The Golden Horseshoe: The Wartime Career of Otto Kretschmer, U-boat Ace

The legendary U-Boat ace Otto Kretschmer was branded 'the wolf of the Atlantic', and for good reason. In his dramatic wartime career he sank ship after ship, sowing terror among Allied convoys and dismay in those charged with their protection. Kretschmer was a daring officer who favoured bringing his U-Boat into the heart of the convoy and destroying it from within. He earned himself a tremendous reputation before his capture in March 1941, and The Golden Horseshoe makes it clear why. Terrence Robinson served on board the Atlantic convoys and was pitted against his redoubtable foe for eighteen months. His biography of the U-Boat ace draws upon first-hand experience of conditions and the deadly game as the hunter sought to outfox the hunted. He paints a masterly portrait of life at sea and weaves in the fascinating story of Kretschmer and the exploits of his U-Boats. Otto Kretschmer became a prisoner of war in March 1941 and spent most of the rest of the war in Bowmanville camp, Canada, before his release in 1947. Terence Robertson served in the war and subsequently worked as a journalist. His other books include Escort Commander and Dieppe: The Shame and the Glory.

Terence Robertson
Hardcover, 208 pages, 2003