bent-nosed destroyer back to port after ramming a U-boat. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea. On 1 November 1958, he was transferred to the position of commander of the Bundesmarine's Amphibische Streitkrfte ("amphibious forces"), a position he held until 15 January 1962. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. [68] U-99 was driven down to 700 feetbeyond the recognised crush depth before control was regained and the ballast tanks blown. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. (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. He died in 1998 in Bavaria. Despite being captured, the German nay continued to promote him, and even awarded him he Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords - only the fifth member of the German armed forces to receive the accolade. Registered in England & Wales No. Prien's demise was not disclosed. After sinking the Magog, he gave his crew brandy as a reward. But Canadian intelligence had cracked their code in Red Cross letters, and the police seized them before their breakout. Seeing that the boat was still diving and the hatch beneath him to the Zentralle had slammed shut, Schnee had the presence of mind to close and secure the hatch above him to the bridge, thus saving the boat and himself. Rsing's successor, Hermann Michahelles, was killed in a car accident and Kretschmer assumed command for two weeks. [42], Four days later Kretschmer began his eleventh patrol which concluded on 5 August. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . 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. From September 1939 until his surrender in March 1941, he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. Exhausted and unable to move, OTTO ordered one of his men to go back over the side, into the cold sea, and retrieve his cap from the water. The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 began the war in Europe. Kretschmer continued to search for stragglers and found SS Holmlea. [43] Following his third war patrol with U-99, Kretschmer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 4 August. His greatest success came in August with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. He admitted that he had become weary of the war some time ago, and latterly had got no satisfaction from sinking ship after ship. 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. Bleichrodt reported it and Dnitz succeeded in bringing a number of boats in on it. [53] In December Kretschmer tried to intercept Convoy HX 90 but encountered only stragglers. In doing so, both the effectiveness and limitations of Kretschmers tactics are clarified and put into the context of the Battle of the Atlantic. Kretschmer was soon missed and the U-boat surfaced to find him before he succumbed to the cold. Kretschmer sank more than 40 ships during the war, This painting depicts U-99 penetrating an Atlantic convoy before attacking. His crew loved and respected him, and would have got into hell if that was the order he gave. [36] Kretschmer's tenth patrol (27 June21 July) yielded over 20,000GRT. [19] A second patrol (921 September) yielded no success either. 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. On 1 October 1937, Kretschmer took command of U-23. 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. His English improved greatly, and his respect for British society and education increased with it. Yes, OTTO was a great guy. The ship sank slowly. Sharkhunters President HARRY COOPER knew OTTO KRETSCHMER better than any other researcher and the two men were good friends. From September 1939 until being captured in March 1941, he sank 47 ships, a total of 274,333 tons. The report, filed in the archives, was named "U 99" Interrogation of Survivors April, 1941". During this command, he was promoted to Kapitn zur See (captain at sea/captain) on 12 December 1958. [7] During this assignment, Kretschmer was promoted to Oberfhnrich zur See (Senior Midshipman) on 1 April 1934. The vast majority of Kretschmer's attacks - at least 83 - were launched on the surface. [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). My family is complete.. 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. He participated in the 2nd officers training course held at the former NS-Ordensburg Sonthofen. He fired a single torpedo that missed before he lost the ship in thick mist. Note that OTTO KRETSCHMER (arrow) is wearing the regulation navy blue cap, not the traditional nut non-regulation White Cap. He then attended a training course (16 October 1957 28 February 1958) for amphibious forces in the United States. OTTO KRETSCHMER and Sharkhunters President HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983) were close friends, and when COOPER asked him why there were no photos of him with the traditional White Cap, OTTO explained he said;The white hat was not issue, it was tradition but not regulation and I am a Prussian officer. It was not this way with, . Otto Kretschmer was the most successful U-boat commander of the Second World War. [15] Through the remaining Interwar period, Kretschmer developed his own approach to combat, which can be summarized by the phrase "one torpedo, one ship". German radio acknowledged the capture and the death of Schepke. The crew abandoned ship and were questioned by Kretschmer. In this work, Kretschmer's success is appraised through the analysis of the key . The seaman did as he was ordered and brought the cap back to OTTO. Two days later on 5 August, Silent OTTO succumbed to his head injuries without ever regaining consciousness. [77] Kretschmer was senior officer at the camp. Three of his men were lost, but Kretschmer and the remainder of U-99's crew were captured. German propagandists feared the triple loss might be too damaging to morale. Prien achieved several sinkings, Kretschmer did not; the pair was chased off by destroyers. He sank four ships and damaged three. The renaming of the navy was a symbolic gesture, to erase the unpleasant memories of the 1920s and symbolise a new era. [18] Kretschmer served in this function until 18 June 1964 when he was appointed chief-of-staff of the Befehlshaber der Seestreitkrfte der Nordsee (German national Commander Naval Forces North Sea). Kretschmer was so outraged that he and other officers organised a rebellion. 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. Remember that on the surface it is easier for you to spot the enemy than for the enemy to spot you, Dive only for two hours before dawn each day, to rest the crew, sweep with sound detection equipment, etc. left no doubt that he wanted his boat and his crew back at sea in the shortest possible time. 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. 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. Husband of Elsie Gertrude 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. One signalman sent a message to the escorts "we are sinking" and the firing stopped. 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. With this result, Kapitnleutnant Kretschmer has reached . He clung to the periscope in the hope of being seen through the optics. 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. [68], Kretschmer's usual standards of conduct were evident during the sinking of his boat. I gratefully acknowledge the help of Marianna Colasuonno for patiently reading the manuscript and providing valuable suggestions throughout the drafting of this paper. [28] Kretschmer returned to Wilhelmshaven on 15 January. He was promoted on June 1, 1939, just a few months before the start of World War Two. I am sunking. Yep Sunking is the word he used. Incredibly though, this war hero, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - Germany's highest award for gallantry - had lived in Exeter before the war while he studied at the city's university. This assignment, Kretschmer did not ; the pair was chased off by destroyers memories... Is already here to be so honored his English improved greatly, and would have got hell. Abandoned ship and were questioned by Kretschmer former NS-Ordensburg Sonthofen after sinking the Magog he. The cap back to port after ramming a U-boat 66 ], on 16 March 1941 he otto kretschmer binoculars 44,... The battle scene, he sank 44 ships, including one warship, total. The firing stopped success came in August with the sinking of the crew went with... At sea/captain ) on 12 December 1958 16 October 1957 28 February 1958 ) for amphibious forces in the officers! Crew went down with the sinking of the 13,000-ton ship Auckland Star the German invasion of Poland on 1 1934. 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