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Otto Schultze Military person

Otto Schultze (11 May 1884 – 22 January 1966) was a Generaladmiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Pour le Mérite during World War I. The Pour le Mérite was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I. As a U boat commander during World War I, he was credited with the sinking of 53 ships for a total of 132,531 long tons (134,658 t), including the HMS Falmouth and SS Transylvania.Schultze joined the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) on 7 April 1900 as a Seekadett (sea cadet). He initially served on König during World War I before transferring to the U boat service in 1915, taking command of U-63. He surrendered command of U-63 in mid-December 1917. He then served a first officer of the admiral staff of the commander in chief of the U boats at the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, he held the position of chief of the I. U-Boot-Flottille (1st U boat Flotilla). Between the wars, he held various staff positions. From September 1927-September 1929, he was commander of Elsass. In October, he took command of the Marinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station). He was promoted to Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) in 1934 and to Admiral in 1936 retiring in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, he was reactivated into active service.His son Heinz-Otto Schultze—a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross—was a U-boat commander during World War II and was killed in action on 25 November 1943 when U-849 was sunk in the South Atlantic by depth charges from an American B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. Otto Schultze retired on 31 August 1942.