Viktor Sagittarius

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viktor Sagittarius

Viktor Schütze (born February 16, 1906 in Kiel , † September 23, 1950 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German naval officer , most recently a sea captain in the Navy during World War II . With the sinking of 180,093 GRT , Schütze was one of the five most successful submarine commanders of the Second World War.

Life

Promotions

Patrols U 25

  • October 18 to November 13, 1939
    (1 ship with 5,874 GRT sunk)
  • January 13 to February 19, 1940
    (6 ships with 27,355 GRT sunk)
  • April 3 to May 6, 1940

Patrols U 103

  • September 21 to October 19, 1940
    (5 ships with 20,279 GRT sunk)
  • November 9 to December 12, 1940
    (7 ships with 38,465 GRT sunk)
  • January 21 to February 24, 1941
    (3 ships with 22,948 GRT sunk)
  • April 1 to July 12, 1941
    (13 ships with 65,172 GRT sunk)

education

Schütze joined the Reichsmarine ( Crew 1925 ) on April 1, 1925 and completed his basic infantry training in the 8th Company of the II. Division of the Baltic Sea Ship Main Division in Stralsund . His on-board training took place on the sailing training ship Niobe and the small cruiser Hamburg , including a trip around the world over 31,436 nm that ended on March 26, 1927 . This was followed by the main course for ensigns at the Mürwik Naval School as well as two navigation instruction trips on the North Sea tender and the Meteor survey ship . From April 1928 to February 1929 Schütze took part in various courses. From February 4 to September 27, 1929, he completed his practical on-board training on the Hessen liner .

Further use

After that, Schütze served as III. Officer on watch on the torpedo boat T-155 in the 1st torpedo boat semi-flotilla. This was followed, interrupted by two courses, until September 25, 1932 as a company officer in the 3rd (Flak) company of the 1st Marine Artillery Department. On September 26, 1932, Schütze was transferred to the torpedo boat G-10 as second officer on watch . Subsequently he served from September 28 to November 11, 1934 as an adjutant again on the Hessen and then until the end of September 1935 on the ironclad Admiral Scheer .

After a course for signal officers, Schütze switched to submarine weapons on October 1, 1935, while at the same time being promoted to lieutenant commander, where he received his special training at the submarine school until December 20, 1935. From December 21, 1935 to October 1, 1937 he was in command of the U 19 school boat . From October 2, 1937 to June 22, 1938, Rifleman served in the training department of the 3rd Destroyer Division. On June 23, 1938, he was assigned to the destroyer Erich Steinbrink , on which he remained until August 12, 1938. After that, Rifleman returned to the submarine weapon and on August 13, 1938 he became the commander of U 11 at the submarine school. He held this position until September 4, 1939.

Second World War

On September 5, 1939, Schütze was appointed commander of U 25 , which he led on three patrols until May 19, 1940. He sank seven ships with a total of 33,229 GRT . On May 20, 1940, Schütze gave command to Lieutenant Heinz Beduhn and was assigned to instruct the U 103 under construction . On July 5, 1940, he put the boat into service as commander. He commanded the boat on four patrols, on which 28 ships with a total of 146,864 GRT were sunk. He also damaged two other ships with 14,213 GRT. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on December 11, 1940 and the Oak Leaves on July 14, 1941. On July 15, 1941, Schütze gave command of U 103 to Corvette Captain Werner Winter .

On August 13, 1941, Schütze was appointed flotilla commander of the 2nd U-Flotilla in Lorient . On February 7, 1943, he was appointed leader of the U-training flotilla (FdU training) in Gotenhafen . He held this position until shortly before the end of the war. In the last days of the war he was appointed Marine Area Commander Flensburg-Kappeln. On May 8, 1945 he was taken prisoner of war , from which he was released in March 1946.

Awards

  • Spanish Naval Merit Cross in white on August 21, 1939
  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class on November 13, 1939 and February 21, 1940, respectively
  • Mentioned in the Wehrmacht report on December 4 and 10, 1940, May 27, 1941, July 13, 1941
  • Italian war cross with swords on November 1st, 1941
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
    • Knight's Cross on December 11, 1941
    • Oak leaves on July 14, 1941 (23rd award)

literature

personal data
SURNAME Sagittarius, Viktor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German naval officer and submarine commander in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Kiel
DATE OF DEATH September 23, 1950
Place of death Frankfurt am Main