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

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), 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. The Knight' ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Biography

Peter-Erich Cremer was born in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, Alsace-Lorraine, on 25 March 1911. After high school, Cremer enlisted in the ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''K ...

'' in 1932. After serving on cruisers and destroyers, Cremer became captain in February 1940. He received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

2nd class. He was promoted to the rank of submarine commander in August 1940, and was given the ''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 the ; he was

court-martial A court-martial or 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 memb ...

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 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

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

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

. 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. It was produced in 1973, at a cost of £900,000 (), the most expensive factual series ever produced. It was produ ...

'' 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 The Destroyer War Badge () as a World War II German military decoration and awarded to officers and crew for service on ''Kriegsmarine'' destroyers. It was instituted on 4 June 1940 by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder following the battle of Narvik. It ...

( 19 October 1940 ) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge (german: U-Boot-Kriegsabzeichen) was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II. History The ''U-boat War Badge'' was originally instituted during the First World War on Feb ...

(1939) ( 26 May 1942 ) *

on 5 June 1942 as ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...

'' and commander of *

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

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 People from Alsace-Lorraine Reichsmarine personnel