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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  Operation Drumbeat by Anthony Saunders. |   Atlantic Comrades by Ivan Berryman. |   Swordfish Strike on U-451 by Jason Askew. |   U-552 by Ivan Berryman. | |
| Signatures on these products | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature and is for the unmatted version where available. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
| Name | Info |
 Erich Topp (deceased) Died : 2005 *Signature Value : £105 Editions signed : Knights Cross Presentation Edition of 5 artist proofs. Erich Topp Knights Cross signature edition of 5 prints from the limited edition of 50 artist proofs. | Topp, Erich (Erich Topp (deceased)) Born 2nd July 1914 - Died 26th December 2005. Born in Hannover, Topp joined the Kriegsmarine in 1934, serving on the cruiser Karlsruhe, before transferring to U-Boats in 1937. He was assigned to U-46 for a number of combat tours before taking command of U57 in June 1940, sinking six ships over two missions before being sunk in a collision on the 3rd of September the same year. Surviving this, Topp then commanded U-552 from December that year, sinking 30 ships, predominantly in the North Atlantic, including the first American ship of the war to be sunk, the destroyer 'Reuben James'. From October 1942 he commanded the 27th submarine flottilla. He also took command of two further U-Boats, these being U-3010 for about a month in 1945, and subsequently U-2513 from April 1945 until surrendering this vessel on May 8th. His highest award was the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The 3rd highest scoring U-boat Commander, Topp sank a total of 36 ships totalling almost 200,000 tons |
  Otto Kretschmer (deceased) Died : 1998 *Signature Value : £80 Editions signed : Knights Cross Presentation Edition of 5 artist proofs. | Kretschmer, Otto (Otto Kretschmer (deceased)) Otto Kretschmer was born in May 1912, joining the navy in 1930, and transferring to u-boats in 1936. He was the Watch Officer aboard U-35 from 3rd November 1936 to 30th July 1937. He briefly took command of U-35 after the death of the Captain, Hermann Michahelles, assuming command until 15th August 1937, after which he was Watch Officer once again until 30th September 1937. During this time, U-35 was involved in the Spanish Civil WarHe was in command of U-23 at the outbreak of war in 1939, and had successful patrols with U-23 which included the sinking of HMS Daring, before taking command of U-99 in April 1940. In March 1941, Kretschmer was captured after scuttling U-99 due to damage suffered from depth charges from British destroyer HMS Walker. After his capture, Kretschmer was imprisoned until December 1947. Despite his capture early in the war, Kretschmers total tonnage sunk of over 273 thousand tons was enough to make him the top scoring u-boat Ace of the war. Kretschmer was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Otto Kretschmer died 5th August 1998. |
  Klaus Scholtz (deceased) Died : 1987 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Knights Cross Presentation Edition of 5 artist proofs. | Scholtz, Klaus (Klaus Scholtz (deceased)) Klaus Scholtz commanded U-108 during World War Two, sinking a total tonnage of 111,546 tons. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, and was the Kriegsmarines 18th ranked u-boat Ace. Klaus Scholtz joined the German Navy in 1927 and before the outbreak of world war two, spent his first naval years on the german Torpedo Boats G-8, G-11 and Jaguar. He joined the U-boat arm of the Kriegsmarine in April 1940 and joined the new Type IXB U-Boat U-108 sailing on their first patrol in February 1941 where U-108 sank 2 ships. in April 1941 on their second patrol in the Straits of Denmark, U-108 sank the AMC Rajputana, the British Armed Merchant Cruiser. Klaus Scholtz commanded U-108 on three more Atalantic patrols, and in January 1942 Scholtz took U-108 to join the U-baot attacks on Allied shipping of the Coast of the US sinking five more ships. He had a further two more patrols until October 1942 when Klaus Scholtz became the commander of the 12th Flotilla based at Bordeaux. The 12th Flotilla was equipped with long range U-Boats which operated in the South Atalntic and also the Indian Ocean. Scholtz commanded this flotilla until August 1944. he was captured by the Americans and spent 18 mpnths as a prisoner of war. Klaus Scholtz died 1st May 1987 |
  Jurgen Oesten (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £75 Editions signed : Alfred Eick, Jurgen Oesten Knights Cross signature edition of 50 prints. | Oesten, Jurgen (Jurgen Oesten (deceased)) Jurgen Oesten joined the Kriesgmarine in April 1933. He first served on the Admiral Graf Spee and Karlsruhe but transfered to U-Boats in May 1937. In October 1937 he became Watch Officer on U-20 and in August 1939 he joined the new U-Boat U-61 which he served on for 8 patrols, sinking 6 ships during his mine laying patrols. In November he joined U-106. During her first patrol U-106 sank two ships on her way to her new base at Lorient. Jurgen Oesten was awarded the Knights Cross on his second patrol, off Africa where he sank eight ships. During this attack he torpedoed and damaged the British attleship HMS Malaya. In March 1942 he became Admiralstabsoffizier in Norway with Admiral Nordmeer and directed U-boat operations in the Arctic. In September he again joined the U-boats and joined U-861 and in April 1944 she joined the Monson Boats which was a special Wolfpack operating far away from germany, out of japanese bases in Indonesia at Jakarta, Penang and Sebang, sinking two ships on her way to Penang. U-861 operated at sea for five months, after which she was ordered back to Germany with vital supplies. On the 15th January 1945 U-861 left Soerabaya in Indonesia. On the return journey off Greenland Oesten struck an Iceburg but managed to reach Trondheim on 19th April 1945. His awards were as follows: 6th June 1939, The Spanish Cross, 3rd December 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class, 27 February 1940, Iron Cross 1st Class, 26th March 1941 Knights Cross. Sadly, Jurgen Oesten passed away on 5th August 2010. |
  Alfred Eick (deceased) Died : 2015 *Signature Value : £75 Editions signed : Alfred Eick, Jurgen Oesten Knights Cross signature edition of 50 prints. Alfred Eick U-Boat Knights Cross signature edition of 10 prints, from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. | Eick, Alfred (Alfred Eick (deceased)) Alfred Eick joined the Kriegsmarine in 1937, first serving on the destroyer Hermann Beitzen during the frist year of the war. In November 1940 he joined the u-boats, first sailing on two trips on U-176. He bacame commander of U-510 in May 1943, patrolling the Brazilian Waters on his first u-boat patrol. His second patrol was on U-510 as a Monson Boat which was a Wolfpack operating far away from Germany out of Japanese bases in Indonesia at Jakarta, Penang and Sebang. U-510 operated in the Indian Ocean until January 1945 when they were ordered back to Germany, taking with them important materials including tin. U-510 was re-supplied with fuel from U-861 but ran out of fuel in the North Atalnatic, finally managing to reach St Nazaire in April 1945. His awards were as follows: 12th Janaury 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class, 1st August 1943, Iron Cross 1st Class, 16 March 1944 German Cross in Gold, 31st March 1944 Knights Cross. Alfred Eick died 12th April 2015. |
| Ships Related to This Print |
| U552 |
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Signature(s) value alone : £255
Signature(s) value alone : £105