submariner

Lieut. von Weddigen [i.e., Otto Weddigen] (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• 1 older comment, and then…
• Kilted Cowboy said:

  Commander Otto Weddigen, commanding U9 when she sank 3 elderly British Cruisers in the broad fourteens early in the war, sparking sudden knowledge of how deadly a submarine could be. Battle details: www.worldwar1.co.uk/cressy.htm

• bior said:

  Can anyone make out the signature? Is it the photographer's?

• Kilted Cowboy said:

  Well, it's Otto's name, possibly in his own hand as the Bain photos don't normally have anything like this. It does appear to be a German style script as well

• Alpenkorps1915 said:

  its just "Otto Weddigen" ... seems to be his own signature

• Kilted Cowboy said:

  it's interesting. I have not generally heard of him using the von (reserved for nobilty) His German WIki page does not use the von, and I can't find any reference to the title being granted. Perhaps people often assume it would have been granted to him but I can't find any evidence it ever was before he died later in the war, being sunk by HMS Dreadnaught ramming his boat. If you search him you can find entries for both, often in the same article.