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Born

30 Nov 1913

Brake, Unterweser, Bremen

Gertraude and Otto Hinrichs

Ranks 1 Jul 1943   Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Decorations     Minesweeper War Badge     Iron Cross 2nd Class     Iron Cross 1st Class     U-boat War Badge 1939

Otto Hinrichs joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936. After U-boat training from Jan to Aug 1941, served as a Watch Officer (WO) on the long range type IXC U-boat U-105 (KrvKpt. Heinrich Schuch) until Aug 1942, when he became Watch Officer on U-154, another type IXC, and again under KrvKpt. Schuch, until Feb 1943 (Busch & Röll, 1999). (Rohwer, 1998). U-105 operated in the South Atlantic, as far south as Capetown, South Africa, and U-154 in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Ltnt. Hinrichs went through U-boat Commander Training with the 24th (Training) Flotilla from Feb 1943, then the torpedo course [42], and finally more practical instruction with the 22nd (Training) Flotilla until May 1943. He then began Baubelehrung (U-boat construction familiarization) for his own boat (Busch & Röll, 1999).

On 25 Aug 1943 Oblt. Hinrichs commissioned the new type VIIF U-boat U-1061 at Germaniaweft, Kiel (Busch & Röll, 1999). His boat was not a normal combat boat but primarily a torpedo carrier (two of which supported Far East operations). After training in the Baltic during the winter of 1943/1944, U-1061 spent the war transporting torpedoes from Kiel to Norway, bringing invaluable supplies to U-boats stationed there (Busch & Röll, 1997).

Hinrichs left the boat on 19 March 1945 while docked at Bergen, Norway. He spent the last few months of the war with the 5th Flotilla (training) at Kiel (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Otto Hinrichs was the youngest child and only son of Hinrich Heeren Hinrichs, miller, and Insine Katherine Koester. He married Gertraude Schmidt from Dresden while training in Berlin. Their son, Bernd Otto, born 1944, is today an electrical engineer living in the Hannover area.

Only a few weeks after the end of the war he was back in Germany, where he continued his seagoing career as a merchant navy captain. He still had close contact at that time with several of his crew from U-1061 (information from a relative).

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

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