Lawrence Paterson - Otto Kretschmer: The Life of the Third Reichs Highest Scoring U-Boat Commander

OTTO KRETSCHMER

The Life of Germanys Highest-Scoring U-Boat Commander

Lawrence Paterson

Otto Kretschmer

First published in 2018 by

Greenhill Books,

c/o Pen & Sword Books Ltd,

47 Church Street, Barnsley,

S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS

www.greenhillbooks.com

contact@greenhillbooks.com

Published and distributed in the United States of America and Canada by the Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5043

www.usni.org

Greenhill Books ISBN: 9781784381929

Naval Institute Press ISBN: 9781591146971

eISBN: 9781784381943

Mobi ISBN: 9781784381936

All rights reserved.

Lawrence Paterson, 2018

The right of Lawrence Paterson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.

CIP data records for this title are available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging Number: 2017964283

Designed and typeset by Donald Sommerville

Formal portrait of Kretschmer with his Knights Cross and Oak Leaves.

Sail training was part of Kretschmers experience as an officer cadet.

The Niobe on which Kretschmer sailed. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

U35 before the outbreak of war.

Hermann Michahelles, commander of U35, and Kretschmer. U-Boot Archiv, Altenbruch

Michahelles of U35 at manoeuvring stations in harbour.

Hans-Rudolf Rsing and Adalbert Schnee.

U-boats and depot ships in Kiel.

The Weddigen Flotilla in the Baltic.

An early model Type II U-boat.

Adalbert Adi Schnee.

Prewar coffee on the forward deck of a Type II.

Boats of the Weddigen Flotilla moored in Kiel.

Grossadmiral Erich Raeder.

Loading a torpedo with practice warhead.

A Type II.

Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen

Victory pennants flying on Kretschmers attack periscope.

An officers meeting in Wilhelmshaven on 11 March 1940.

Gnther Prien.

U99 and UA in the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel.

The commissioning ceremony for U99, 8 April 1940. U-Boot Archiv, Altenbruch

The Kriegsmarine ensign is raised aboard U99.

Provisioning the boat in Kiel.

One of the golden horseshoes welded to the conning tower of U99.

The crew of U570 attach a horseshoe to their conning tower.

Joachim Schepke and his crouching panther Wappen.

A combat U-boat putting to sea.

Kretschmer issuing instructions as U99 leaves port.

Kretschmer is welcomed to Lorient.

Heinrich Liebe (U38) makes his after-action report to Dnitz.

Kretschmer and a welcoming committee for Gnther Prien.

Konteradmiral Eberhardt Godt.

Kretschmer on his return to Lorient from a patrol aboard U99. U-Boot Archiv, Altenbruch

*

Raeder presents Kretschmer with his Knights Cross, August 1940.

Klaus Bargsten secures the medal around Kretschmers neck.

Raeder shaking hands with the crew of U99.

Kretschmer and his IIIWO, Stabsobersteuermann Heinrich Petersen. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

Kretschmer and his crew enjoy a beer. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

The Hotel Beausjour on Lorients Alsace-Lorraine square.

Kretschmer captured on film for the Deutsche Wochenschau.

Obermaschinist Edmund Prochnows family medical card.

U99 in a Lorient dry dock.

Dnitz and members of the BdU staff at their Kernevel headquarters.

Before the interview... and during. Kretschmer answers questions from an Army reporter in the summer of 1940. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

Heavy seas in the Atlantic.

Commander Primo Langobardo with Hans-Rudolf Rsing.

Joachim Schepke speaking in Berlin.

An illustration from Schepkes book U-Boot Fahrer von Heute.

A British newspaper report of the sinking of SS Loch Maddy.

Victory pennants fly from the periscope of U99, 22 October 1940.

Kretschmer and the dockside greeting party for a returning U-boat.

Kretschmer at his navigation periscope, November 1940.

Kretschmer meets Hitler, 12 November 1940.

Kretschmer after the Oak Leaves award. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

A member of the technical crew takes an opportunity for fresh air.

Particularly bad Atlantic weather dominated the winter of 1940/41.

U99 returns from patrol, 8 November 1940. Bundesarchiv, Koblenz

Klaus Bargsten with his American captor. US National Archives

Kretschmer receiving his copy of The Kretschmer March.

The sheet music for The Kretschmer March.

The Kretschmer March ceremony.

Kretschmer speaking to Army officers.

Otto Kretschmer comes ashore in Liverpool and into captivity.

Commander Donald Macintyre aboard HMS Bickerton. Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport

Hans-Joachim Rahmlow, who surrendered the intact U570.

The IWO of U570, Bernhard Berndt.

George Creasy, Director of Anti-Submarine Warfare.

The surviving officers of U99, Bowmanville, October 1944.

Donald Macintyre and Otto Kretschmer, 1955. Popperfoto

A 1940 portrait of Otto Kretschmer.

German designations for parts of the combat zone

(copied from the surviving U23 and U99 war diaries)

U23

Patrol 2 (921 September 1939), detail

overview

Patrol 4 (19 November 1939), detail

Patrol 5 (515 December 1939)

Patrol 6 (815 January 1940)

Patrol 7 (1829 January 1940)

U99

Patrol 1 (1825 June 1940)

Patrol 2 (27 June 21 July 1940)

Patrol 3 (25 July 5 August 1940)

Patrol 4 (425 September 1940), detail

Patrol 5 (1322 October 1940)

Patrol 6 (30 October 8 November 1940), detail

Patrol 7 (27 November 12 December 1940), detail

General

ASDIC Term applied to the British equipment used for locating submerged submarines. A powerful and effective weapon, it emitted a distinct ping when searching for a target. Equipment of this class is now usually called sonar.

AZ Aufschlagzndung: impact trigger for the Pi1 pistol fitted to both G7a and G7e torpedoes.

BdU Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote: Commander U-boats.

DEMS Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship

Eel Aal Slang expression for torpedo.

Enigma Coding machine used by the German armed forces throughout World War Two.

FdU Fhrer der Unterseeboote: Flag Officer for submarines, responsible for a particular geographical region.

G7a German torpedo propelled by steam.

G7e German torpedo propelled by electric motor.

grt Gross registered tonnage (a measurement of volume, not weight; one ton equals 100 cubic feet cargo capacity), the standard way of judging commercial shipping size during WWII.