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 Boats replenishing suplies in Southern Ireland WW2
Posted by:
kurt
()
Date: August 14, 2006 05:22PM
Barry:
Without commenting one way or the other on the veracity of the U-35 story (I don't know) I'd point out that putting rescued non-combatants ashore in a neutral country was a perfectly lawful act for a combatant (if an unfortunately rare event) and in no way indicates any Irish sympathy or assistance to the Germans.
In the 60+ years since the end of WWII, there have been no documented cases of a U-boat receiving supplies of any kind from Ireland. No Irish or German veterans have mentioned it. No records exist in ships logs. No orders, either in captured German records or from Ultra intercepts, have ever been found. Supply missions like this simply do not happen without leaving fingerprints: orders, records, paperwork, men's memories.... Note that there are ample records documenting re-supply of U-boats from Spain, a truly friendly neutral.
This Irish re-supply is another myth...like the stories of U-boat men shopping (or watching movies, or having a pint at the local pub, or whatever) ashore during patrol.
Regards,
Kurt
Without commenting one way or the other on the veracity of the U-35 story (I don't know) I'd point out that putting rescued non-combatants ashore in a neutral country was a perfectly lawful act for a combatant (if an unfortunately rare event) and in no way indicates any Irish sympathy or assistance to the Germans.
In the 60+ years since the end of WWII, there have been no documented cases of a U-boat receiving supplies of any kind from Ireland. No Irish or German veterans have mentioned it. No records exist in ships logs. No orders, either in captured German records or from Ultra intercepts, have ever been found. Supply missions like this simply do not happen without leaving fingerprints: orders, records, paperwork, men's memories.... Note that there are ample records documenting re-supply of U-boats from Spain, a truly friendly neutral.
This Irish re-supply is another myth...like the stories of U-boat men shopping (or watching movies, or having a pint at the local pub, or whatever) ashore during patrol.
Regards,
Kurt