Otto Ites

Otto Ites
Born (1918-02-05)5 February 1918
Norden
Died 2 February 1982(1982-02-02) (aged 63)
Norden
Allegiance
Service/branch
Years of service 1936–45
1956–77
Rank
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Order of Merit

Otto Christian Ites (5 February 1918 – 2 February 1982) was a German admiral in the navy of West Germany. During World War II, he was a U-boat commander and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Career

Otto Ites, born on 5 February 1918 in Norden in the Province of Hanover of the Free State of Prussia, joined the military service of the Kriegsmarine on 3 April 1936. He commanded U-146 and U-94, sinking fifteen ships on seven patrols, for a total of 76,882 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping. In September 1941 the Pegasus was torpedoed and all the crew managed to scramble into 2 lifeboats. One of the lifeboats was rescued but the other was found empty and upside down. The Captain reported that the Pegasus was torpedoed twice, the first one caused quite a lot of damage and the crew left the ship, but then she was torpedoed again and she sank. On 28 August 1942 U-94 was sunk by depth charges in the Caribbean Sea, in position 17°40′N 74°30′W / 17.667°N 74.500°W / 17.667; -74.500 (U-94 (submarine)) from a Catalina of VP-92 and by the Canadian corvette Oakville. Ites and 25 of his crew were taken prisoner of war. Ites remained in US captivity at Camp Crossville, Tennessee, until 1 May 1946.

After the war Otto Ites matriculated at the University of Bonn in the winter semester of 1946–47. He submitted his dissertation on 20 October 1950 at the medical faculty. Dr. Ites joined the military service of the Bundesmarine and as Fregattenkapitän commanded the destroyer Zerstörer 2 (D171), formerly USS Ringgold (DD-500), from November 1960 until September 1962. His twin brother, Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Ites, commander of U-709, was killed in action on 1 March 1944. U-709 was sunk by depth charges from the US destroyer escorts USS Thomas, Bostwick and Bronstein north of the Azores at 49°10′N 26°00′W / 49.167°N 26.000°W / 49.167; -26.000 (U-709 (submarine)).

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 207.
  2. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 240.
  3. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 414.

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 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices
Preceded by
Fregattenkapitän Günter Kuhnke		 Commander of German destroyer Z-2 (formerly USS Ringgold)
December 1960 – September 1962		 Succeeded by
Fregattenkapitän Paul Brasack
Preceded by
Konteradmiral Günter Luther		 Chief of the Navy Office
1 April 1975 – 30 September 1977		 Succeeded by
Konteradmiral Horst Geffers
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