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World War One discussions.
Re: Unknown U-boat
Posted by:
Stavros
()
Date: April 12, 2016 10:27AM
Michael, Oliver, Simon,
I am greatly indebted for your valuable assistance and time devoted in identifying the U-boats that carried out these two special missions. I am also moved. The diary of Lieutenant Potiropoulos was passed on to my father, who also managed to obtain a copy from the notes of the other officer, Lieutenant Papakostas. It has been a great pleasure for me to share the details i have of the second special mission of transporting 2 greek officers by U-boat from Pola to South-Western Peloponnese in 1918, from a genuine source (diary) of a person on-board, which, even though it turns out that the dates mentioned in it were erroneous/wrong by 3 days, nevertheless sheds valuable light into an event for which very little was known.
As you informed me, special missions were always carried out as part of a patrol, at the beginning of the patrol, as was the case with these 2 special missions.
I have concentrated the info from the War Diaries kindly provided, on the two special missions in the following lines (to make sure that i have jotted it down correctly) :
INFO ON FIRST SPECIAL MISSION (TRANSPORTATION OF FIRST PAIR OF GREEK OFFICERS TO SOUTH-WESTERN PELOPONNESE, BAY OF ARCADIA)
All info from microfilm except for W/T message
1) Source of Information : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
23.02.1918: Departure from Pola at 5 p.m. (could you kindly provide the words which appear in the KTB, in german?)
2) Source of Information : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
27.02.1918 : "Sonderaufgabe ausgeführt (siehe Sonderbericht)" - executed special mission, see special report
3) Source of Information: W/T Message of UB-68
"Ballen ohne Schwierigkeiten am vorgesehenen Platz ausgeladen" - unloaded bales without difficulties at the designated spot
Date of W/T Message: unknown
(could have been sent on same day or on March 2nd 1918, as UB 68 was forced to abort the mission because of the total failure of the port electric engine)
INFO ON SECOND SPECIAL MISSION (TRANSPORTATION OF SECOND PAIR OF GREEK OFFICERS TO SOUTH-WESTERN PELOPONNESE, BAY OF KALAMATA)
All info from microfilm (?)
1) Source of Information : ?(KTB of UB-50?, microfilm?)
14.03.1918: Departure from Pola (time of departure: unknown)
(could you kindly also provide the words that appear in the KTB, in german?)
2) Source of Information : original KTB of UB-50 (microfilm?)
18.03.1918
08.25h getaucht, Bucht von Kalamata eingelaufen – Sonderbericht !
18.35h aufgetaucht, Mission erfüllt, abgelaufen
3) Source : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
18.03.1918
Wind from the East with force 1, Sea with force 1
(could you kindly also provide the words that appear in the KTB, in german?)
Based on the info, I have been trying to find and purchase images or postcards of UB-50 and UB-68 and an image of Kapitänleutnant Franz Becker (browsing through various websites, such as some sites selling old postcards etc), without success until now. Any ideas on where i could look?
Thank you very much,
Best wishes.
Stavros Fessas
I am greatly indebted for your valuable assistance and time devoted in identifying the U-boats that carried out these two special missions. I am also moved. The diary of Lieutenant Potiropoulos was passed on to my father, who also managed to obtain a copy from the notes of the other officer, Lieutenant Papakostas. It has been a great pleasure for me to share the details i have of the second special mission of transporting 2 greek officers by U-boat from Pola to South-Western Peloponnese in 1918, from a genuine source (diary) of a person on-board, which, even though it turns out that the dates mentioned in it were erroneous/wrong by 3 days, nevertheless sheds valuable light into an event for which very little was known.
As you informed me, special missions were always carried out as part of a patrol, at the beginning of the patrol, as was the case with these 2 special missions.
I have concentrated the info from the War Diaries kindly provided, on the two special missions in the following lines (to make sure that i have jotted it down correctly) :
INFO ON FIRST SPECIAL MISSION (TRANSPORTATION OF FIRST PAIR OF GREEK OFFICERS TO SOUTH-WESTERN PELOPONNESE, BAY OF ARCADIA)
All info from microfilm except for W/T message
1) Source of Information : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
23.02.1918: Departure from Pola at 5 p.m. (could you kindly provide the words which appear in the KTB, in german?)
2) Source of Information : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
27.02.1918 : "Sonderaufgabe ausgeführt (siehe Sonderbericht)" - executed special mission, see special report
3) Source of Information: W/T Message of UB-68
"Ballen ohne Schwierigkeiten am vorgesehenen Platz ausgeladen" - unloaded bales without difficulties at the designated spot
Date of W/T Message: unknown
(could have been sent on same day or on March 2nd 1918, as UB 68 was forced to abort the mission because of the total failure of the port electric engine)
INFO ON SECOND SPECIAL MISSION (TRANSPORTATION OF SECOND PAIR OF GREEK OFFICERS TO SOUTH-WESTERN PELOPONNESE, BAY OF KALAMATA)
All info from microfilm (?)
1) Source of Information : ?(KTB of UB-50?, microfilm?)
14.03.1918: Departure from Pola (time of departure: unknown)
(could you kindly also provide the words that appear in the KTB, in german?)
2) Source of Information : original KTB of UB-50 (microfilm?)
18.03.1918
08.25h getaucht, Bucht von Kalamata eingelaufen – Sonderbericht !
18.35h aufgetaucht, Mission erfüllt, abgelaufen
3) Source : KTB of UB-68 (microfilm)
18.03.1918
Wind from the East with force 1, Sea with force 1
(could you kindly also provide the words that appear in the KTB, in german?)
Based on the info, I have been trying to find and purchase images or postcards of UB-50 and UB-68 and an image of Kapitänleutnant Franz Becker (browsing through various websites, such as some sites selling old postcards etc), without success until now. Any ideas on where i could look?
Thank you very much,
Best wishes.
Stavros Fessas
