The Men - U-boat Commanders

Otto Kretschmer

Fregattenkapitän (Crew 30)

Successes
40 ships sunk, total tonnage 208,954 GRT
3 auxiliary warships sunk, total tonnage 46,440 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,375 tons
1 ship sunk, total tonnage 2,136 GRT
5 ships damaged, total tonnage 37,965 GRT
2 ships a total loss, total tonnage 15,513 GRT

Born	1 May 1912		Heidau, Liegnitz
Died	5 Aug 1998	(86)	Straubing

Otto Kretschmer

Ranks

1 Apr 1930		Offiziersanwärter
10 Oct 1930		Seekadett
1 Jan 1932		Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1934		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1934		Leutnant zur See
1 Jun 1936		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jun 1939		Kapitänleutnant
1 Mar 1941		Korvettenkapitän
1 Sep 1944		Fregattenkapitän

Decorations

17 Oct 1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
9 Nov 1939		U-boat War Badge 1939
17 Dec 1939		Iron Cross 1st Class
4 Aug 1940		Knights Cross
4 Nov 1940		Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
26 Dec 1941		Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Crossed Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-35	31 Jul 1937	15 Aug 1937	No war patrols
U-23	1 Oct 1937	1 Apr 1940	8 patrols (97 days)
U-99	18 Apr 1940	17 Mar 1941	8 patrols (127 days)

Kptlt. Kretschmer (right) on U-99
after docking at Lorient on 21 July 1940

Otto Kretschmer was born in Heidau über Niesse in Prussian Silesia (now Hajduki Nyskie, Poland), and was the son of a schoolmaster. Prior to joining the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate at the age of 18 he studied English and literature at Exeter University in England for eight months. After officer training he spent three months on the sailing school ship Niobe and more than a year on the light cruiser Emden.

After serving on the pocket battleship Deutschland and the light cruiser Köln 1934-35, he transferred to the U-bootwaffe (U-boat force) in January 1936. He thus received a solid pre-war training as a U-boat officer. He joined U-35 as 1st Watch Officer (IWO) on U-35 in Nov 1936, and commanded her as Kommandant in Vertretung (Commandant substitute) on one patrol in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War.

In September 1937 he took over command the small Type II U-23. Following the outbreak of the war he won his first successes on patrols in the North Sea off the English and Scottish east coasts.

In November 1939 he laid nine mines in Moray Firth, Scotland. The first great success for Otto Kretschmer was the sinking of the Danish tanker Danmark (10,517 tons) on 12 January 1940.

Just over a month later he sank the British destroyer HMS Daring (1,375 tons).

He left U-23 in April 1940 and in the same month commissioned U-99. While commanding U-99 Otto Kretschmer became famous for night-time surface attacks against convoys, and it was at this time his motto
"One torpedo ... one ship" was coined.

Kptlt. Kretschmer with the crew of U-99 enjoying the first bottle of beer after returning from patrol.

With the sinking of three British Armed Merchant Cruisers, Laurentic (18,724 tons), Patroclus (11,314 tons) and Forfar (16,402 tons) in November 1940, with a total of more than 46,000 tons, Silent Otto became the "Tonnage King" of U-boat commanders, never to be dethroned.

His last patrol also began successfully, but after attacking ten ships, his luck ran out. He was captured after scuttling U-99 at 0343hrs on 17 March 1941 (Schepke was lost in the same action) SE of Iceland following depth charge damage inflicted by the British destroyer HMS Walker (Niestlé, 1998). Kretschmer managed to surface the badly damaged boat and save 40 of his crew before U-99 sank. The LI (Chief Engineer) was one of three men who went down with her.

After his capture he spent more than six and a half years in Allied captivity.
His initial RN interrogation report stated that
"He gave the impression of being a quiet, deliberate man, and looked more like a student than a U-Boat Captain".

For more than four years he was a POW in Canada in Camp 30 (often referred to as Camp Bowmanville), during which time he managed to remain in contact with BdU (U-boat High Command). He returned to Germany in December 1947.

In 1955 Otto Kretschmer joined the Bundesmarine (Federal German Navy), and in 1957 became commander of the 1. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron). In November 1958 he became commander of the Amphibische Streitkräfte (Amphibious Forces).

From 1962 he served in several staff positions before becoming Chief of Staff at NATO COMNAVBALTAP (Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Baltic Approaches) in May 1965, a position he held for four years. He retired in September 1970 with the rank of Flotillenadmiral (Admiral of the Fleet).

Otto Kretschmer died in hospital in Bavaria during the summer of 1998 following an accident while on vacation.

