Martin, The landing of casemate and two others is described in U 19's KTBs as is the sinking of Feliciana later that day. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Flemming, First of all, there were two different grid map systems in WWI, as a completely new system was introduced in 1918. For the earlier grid system, the best way to make sense of it so find one of the maps used in a KTB. Note that maps were four color, so when reduced to black-and-white they can be a bit difficult to read. I'll send you the overview map that I found in a KTB.
Forum: WWI forum

No, I have HMS Mistletoe as sinking a U-boat. Best wishes, Michael
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Steven, I had a look at the Ehrenrangliste, which is the list of all German naval officers of World War I, and there is no Heilige listed. Best wishes, Michael
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Yes they could, but didn't actually do so with one exception until 1918. The North Carolina coast was the southern extent of U-boat operations in World War I. There were a couple sinkings off the Outer Banks in 1918, including, famously, the Mirlo by U 117 and the Diamond Shoals Light Vessel and the Merak by U 140. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Nap, The short answer is not a lot! PM your e-mail address and I send it to you. Maybe the most interesting aspect is that U 65 still had the crew of the sailing vessel Emancipato on board, which was also put into Teresina 's life boat. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Nap, I have a copy of U 65's KTB. What information are you looking for? Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Thorstein, You're correct, the data are pretty much all about this specific propeller. Propeller markings are the preferred means of identifying WWI U-boat wrecks. Each yard though marked their props differently. I also have a photo in my files of one of the props from the Blohm & Voss-built UB 78, which matches closely to what's on UC 39's propeller. The key fifference is t
Forum: General Discussions

John, Unfortunately, there are many other commanders from both world wars that fall in that same category. Hopefully, we'll eventually have enough information to address that though research on medals and awards is in itself a highly specialized field in which some records no longer exist. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: General Discussions

John, Jurst may very well have been awarded the EK2 and EK1. It's just that we at uboat.net don't currently have access to sources to confirm that. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: General Discussions

Steve, Bartens was killed along with 15 others when UC 76 suffered a severe minehandling accident on May 10, 1917 while preparing to go out on her next patrol. The first mine that was being loaded fell through the bottom of the chute and exploded, sinking UC 76. The boat was later raised and repaired. I'll add in an explanation to UC 76's file. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Martin, There's an excellent French-language discussion board that has a topic on this sinking: Best wishes, Michael
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Pat, U 84 was not sunk on December 3, 1917. The U-boat’s next to last patrol was from November 12 to December 7, 1917. She then sailed on her final patrol, from which she did not return, on January 1, 1918. She was then sighted by U 22 on the night of January 6/7, 1918 off the French coast in the Bay of Biscay. I'm not sure of the meaning of the whistle. Do you know anything of your g
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, Lockhart Leith's work is known in U-boat research circles. It's absolutely essential when dealing with minefields not covered by the mine maps in the Krieg zur See Nordsee series. A lot of U-boat wrecks have been found off the Flanders coast in recent years. I used data from Lockhart Leith a couple of years ago to attribute out four of these wrecks. Here are the U-boats
Forum: WWI forum

Joe, Three points: 1. I have little respect for the U.S. Navy lost list. They got things wrong, simple as that. 2. The ON TIME you mention is NOT included in the list of "Loss of American vessels reported during fiscal year 1919" in the 1919 "List of Merchant Vessels of the United States." 3. I'm helping someone with a book on U-boat off the U.S. coast in WWI
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Chris, von Prittwitz und Gaffron, Valentiner, and Vesper are all in the 1907 Rangliste. von Prittwitz und Gaffron is listed at the very bottom of page 154 while Valentiner (Hans) is on the middle of page 155 and Vesper is listed just below him. Note the priority numbers in the 1908 Rangliste for Crew 1907 — that's more or less the same order they would get promoted in later to higher
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, Well yes, there's the yearly Rangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine, which is the German equivalent of the Navy List. There was also a supplement published in the fall with updates. You can find the 1907 through 1914 Rangliste here: I also have the 1900 - 1906, 1916, 1918, and 1922 editions and the Ehrenrangliste as pdfs. We've used the various editions of the Rangli
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, You have e-mail. As for a source, do you have a copy of the yearly Rangliste? Best wishes, Michael
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See also: And we do have a WWI forum too.
Forum: General Discussions

Tom, I can't tell you where/how Luckham died, but there's a bit more information on him available via the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Key points: Major Luckham was 33 when he died, had been awarded the Mentioned in Despatches, had been seconded to East African Intelligence Corps, is listed as dying on July 4, 1943, and is listed on the East Africa Memorial. This is the de
Forum: General Discussions

I'm presuming the TV show would be on UB 85, as the wreck of a UBIII was found last year that might be that boat. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: General Discussions

Joe, Thanks, all added in. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: WWI forum

Ursula, In a World War I context, what you see in U 154's KTB is common. Newspaper cuttings were often added into KTB files for boats that didn't return. This also happened though for boats that survived the war. As for "completing" KTBs, this also frequently happened. Much of this, especially handwritten notes, were created by Adm. Arno Spindler in preparing the German
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, Sorry to be so slow to get back to you on this one. U 84, U 93, and U 95 all sailed within a few days of each other — Jan. 1, 1918, Dec. 29, 1917, and Dec. 27, 1917 respectively — from Germany. We also know that all three of these boats successfully got through the Straits of Dover outbound. First of all, U 95 is not an option for a Bay of Biscay POW rescue mission. Per Spindler
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, The Ehrenrangliste lists three German naval officers with a last name of Schwertfeger. They are: Hans Schwertfeger, born August 11, 1880, Crew 1898, Korvettenkapitän October 17, 1915. Paul Schwertfeger, born December 15, 1892, Crew 1900, Kapitänleutnant December 9, 1910. Hermann Schwertfeger, born December 15, 1892, Crew 1901, Kapitänleutnant September 12, 1912. (twins with Pau
Forum: WWI forum

Chris, The likely answer is that there was just one U-boat involved (UC 61). I've come across numerous other cases of merchant ship masters claiming to have been attacked by two U-boats at once when it was really just one. Best wishes, Michael
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Chris, Oliver Lörscher found UC 56's KTB at Freiburg a couple of years ago. It operated off the English east coast from January 5 to January 22, 1918. The problem with the involvement of U 84 or U 93 was that those were High Seas Fleet boats. Suadicani would have to arrange any such escape attempt with officers based in Germany, to involve a submarine based in Germany. This seems a bit
Forum: WWI forum

Lio, What constitutes a patrol? I honestly don't know that there's a simple answer to that when it comes to these sorts of short trips out to sea with a U-boat either acting as a guard vessel against British warships or effectively acting as submersible scout and torpedo boat in support of the High Seas Fleet. In this case, U 52 was sighting off the German coast as a picket vessel
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Dawn, I certainly can and will send you a copy of U 43's Kriegstagebuch (KTB, war diary) describing the sinking. Best wishes, Michael
Forum: General Discussions

Martin, CTL = constructive total loss. So badly damaged that she wasn't repairable or worth repairing. Best wishes, Michael
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