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Cremer, Peter U333

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Peter Erich Cremer began his naval career in August 1932
Cremer completed the one year of basic on-board training on the light cruiser Köln. After a few months on the armored cruiser Deutschland, Leutnant Cremer served for three years in the naval artillery. Then he became II WO on the destroyer Theodor Riedel. In August 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force.

In January 1941 Kptlt. Cremer commissioned U-152, a small coastal U-boat of type IID which only served as a school boat. A few months later he took command of the larger combat boat U-333. The boat's emblem, 3 little fishes, was chosen to go along with the boat's number. 'Ali' Cremer was one of those commanders who began their first patrol without any combat experience. Even so, he sank three ships on this first patrol - but unfortunately also sank the German blockade-runner Spreewald. Dönitz investigated the accident and found that Cremer was not to blame. During Cremer's next patrol in US waters he was also successful, sinking four ships, and managed to bring his boat badly damaged back to base after she had been rammed