You can listen to Silent Otto speaking of his experiences here.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Otto Kretschmer

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-23	25 Aug 1939	Wilhelmshaven	4 Sep 1939	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 1,	11 days
2.	U-23	9 Sep 1939	Wilhelmshaven	21 Sep 1939	Kiel	Patrol 2,	13 days
3.	U-23	29 Sep 1939	Kiel	30 Sep 1939	Wilhelmshaven		2 days
4.	U-23	1 Oct 1939	Wilhelmshaven	16 Oct 1939	Kiel	Patrol 3,	16 days
5.	U-23	1 Nov 1939	Kiel	9 Nov 1939	Kiel	Patrol 4,	9 days
6.	U-23	5 Dec 1939	Kiel	15 Dec 1939	Kiel	Patrol 5,	11 days
7.	U-23	8 Jan 1940	Kiel	15 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 6,	8 days
8.	U-23	18 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	29 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 7,	12 days
9.	U-23	9 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	25 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 8,	17 days
10.	U-23	26 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	28 Feb 1940	Kiel		3 days
11.	U-99	18 Jun 1940	Kiel	25 Jun 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 9,	8 days
12.	U-99	27 Jun 1940	Wilhelmshaven	21 Jul 1940	Lorient	Patrol 10,	25 days
13.	U-99	25 Jul 1940	Lorient	5 Aug 1940	Lorient	Patrol 11,	12 days
14.	U-99	4 Sep 1940	Lorient	25 Sep 1940	Lorient	Patrol 12,	22 days
15.	U-99	13 Oct 1940	Lorient	22 Oct 1940	Lorient	Patrol 13,	10 days
16.	U-99	30 Oct 1940	Lorient	8 Nov 1940	Lorient	Patrol 14,	10 days
17.	U-99	27 Nov 1940	Lorient	12 Dec 1940	Lorient	Patrol 15,	16 days
18.	U-99	22 Feb 1941	Lorient	17 Mar 1941	Sunk	Patrol 16,	24 days
16 patrols, 224 days at sea

Ships hit by Otto Kretschmer

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
4 Oct 1939	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Glen Farg	876	br
8 Dec 1939	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Scotia	2,400	da

11 Jan 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Fredville	1,150	nw
12 Jan 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Danmark (t.)	10,517	da
24 Jan 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Varild	1,085	nw
18 Feb 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	HMS Daring (H 16)	1,375	br	HN-12
19 Feb 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Tiberton	5,225	br
22 Feb 1940	U-23	Otto Kretschmer	Loch Maddy (t.)	4,996	br	HX-19
5 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Magog	2,053	ca	HX-52
7 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Sea Glory	1,964	br
7 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Bissen	1,514	sw
8 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Humber Arm	5,758	br	HX-53
12 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Ia	4,860	gr
12 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Merisaar (c.)	2,136	es
18 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Woodbury	4,434	br
28 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Auckland Star	13,212	br
29 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Clan Menzies	7,336	br
31 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Jamaica Progress	5,475	br
31 Jul 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Jersey City	6,322	br	OB-191
2 Aug 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Strinda (d.)	10,973	nw	OB-191
2 Aug 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Lucerna (d.)	6,556	br	OB-191
2 Aug 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Alexia (d.)	8,016	br	OB-191
11 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Albionic	2,468	br
15 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Kenordoc	1,780	ca	SC-3
16 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Lotos	1,327	nw	SC-3
17 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Crown Arun	2,372	br	HX-71
21 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Invershannon	9,154	br	HX-72
21 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Baron Blythswood	3,668	br	HX-72
21 Sep 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Elmbank	5,156	br	HX-72
18 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Empire Miniver	6,055	br	SC-7
18 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Niritos	3,854	gr	SC-7
18 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Fiscus	4,815	br	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Empire Brigade	5,154	br	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Thalia	5,875	gr	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Snefjeld	1,643	nw	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Clintonia (d.)	3,106	br	SC-7
3 Nov 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Casanare	5,376	br
3 Nov 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	HMS Laurentic (F 51)	18,724	br
4 Nov 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	HMS Patroclus	11,314	br
5 Nov 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Scottish Maiden	6,993	br	HX-83
2 Dec 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	HMS Forfar (F 30)	16,402	br	HX-90
2 Dec 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Samnanger	4,276	nw	OB-251
3 Dec 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Conch	8,376	br	HX-90
7 Dec 1940	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Farmsum	5,237	nl	OB-252

7 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Terje Viken	20,638	br	OB-293
7 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Athelbeach	6,568	br	OB-293
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Beduin	8,136	nw	HX-112
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Franche Comte (d.)	9,314	br	HX-112
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	J.B. White	7,375	ca	HX-112
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Korshamn	6,673	sw	HX-112
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Venetia	5,728	br	HX-112
16 Mar 1941	U-99	Otto Kretschmer	Ferm	6,593	nw	HX-112
				312,383
47 ships sunk (274,418 tons) and 5 ships damaged (37,965 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged. (c.) means the ship was captured (included in ships & tonnage lost). (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).

About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.