Victor Schütze
Encyclopedia
Captain
Viktor Schütze (16 February 1906 – 23 September 1950), was a German
Kriegsmarine
U-boat
ace, sinking a total of 35 allied ships totalling 180,053 tons during the Second World War. He is in fifth place on the ten Aces of the Deep. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
, and started his naval career aboard German
torpedo boats in April 1925, before transferring to the new U-boat division ten years later in October 1935. There he commanded for two years, before being relieved to take destroyer
training - before returning to the U-boat arm in command of . When war broke out he commanded , with which he sailed on three patrols, mainly in the Bay of Biscay
and off the Portuguese
coast.
In July 1940 he assumed command over the Type IXC , and commanded for four patrols in North Atlantic and African waters. In December he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
for his successes. In August 1941 he retired from front service, taking up positions as Flottillenchef of 2nd U-boat Flotilla. In March 1943 he became the FdU Ausbildungsflottillen (Commander of the training flottillas in the Baltic Sea) in Flensburg-Kappeln, in which position he served until the end of the war.
He died in Frankfurt am Main in 1950.
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Viktor Schütze (16 February 1906 – 23 September 1950), was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
ace, sinking a total of 35 allied ships totalling 180,053 tons during the Second World War. He is in fifth place on the ten Aces of the Deep. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Biography
Schütze was born in FlensburgFlensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, and started his naval career aboard German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
torpedo boats in April 1925, before transferring to the new U-boat division ten years later in October 1935. There he commanded for two years, before being relieved to take destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
training - before returning to the U-boat arm in command of . When war broke out he commanded , with which he sailed on three patrols, mainly in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
and off the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
coast.
In July 1940 he assumed command over the Type IXC , and commanded for four patrols in North Atlantic and African waters. In December he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
for his successes. In August 1941 he retired from front service, taking up positions as Flottillenchef of 2nd U-boat Flotilla. In March 1943 he became the FdU Ausbildungsflottillen (Commander of the training flottillas in the Baltic Sea) in Flensburg-Kappeln, in which position he served until the end of the war.
He died in Frankfurt am Main in 1950.
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (13 November 1939)
- 1st Class (21 February 1940)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross on 11 December 1940 as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-103
- 23rd Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-103
- War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
- 2nd Class (30 January 1944)
- 1st Class (1 September 1944)
- Mentioned four times in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....