General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Interesting
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: August 09, 2001 03:34PM
<HTML>Hello dear friends,
It\'s been a while and I send all of you my best regards as always. Still busy with life and trips to Trinidad. I actually found the museum this time. But as luck would have it, it was closed for renovation until September! So I finally find the place and now this! Sorry to disappoint you guys. It is a pretty small looking place, nothing impressive but still neat.
By the way, here is something interesting I found while doing some research. It is about a u-boat\'s relationship with the mighty Bismarck.
The U-boat’s captain was in an impish frame of mind as he put his brand new U-boat U-556 through its trials in the Baltic. It was winter 1941 and from his point of view it had been a good war so far. Britain and Russia’s lifeline, the convoys crossing the Atlantic, were sitting targets for beleaguered Germany’s U-boat packs. Lt. Commander ‘Parsifal’ Wohlfarth’s latest command was the most recent addition to the twenty-five submarines being produced by German shipyards each month.
Across the darkening windswept waves of the Baltic Sea he could still clearly make out the superstructure of the Bismarck. At 40,000 tons it was the latest and largest battleship in the world. It too was carrying out exercises when it received a signal from the minuscule 500-ton U-556: ‘personal from captain to captain. A fine ship you have there!’
Wohlfarth’s impertinence did not go down too well with the commander of the Bismarck, who signalled back: ‘from commander to captain, report name of commanding officer.’
“Oh, Lord!†exclaimed Captain Wohlfarth. “Now I’ve done it.†He promptly signalled back to the Bismarck. ‘From Captain to Captain – you try to do this!’ Within moments the cheeky skipper of the U-boat had slipped beneath the waves.
THE GODFATHER U-BOAT
The weeks passed and Lt. Commander Wohlfarth wishing to make amends for his cheek, had drawn up a magnificent ‘Certificate of Godfatherhood’. It was expressed in terms of friendly admiration in which U-556 pledged itself to act as ‘godfather’ to the Bismarck.
He then called on the battleship’s commander where amidst laughter the document was received with good grace. The special relationship between the world’s most formidable battleship and the diminutive submarine was born. Weeks later when the U-556 started out on its first patrol, Captain ‘Parsifal’ Wohlfarth signalled again to the Bismarck: ‘personal from captain to captain. When you follow me, don’t worry. I will see that you come to no harm.’
It was a pledge that the U-556’s captain would bitterly regret when months later tragic circumstances caused him to fail as a ‘godparent’ to the great German battleship.
Captain Wohlfarth’s U-556 was one a U-boat pack patrolling the treacherous and near frozen waters lying between Iceland and South Greenland. Their ‘West Group’ between them had so far sunk eighteen British ships carrying cargo, much of it to Stalin’s war-crazed dictatorship then threatening the existence of their German homeland. A further three allied had ships had been damaged and now Lt. Commander Wohlfarth’s command was now low on both torpedoes and fuel.
SOURCE: www.ety.com/HRP/walshcomments/20010625.htm
Well, hope you enjoyed that, an interesting story I reckon. I wish all of those I know here all the best and I\'ll be in touch :-)
Fin
</HTML>
It\'s been a while and I send all of you my best regards as always. Still busy with life and trips to Trinidad. I actually found the museum this time. But as luck would have it, it was closed for renovation until September! So I finally find the place and now this! Sorry to disappoint you guys. It is a pretty small looking place, nothing impressive but still neat.
By the way, here is something interesting I found while doing some research. It is about a u-boat\'s relationship with the mighty Bismarck.
The U-boat’s captain was in an impish frame of mind as he put his brand new U-boat U-556 through its trials in the Baltic. It was winter 1941 and from his point of view it had been a good war so far. Britain and Russia’s lifeline, the convoys crossing the Atlantic, were sitting targets for beleaguered Germany’s U-boat packs. Lt. Commander ‘Parsifal’ Wohlfarth’s latest command was the most recent addition to the twenty-five submarines being produced by German shipyards each month.
Across the darkening windswept waves of the Baltic Sea he could still clearly make out the superstructure of the Bismarck. At 40,000 tons it was the latest and largest battleship in the world. It too was carrying out exercises when it received a signal from the minuscule 500-ton U-556: ‘personal from captain to captain. A fine ship you have there!’
Wohlfarth’s impertinence did not go down too well with the commander of the Bismarck, who signalled back: ‘from commander to captain, report name of commanding officer.’
“Oh, Lord!†exclaimed Captain Wohlfarth. “Now I’ve done it.†He promptly signalled back to the Bismarck. ‘From Captain to Captain – you try to do this!’ Within moments the cheeky skipper of the U-boat had slipped beneath the waves.
THE GODFATHER U-BOAT
The weeks passed and Lt. Commander Wohlfarth wishing to make amends for his cheek, had drawn up a magnificent ‘Certificate of Godfatherhood’. It was expressed in terms of friendly admiration in which U-556 pledged itself to act as ‘godfather’ to the Bismarck.
He then called on the battleship’s commander where amidst laughter the document was received with good grace. The special relationship between the world’s most formidable battleship and the diminutive submarine was born. Weeks later when the U-556 started out on its first patrol, Captain ‘Parsifal’ Wohlfarth signalled again to the Bismarck: ‘personal from captain to captain. When you follow me, don’t worry. I will see that you come to no harm.’
It was a pledge that the U-556’s captain would bitterly regret when months later tragic circumstances caused him to fail as a ‘godparent’ to the great German battleship.
Captain Wohlfarth’s U-556 was one a U-boat pack patrolling the treacherous and near frozen waters lying between Iceland and South Greenland. Their ‘West Group’ between them had so far sunk eighteen British ships carrying cargo, much of it to Stalin’s war-crazed dictatorship then threatening the existence of their German homeland. A further three allied had ships had been damaged and now Lt. Commander Wohlfarth’s command was now low on both torpedoes and fuel.
SOURCE: www.ety.com/HRP/walshcomments/20010625.htm
Well, hope you enjoyed that, an interesting story I reckon. I wish all of those I know here all the best and I\'ll be in touch :-)
Fin
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Interesting
|
Fin Bonset | 08/09/2001 03:34PM |
|
RE: Interesting
|
Torlef | 08/10/2001 04:54AM |
|
RE: Interesting
|
Fin Bonset | 08/10/2001 10:56AM |
|
RE: Interesting
|
mike | 08/10/2001 01:44PM |
|
RE: Interesting
|
Ken Deshaies | 08/17/2001 06:04PM |