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Otto Kretschmer
Sign in to saveGerman admiral and U-boat commander during World War II
Key facts
- Nickname
- Otto der Schweiger (Silent Otto)
- Born
- ( 1912-05-01 ) 1 May 1912, Heidau, Neisse , German Empire , (now Hajduki Nyskie , Poland)
- Died
- 5 August 1998 (1998-08-05) (aged 86), Straubing , Germany
- Allegiance
- Weimar Republic (to 1933), Nazi Germany (to 1945), West Germany
- Branch
- Reichsmarine , Kriegsmarine , German Navy
- Service years
- 1930–1945, 1955–1970
- Rank
- Reichsmarine (1930–1935): Leutnant zur See Kriegsmarine (1935–1945): Fregattenkapitän Bundesmarine (1955–1970): Konteradmiral
- Unit
- 2nd U-boat Flotilla , 1st U-boat Flotilla , 7th U-boat Flotilla
- Commands
- U-35 , 31 July 1937 – 15 August 1937, U-23 , 1 October 1937 – 1 April 1940, U-99 , 18 April 1940 – 17 March 1941
- Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Otto
- Family name
- Kretschmer
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Place of birth
- Hajduki Nyskie
- Place of death
- Straubing
- Occupation
- soldier
- Educated at
- Naval Academy at Mürwik
- Languages spoken
- German
- Conflict
- Spanish Civil War
- Military rank
- Frigate Captain
- Image
- Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L22207, Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer.jpg
Show 15 more facts
- Commons category
- Otto Kretschmer
- date of birth
- 1912-05-01
- date of death
- 1998-08-05
- allegiance
- Nazi Germany
- affiliation
- Allied Forces Baltic Approaches
- military casualty classification
- prisoner of war
- nickname
- Otto le silencieux
- place of burial
- North Sea
- manner of death
- accidental death
- cause of death
- cranial trauma
- member of the crew of
- U-99
- described at URL
- www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-admiral-otto-kretschmer-1173919.html
- start of work period
- 1930-00-00
- name in native language
- Otto Kretschmer
- end of work period
- 1970-00-00
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
~33 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 – 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War.
From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 47 ships, including one warship, for a record total of 274,333 tons. For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, among other awards. He earned the nickname "Silent Otto", both for his successful use of the "silent running" capability of U-boats and for his reluctance to transmit radio messages during patrols. After the war, he served in the German Federal Navy, from which he retired in 1970 with the flag rank of rearadmiral.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Otto Kretschmer” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.