II wojna światowa: Kulisy pierwszego patrolu atlantyckiego Otto Kretschmera z lipca 1940 roku.

If you like my content, you can buy me a virtual coffee: https://buycoffee.to/nieznaneoblicza Thank you. My book: "Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945": https://www.legimi.pl/ebook-bitwa-o-a... Link to my book "U-Boots. Incredible Missions of World War II": https://www.legimi.pl/ebook-u-booty-n... Free excerpt from the book "U-Boots. Incredible Missions of World War II": https://drive.google.com/file/d/16efP... Get interesting additional bonuses!!! If you enjoyed this episode, you can support the channel's development through Patronite.pl and receive extra bonuses: https://patronite.pl/Nieznane.oblicza You can also buy us a symbolic coffee as a token of gratitude for the prepared material by clicking this link: https://buycoffee.to/nieznaneoblicza Thank you in advance for all your support. The period in mid-1940 was a very difficult one for Allied convoy shipping in the Atlantic. It is estimated that in that month alone, U-boats prowling the waters sank a total of fifty-eight merchant ships, totaling 284,113 tons. Although this was still well below Dönitz's expectations, who had projected a minimum of 600,000 tons of sinking per month, the June total was still very painful for the British. The crews of numerous U-boats operating in the Atlantic contributed to this significant number of sinkings, but among them, U-99, commanded by the even lesser-known future tonnage king, Captainleutnant Otto Kretschmer, was particularly noteworthy. Since the outbreak of World War II, Kretschmer had already completed eight combat patrols as commander of U-23, a Type IIB vessel, in which he achieved some success. However, his true "successful hunting" was yet to come, and he was to do so at the helm of a completely new submarine, the aforementioned U-99. This Type VIIB vessel, launched on March 12, 1940, was transferred to Kretschmer almost immediately. After completing a rapid crew training, Kretschmer was ready to sail just two months later on his ninth combat patrol of World War II, and his first as commander of U-99… On June 17, 1940, he departed the naval base in Cologne and headed for the North Sea, from which point he was to proceed towards the Atlantic. U-99 carried ample supplies of fuel, weapons, and food, allowing it to sustain combat operations for up to six weeks without returning to base. Kretschmer was tasked by Dönitz with combating enemy convoy shipping on the North Atlantic route, but the beginning of the voyage did not bode well for him… As U-99 headed north, near the coast of Norway, it was spotted by the crew of one of the aircraft taking off from the nearby German battleship Scharnhorst. The plane's crew, convinced they were dealing with a surfaced British submarine, decided to attack. As soon as Kretschmer spotted the rapidly approaching aircraft from his U-boat's conning tower, he shouted the following command: "Emergency dive!" All members of U-99 immediately entered the ship and closed the hatch, and the ship slowly began to sink. However, it was too late to effectively avoid the attack. While U-99's conning tower was still partially above water, it was bombarded with bombs mistakenly dropped from a German aircraft. The very close explosions, while not sinking the ship, nevertheless caused serious damage to many of its vital components. Once the threat had passed, Kretschmer quickly assessed the damage and concluded that the ship could not continue its voyage in its current condition. He then directed his U-boat to the base in Bergen, and the next day set sail for a return voyage to Cologne for repairs. Before he reached there, however, he received a terse message from Dönitz: "A plane from the Scharnhorst reported the sinking of an enemy ship at your position. Are you all right?"