Peter-Erich Cremer (25 March 1911 – 5 July 1992) was a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Biography

Peter-Erich Cremer was born in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, Alsace-Lorraine, on 25 March 1911. After high school, Cremer enlisted in the '' Reichsmarine'' in 1932. After serving on cruisers and destroyers, Cremer became captain in February 1940. He received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd class. He was promoted to the rank of submarine commander in August 1940, and was given ''U-152''. He commanded the from 25 August 1941 to 6 October 1942 and again from 18 May 1943, to 19 July 1944. On 31 January 1942 he mistakenly attacked and sunk ; he was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

ed and found not guilty. After several victorious trips, he received the

(''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') on 5 June 1942, and in that same year was severely wounded. He sailed again from 1943 until July 1944, before giving his boat to his lieutenant. In November 1944, Cremer, now Lieutenant Commander, aimed to convey the new submarine ''U-2519'' Class XXI. Citing "several design flaws", Cremer scuttled the submarine at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, in May 1945. As the War drew to a close, he was attached to the personal security unit of

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German grand admiral and convicted war criminal who, following Adolf Hitler's Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide, succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany during the Second World ...

. In this role he was involved in the incident in which ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

Wolfgang Lüth Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 – 14 May 1945) was a German U-boat captain of World War II who was credited with the sinking of 46 merchant ships plus the sunk during 15 war patrols, for a total tonnage of . Lüth joined the ''Reichsmarine' ...

was shot to death by a German sentry. Peter-Erich Cremer appeared in Episode 10: 'Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic' of the British television documentary ''

The World at War ''The World at War'' is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. Produced in 1973 at a cost of around £880,000 (), it was the most expensive factual series ever made at the time. ...

'' in the early 1970s. Later he recounted his life in his books ''U-333: The story of a U-boat ace'' and ''U-Boat Commander: a periscope view of the Battle of the Atlantic''. He died in Hamburg on 5 July 1992.

Summary of career

Ships sunk and damaged

As commander of ''U-333'' Cremer sank six merchant ships totalling , damaged another , and also engaged and damaged the .

Awards

(1939) 2nd Class (11 February 1940) & 1st Class (10 February 1942) * Destroyer War Badge ( 19 October 1940 ) * U-boat War Badge (1939) ( 26 May 1942 ) *

on 5 June 1942 as ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' and commander of *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

in Silver ( 11 November 1942 ) * U-boat Front Clasp ( 27 September 1944 )

Promotions

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cremer, Peter-Erich 1911 births 1992 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Metz Military personnel from Alsace-Lorraine Reichsmarine personnel University of Marburg alumni