General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
Posted by:
Terry Andrews
()
Date: August 23, 2001 02:52AM
<HTML>Hi all
here is a little bit of info that i came across recently on a little discussed subject on \"Black sea Ops\"
Six Type IIBs featured in one of the mosy unusual deployments ever undertaken by submarines. The first consideration of U-boat opearations in the Black Sea was given prior to Operation Barbarossa, but this was not approved by Hitler because he considered that the land attack on the Soviet Union would have succeeded before the boats could be in position.
A second proposal in late 1941 was also vetoed, but the third finally achieved success, when Hitler approved the transporting of three U-boats to Romania.
Accordingly, three Type IIBs, U-9, U-19 and U-24, were dismantled at Kiel in the summer of 1942, ( I have a picture of U-9 and U-24 lying in a partially dismantled state on pontoon barges!) which involved removing the conning tower, diesel engines, electrical motors, batteries, and other smaller items. Three rafts were constructed from five pontoons each and a hull was then placed on its side on each raft. Since each hull weighed some 250 tons and was 134.5ft (41m) long, this was a considerable task.
These rafts were moved through the Kiel Canal to Hamburg and then upstream along the River Elbe as far as Dresden. At a landing stage near the city the pontoons were taken out of the water and the hulls cross-loaded onto special transport trailers, each of which was pulled by four tractors, working either one behind the other or four in-line in two parallel pairs, depending on the road and weather conditions. These transporters then moved with great care and at a maximum speed of 5 mph (8 kmh) along the autobahn from Dresden, southwards around Nurnburg to the River Danube at Ingolstadt, where they were cross-loaded back onto their pontoons, which had arrived separately by rail.
From Ingolstadt the pontoons continued their journey until they reached the Austrian city of Linz, where the submarine hulls were floated off, brought upright by flooding their main ballast tanks and then reinstalling on the pontoons.
They then moved on again, with each raft sandwiched between two barges in an effort to disguise what was going on from Allied spies and reconnaissance aircraft!
They passed Vienna and continued on through Yugoslavia and Romania until they reached Galati, where each hull was put in a floating dock, where it was completely reassembled and then handed over to its crew, who took it on the final leg of the journey to Constanza on the Black Sea coast. They became operational in October 1942.
In August 1942, before the first three boats had even reached their foal. Hitler ordered another three to join them and Admiral Raeder selected three more Type IIBs: U-18, U-20 and U-23. Although the transport system had already been tested winter conditions added to the problems, but the second group of three U-boats also reached the Black Sea successfully and became opearational in May 1943.
The six U-boats operated with some success in the Black Sea, sinking a number of Soviet tankers and auxiliaries. U-9 was sunk and U-18 and U-24 were damaged in a Soviet air attack on Constanza on August 20th 1944 and were blown up by their own crews on August 20. The other three were offered to Turkey, but when that country refused to accept them they were scuttled off the Turkish coast on September 2nd 1944.
Source: David Miller. U-Boats, The Illustrated History of the Raiders of the Deep.
What a journey!
best regards
Terry Andrews.</HTML>
here is a little bit of info that i came across recently on a little discussed subject on \"Black sea Ops\"
Six Type IIBs featured in one of the mosy unusual deployments ever undertaken by submarines. The first consideration of U-boat opearations in the Black Sea was given prior to Operation Barbarossa, but this was not approved by Hitler because he considered that the land attack on the Soviet Union would have succeeded before the boats could be in position.
A second proposal in late 1941 was also vetoed, but the third finally achieved success, when Hitler approved the transporting of three U-boats to Romania.
Accordingly, three Type IIBs, U-9, U-19 and U-24, were dismantled at Kiel in the summer of 1942, ( I have a picture of U-9 and U-24 lying in a partially dismantled state on pontoon barges!) which involved removing the conning tower, diesel engines, electrical motors, batteries, and other smaller items. Three rafts were constructed from five pontoons each and a hull was then placed on its side on each raft. Since each hull weighed some 250 tons and was 134.5ft (41m) long, this was a considerable task.
These rafts were moved through the Kiel Canal to Hamburg and then upstream along the River Elbe as far as Dresden. At a landing stage near the city the pontoons were taken out of the water and the hulls cross-loaded onto special transport trailers, each of which was pulled by four tractors, working either one behind the other or four in-line in two parallel pairs, depending on the road and weather conditions. These transporters then moved with great care and at a maximum speed of 5 mph (8 kmh) along the autobahn from Dresden, southwards around Nurnburg to the River Danube at Ingolstadt, where they were cross-loaded back onto their pontoons, which had arrived separately by rail.
From Ingolstadt the pontoons continued their journey until they reached the Austrian city of Linz, where the submarine hulls were floated off, brought upright by flooding their main ballast tanks and then reinstalling on the pontoons.
They then moved on again, with each raft sandwiched between two barges in an effort to disguise what was going on from Allied spies and reconnaissance aircraft!
They passed Vienna and continued on through Yugoslavia and Romania until they reached Galati, where each hull was put in a floating dock, where it was completely reassembled and then handed over to its crew, who took it on the final leg of the journey to Constanza on the Black Sea coast. They became operational in October 1942.
In August 1942, before the first three boats had even reached their foal. Hitler ordered another three to join them and Admiral Raeder selected three more Type IIBs: U-18, U-20 and U-23. Although the transport system had already been tested winter conditions added to the problems, but the second group of three U-boats also reached the Black Sea successfully and became opearational in May 1943.
The six U-boats operated with some success in the Black Sea, sinking a number of Soviet tankers and auxiliaries. U-9 was sunk and U-18 and U-24 were damaged in a Soviet air attack on Constanza on August 20th 1944 and were blown up by their own crews on August 20. The other three were offered to Turkey, but when that country refused to accept them they were scuttled off the Turkish coast on September 2nd 1944.
Source: David Miller. U-Boats, The Illustrated History of the Raiders of the Deep.
What a journey!
best regards
Terry Andrews.</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Terry Andrews | 08/23/2001 02:52AM |
|
RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Brian Corijn | 08/23/2001 10:11AM |
|
RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/23/2001 10:43AM |
|
RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
walter M | 08/23/2001 11:41AM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/23/2001 04:21PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
walter M | 08/23/2001 07:15PM |
|
RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
oliver | 08/24/2001 02:31PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
walter M | 08/26/2001 05:21PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
oliver | 08/26/2001 06:42PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/27/2001 08:05AM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Tom Iwanski | 08/23/2001 03:00PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/23/2001 05:01PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
oliver | 08/24/2001 02:33PM |
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RE: Black Sea Deployment. (The Journey)
|
Yuri IL\'IN | 08/26/2001 11:39AM |