Viktor Schütze

Viktor Schütze
Born	(1906-02-16)16 February 1906
Died	23 September 1950(1950-09-23) (aged 44)
Place of birth	Flensburg
Place of death	Frankfurt am Main
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1925–1945
Rank	Kapitän zur See
Unit	SSS Niobe Hamburg tender Nordsee Meteor Hessen torpedo boat T-155, G-10 cruiser Admiral Scheer destroyer Erich Steinbrinck 1st U-boat Flotilla U-Bootschulflottille 2nd U-boat Flotilla
Commands held	U-19, 1936-01-16 – 1937-09-30 U-11, 1938-08-13 – 1939-09-04 U-25, 1939-09-05 – 1940-05-19 U-103, 1940-06-05 – 1941-08-12 2nd U-boat Flotilla FdU Ausbildungsflottillen Gotenhafen
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub

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 (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). 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 Flensburg, 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 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 IXC 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 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

• Spanisches Marineverdienstkreuz in Weiß (21 August 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (13 November 1939)
  • 1st Class (21 February 1940)
• Italienisches Kriegskreuz mit Schwertern (1 November 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • 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 Cross
  • 2nd Class (30 January 1944)
  • 1st Class (1 September 1944)
• Mentioned four times in the Wehrmachtbericht on 4 December 1940, 10 December 1940, 27 May 1941 and 13 July 1941

Wehrmachtbericht references

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Wednesday, 4 December 1940	Die deutsche Unterseebootwaffe hatte weitere Erfolge im Handelskrieg gegen England zu verzeichnen. Ein Unterseeboot versenkte sechs bewaffnete feindliche Handelsschiffe mit 31 500 BRT. Damit hat das unter Führung von Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze stehende Unterseeboot insgesamt 94 500 BRT feindlichen Handelsschiffraum versenkt.	The German submarine force had further success in the commercial war against England. A submarine sank six armed enemy merchant ships of 31 500 GRT. So the submarine under the leadership of Lieutenant Commander Viktor Schütze has sunk a total of 94 500 GRT of enemy merchant shipping.
Tuesday, 10 December 1940	Ein Unterseeboot meldet die Versenkung von zwei bewaffneten feindlichen Handelsschiffen mit zusammen 14 500 BRT. Damit erhöht sich der von Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze auf seiner letzten Feindfahrt erzielte Erfolg auf 45 000 BRT versenkten feindlichen Handelsschiffraumes.	A submarine reported the sinking of two armed enemy merchant ships totalling 14 500 GRT. Thus, the total success achieved by Lieutenant Commander Viktor Schütze on his last patrol has increased to 45 000 GRT of enemy merchant shipping sunk.
Tuesday, 27 May 1941	Bei der Vernichtung feindlicher Handelsschiffe westlich von Afrika zeichnete sich das von Korvettenkapitän Schütze geführte Unterseeboot durch die Versenkung von elf Schiffen mit zusammen 56 200 BRT besonders aus.	In the destruction of enemy merchant shipping west of Africa, a submarine lead by of Lieutenant Commander Schütze particularly distinguished itself with the sinking of eleven ships for a total of 56 200 GRT.
Sunday, 13 July 1941	Korvettenkapitän Schütze hat bisher insgesamt 37 Schiffe versenkt und damit als siebenter Unterseebootskommandant über 200 000 BRT vernichtet.	Lieutenant Commander Schütze has so far sunk a total of 37 ships and thus as the seventh submarine commander destroyed over 200 000 GRT.

References

Citations

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 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

• "Uboat.net". The Men – Viktor Schütze. http://uboat.net/men/schuetze.htm. Retrieved 3 April 2007.