Viktor Schütze

Viktor Schütze
Born (1906-02-16)16 February 1906
Died 23 September 1950(1950-09-23) (aged 44)
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Rank Kapitän zur See
Commands held

U-19
U-11
U-25
U-103

2nd U-boat Flotilla
Battles/wars Battle of the Atlantic
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Viktor Schütze (16 February 1906 – 23 September 1950), was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Schütze was born in Flensburg, and started his naval career in the Reichsmarine aboard German torpedo boats in April 1925, before transferring to the new U-boat division ten years later in October 1935. There he commanded U-19 for two years, before being relieved to take destroyer training - before returning to the U-boat arm in command of U-11. When war broke out he commanded U-25, 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 IXB U-103, 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 flotillas 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.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-25 and U-103 Schütze is credited with the sinking of 35 ships for a total of 180,073 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging two ships of 14,213 GRT.

Date U-boat Name of Ship Nationality Tonnage Fate[1][2]
31 October 1939 U-25 Baoulé  France 5,874 Sunk
17 January 1940 U-25 Enid  Norway 1,140 Sunk
17 January 1940 U-25 Polzella  United Kingdom 4,751 Sunk
18 January 1940 U-25 Pajala  Sweden 6,873 Sunk
22 January 1940 U-25 Songa  Norway 2,589 Sunk
3 February 1940 U-25 Armanistan  United Kingdom 6,805 Sunk
13 February 1940 U-25 Chastine Mærsk  Denmark 5,177 Sunk
6 October 1940 U-103 Nina Borthen  Norway 6,123 Sunk
9 October 1940 U-103 Delphin  Greece 3,816 Sunk
9 October 1940 U-103 Graigwen  United Kingdom 3,697 Damaged
9 October 1940 U-103 Zannes Gounaris  Greece 4,407 Sunk
13 October 1940 U-103 Nora  Estonia 1,186 Sunk
15 October 1940 U-103 Thislegarth  United Kingdom 4,747 Sunk
21 November 1940 U-103 Daydawn  United Kingdom 4,768 Sunk
21 November 1940 U-103 Victoria  Greece 6,085 Sunk
27 November 1940 U-103 Glenmoor  United Kingdom 4,393 Sunk
28 November 1940 U-103 Mount Athos  Greece 3,578 Sunk
28 November 1940 U-103 St. Elwyn  United Kingdom 4,940 Sunk
8 December 1940 U-103 Calabria  United Kingdom 5,186 Sunk
13 February 1941 U-103 Arthur F. Corwin  United Kingdom 10,516 Damaged
17 February 1941 U-103 Edwy R. Brown  United Kingdom 10,455 Sunk
18 February 1941 U-103 Seaforth  United Kingdom 5,459 Sunk
19 February 1941 U-103 Benjamin Franklin  Norway 7,034 Sunk
25 April 1941 U-103 Polyana  Norway 2,267 Sunk
1 May 1941 U-103 Samsø  United Kingdom 1,494 Sunk
3 May 1941 U-103 Wray Castle  United Kingdom 4,253 Sunk
6 May 1941 U-103 Dunkwa  United Kingdom 4,752 Sunk
6 May 1941 U-103 Surat  United Kingdom 5,529 Sunk
9 May 1941 U-103 City of Winchester  United Kingdom 7,120 Sunk
11 May 1941 U-103 City of Shanghai  United Kingdom 5,828 Sunk
22 May 1941 U-103 British Grenadier  United Kingdom 6,857 Sunk
25 May 1941 U-103 Radames  Egypt 3,575 Sunk
25 May 1941 U-103 Wangi Wangi  Netherlands 7,789 Sunk
8 June 1941 U-103 Elmdene  United Kingdom 4,853 Sunk
29 June 1941 U-103 Erani  Italy 6,619 Sunk

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-25". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-103". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Busch & Röll 2003, p. 99.
  4. 1 2 Scherzer 2007, p. 688.
  5. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 391.
  6. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 55.

Bibliography

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2. 
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Korvettenkapitän Heinz Fischer		 Commander of 2nd U-boat Flotilla
August, 1941 – January, 1943 		Succeeded by
Fregattenkapitän Ernst Kals
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