General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: Bear Island
Posted by:
Vidar T
()
Date: October 02, 2006 06:26PM
Some additional info
U-992 visited Jan Mayen both the 17th of July 1944 (to find a suitable place for an automatic weather station) and from the 18th to 25th of September to set up the station. (Most of the time they were waiting for the swell to go down so much that they were able to land their rubber dinghies).
The weather station set up by U-1163/Balduhn the 16th-20th of November 1944 had the code-name "Taaget". The two weather men, a Norwegian Nazi code-named "Ludwig" and a Soviet POW code-named "Balkin" who had joined the Germans, was a textbook example of a badly composed crew. They did not understand each other’s language, and couldn’t bear the face of each other. In addition to this "Ludwig" was drinking heavily, had personal disturbances and was generally uninterested in his job. Out of this followed that the weather observations taken were few and unreliable, the pair had no common meals, their equipment was left outside and ruined, but last and not least there was a continuing near state of war between the two.
U-992/Falke supplied the weather station from the 25th to the 28th of January 1945. They also fixed the generator/batteries of the station which didn't work.
U-668/Eickstedt evacuated the survivor from "Taaget" on Bear Island the 10th of April 1945.
The story of the hunting exedition was Balkin's first version of what happended. Later he told another version:
"Ludwig" had been drunk, had threatened him and made him come with him in a rubber dinghy for a fishing trip in the Walrus bay. Here "Ludwig" had started to rock the boat from side to side until it capsized and both of them fell into the water.
"Balkin" managed to swim ashore where he according to his own account had been lying unconscious for a time. "Ludwig" hadn’t managed to get ashore. Completely exhausted "Balkin" had reached the station, where he not before two days in deep apathy had been able to send a distress message to Bardufoss.
Source u-992's KTB. Franz Selinger: Von "Nanok" bis "Eismitte" Meteorologische Unternehmungen in der Arktis 1940-1945. ISBN 3-934613-12-8
Rgds
Vidar
U-992 visited Jan Mayen both the 17th of July 1944 (to find a suitable place for an automatic weather station) and from the 18th to 25th of September to set up the station. (Most of the time they were waiting for the swell to go down so much that they were able to land their rubber dinghies).
The weather station set up by U-1163/Balduhn the 16th-20th of November 1944 had the code-name "Taaget". The two weather men, a Norwegian Nazi code-named "Ludwig" and a Soviet POW code-named "Balkin" who had joined the Germans, was a textbook example of a badly composed crew. They did not understand each other’s language, and couldn’t bear the face of each other. In addition to this "Ludwig" was drinking heavily, had personal disturbances and was generally uninterested in his job. Out of this followed that the weather observations taken were few and unreliable, the pair had no common meals, their equipment was left outside and ruined, but last and not least there was a continuing near state of war between the two.
U-992/Falke supplied the weather station from the 25th to the 28th of January 1945. They also fixed the generator/batteries of the station which didn't work.
U-668/Eickstedt evacuated the survivor from "Taaget" on Bear Island the 10th of April 1945.
The story of the hunting exedition was Balkin's first version of what happended. Later he told another version:
"Ludwig" had been drunk, had threatened him and made him come with him in a rubber dinghy for a fishing trip in the Walrus bay. Here "Ludwig" had started to rock the boat from side to side until it capsized and both of them fell into the water.
"Balkin" managed to swim ashore where he according to his own account had been lying unconscious for a time. "Ludwig" hadn’t managed to get ashore. Completely exhausted "Balkin" had reached the station, where he not before two days in deep apathy had been able to send a distress message to Bardufoss.
Source u-992's KTB. Franz Selinger: Von "Nanok" bis "Eismitte" Meteorologische Unternehmungen in der Arktis 1940-1945. ISBN 3-934613-12-8
Rgds
Vidar
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Bear Island
|
Edward | 10/01/2006 12:01PM |
|
Re: Bear Island
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Vidar T | 10/02/2006 06:26PM |
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