Evening star., 1941-07-20
Witness Describes Capture
Of HitIer's S Fdvorite U-Bout Ace
Comdr. Kretschmer's
Attack on Big Convoy
Was His Undoing

Special Dispatch 10 The Star and n ANA.
OTTAWA, July 19.-Lt. Comdr.
/ Otto Kretschmer spent the last
days of his career as the Nazi Wolf
of the Atlantic" in trailing SmudgeS
of smoke along an ocean horizon
and waiting for the cover Of night
before moving up to the smoke and
/ discovering the giant British convoy
which steamed along beneath it.
Comdr. Kretschmer, skipper of
U-boat 80, was credited by his
country with having sunk 3l36ll
tons Of British shipping and was
Adolf Hitler'S favorite submarine
commander, outranking even the
famous and late 1t. Comdr. Gunther
Prien, who sank the Royal Oak at
Scapa Flow. On this day Comdr.
Kritschmer was leading pack of
submarines along the smoke trail
certainly three submarines, prob
ably four, possibly more.
His day of leisurely progress was
interrupted only once when a
British destroyer nosed up for a
look-see at the little black speck he
was making on its horizon. The
Nazi pack crash-dived in time The
destroyer loosed depth bombs, but
none took effect.
The Attack.
Then the moonleSs night hours
came on. The pack OF submarines
assembled into combat formation
under Comdr. Kretschmer's direc-
ton and prowled forward. From
then on the story is told by two
Canadian eyewitnesses - Second
Wireless Officer Robert Hunston,
20. and Oiler Charles Damery. 30,
both of ST. John, New Brunswick.
They were on one Of the frelghterS
singled out for assault.
The Nazi U-boatS lunged into the
convoy. hurting torpedoeS, vanish
ing into the depths in an attempt
to evade the vengeful destroyers,
then bobbing up again to throw
more fish" at the freighters.
The crews of the cargo ships were
not caught unaWareS. HunSton,
aware that U-boats were in the vi
cinity, had hurried back to his cabin
and snatched the most valuable pos
session he could think of-a foun-
tain pen which an aunt gave him
for his birthday. He thought of his
watch, and fortunately it was in
his pocket. So he dashed out on
dack and waited
Well-Lighted Scene.
A torpedo hit the ship with a
conclusion that blew off Hunston S
cap. With the other survivors
every one but the bosun and an
other man-he got into a lifeboat
with some difficulty, for the boat
was slapping up against the side
of the ship. and pulled away.
Seconds later another torpedo
passed right under the lifeboat,
heading for the wounded freighter.
1t missed its mark. The ship had
Veered when the steam was shut
off, but the torpedo struck tanker
in the convoy. Flame spouted from
the tanker and lighted up the
strange ocean scene.
1T was my first trip on the At
lantic," recounted Hunston on his
return to Canada, but I didn't have
time to think that it might be my
last because everything was hap
pening so quickly. I was so glad
to get away from the sinking
freighter, with random thoughts 60
ing through my head about the
clothes I had left behind, that I
didn't have a chance to realize our
danger in the lifeboat. We were
picked up by destroyer only 35
minutes later"
U-Boat "Got Theirs"
The survivors were loath to leave
the deck of the warship, if they
could help it, because they wanted
to see the U-boats get theirs" And
they did. Damery recalled:
When two of the destrovers
caught up with the pack, the pat
tern of depth charges shot great tor
rents of water into the sky, and three
OF the U-boats popped up like corks
badly damaged. Soon the ocean
seemed to be filled with German
sailors screaming 'Kamerad' and 'Au
Secours' (help). One of the U-boats
Signalled sos with her light"
Three submarines, perhaps four
were the toll taken by the Royal
Navy that night And aboard a de-
stroyer were brought about As be-
drag looking U-boat officers and
crewmen, said Damery. Among the
rescued was Comdr. KretSchmel
himself, heiling Hitler and saluting
with arm extended despite the de-
| stroyer commanders frowning COM
ment: None of that stuff here"
One U-BOat Sank Immediately.
Damary related that he saw the
three U-boatS when they bobbed tC
the surface; Hunston, at another
vantage point, espied just one, and il
loomed out of the waves about 10(
yards away-end up, like fat cigal
and Immediately sank again. Brit
ish sailors worked for hours hauling
the German survivors aboard with
ropes.
On It's way to port after the en-