General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: U-156 & Kplt. Hartenstein
Posted by:
walter M.
()
Date: July 16, 2001 12:34PM
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The \"Laconia\" had about 1800 Italian prisoners \"down below\". Their Polish guards under the command of Lt.Col Baldwin harshly treated the Italians during the whole trip. More than seven hundreds of them were killed by the torpedoes blasts. Not having enough lifeboats for all the souls on board (Titanic like, less cold water plus some sharks). Capt. Robert Sharp and First Officer George Steel presented their own life belts to a couple of prisoners who cannot swim, remained on board and perished. The Second Officer, Mr Buckingham, survived but was held prisoner by the Germans because he saw too many things inside an U-boat.
I report the list of all the ships involved in the “Laconia†survivors\' rescue and add some other details:
*U-156 with W. Hartensein as skipper; the day after torpedoing the liner was strafed by a Liberator (four engine plane) most likely based at Ascension Island. She hit U-156 and one lifeboat. I can’t believe the Allied did not know which plane was on patrol in that zone and who the hell was that “brave†pilot.
*U-507, with Harro “black sheep†Schacht skipper, who behaved like Hartenstein but was not bombed,
*U-506, Erich Wuerdemann, who also behaved like his colleagues and was not strafed
*U-459 (a supply U-boat) with Wilamowitz-Mollendorf skipper (a veteran of WW1, old mode gentleman);
*RSM Cappellini with Marco Revedin as skipper (arrived later like any average Italian, of course)
*French Vichy Navy vessels \"Gloire\", \"Dumont-d\'Urville\" and \"Annamite\" from Dakar.
The Germans appreciated the effort of the French Vichy personnel and freed four hundreds Frenchmen held prisoners in Germany as a compensation for the help received. None of the German U-boat skippers involved in this incident survived the war. They were all dead within months.
The order that cost Doenitz his sentence was code named \"Triton Null\" not “Laconia order†Actually Doenitz was upset because most of the “Eisbar†submarine group became involved in the rescue and forgot, at least for a while, there was a war going on…
I wrote the above for the newcomers and hope the old sea wolves will not start shooting; anyway more untold details are welcomed.
Greetings
walter M
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The \"Laconia\" had about 1800 Italian prisoners \"down below\". Their Polish guards under the command of Lt.Col Baldwin harshly treated the Italians during the whole trip. More than seven hundreds of them were killed by the torpedoes blasts. Not having enough lifeboats for all the souls on board (Titanic like, less cold water plus some sharks). Capt. Robert Sharp and First Officer George Steel presented their own life belts to a couple of prisoners who cannot swim, remained on board and perished. The Second Officer, Mr Buckingham, survived but was held prisoner by the Germans because he saw too many things inside an U-boat.
I report the list of all the ships involved in the “Laconia†survivors\' rescue and add some other details:
*U-156 with W. Hartensein as skipper; the day after torpedoing the liner was strafed by a Liberator (four engine plane) most likely based at Ascension Island. She hit U-156 and one lifeboat. I can’t believe the Allied did not know which plane was on patrol in that zone and who the hell was that “brave†pilot.
*U-507, with Harro “black sheep†Schacht skipper, who behaved like Hartenstein but was not bombed,
*U-506, Erich Wuerdemann, who also behaved like his colleagues and was not strafed
*U-459 (a supply U-boat) with Wilamowitz-Mollendorf skipper (a veteran of WW1, old mode gentleman);
*RSM Cappellini with Marco Revedin as skipper (arrived later like any average Italian, of course)
*French Vichy Navy vessels \"Gloire\", \"Dumont-d\'Urville\" and \"Annamite\" from Dakar.
The Germans appreciated the effort of the French Vichy personnel and freed four hundreds Frenchmen held prisoners in Germany as a compensation for the help received. None of the German U-boat skippers involved in this incident survived the war. They were all dead within months.
The order that cost Doenitz his sentence was code named \"Triton Null\" not “Laconia order†Actually Doenitz was upset because most of the “Eisbar†submarine group became involved in the rescue and forgot, at least for a while, there was a war going on…
I wrote the above for the newcomers and hope the old sea wolves will not start shooting; anyway more untold details are welcomed.
Greetings
walter M
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| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-156 & Kplt. Hartenstein
|
Capt Patrick Lane | 07/14/2001 08:32PM |
|
RE: The Laconia Incident
|
MPC | 07/14/2001 09:37PM |
|
RE: The Laconia Incident
|
MPC | 07/14/2001 09:42PM |
|
RE: U-156 & Kplt. Hartenstein
|
Ken Dunn | 07/15/2001 12:17AM |
|
RE: U-156 & Kplt. Hartenstein
|
walter M. | 07/16/2001 12:34PM |