Adolf Hitler's 'lost fleet' found in Black Sea (U-Boats had been carried 2,000 miles overland)

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | February 3, 2008 | Jasper Copping

[Stoat]

Adolf Hitler's 'lost fleet' found in Black Sea

By Jasper Copping
 

Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 03/02/2008

 

 

The final resting place of three German U-boats, nicknamed "Hitler's lost fleet", has been found at the bottom of the Black Sea.

• The submarines had been carried 2,000 miles overland from Germany to attack Russian shipping during the Second World War, but were scuttled as the war neared its end. Now, more than 60 years on, explorers have located the flotilla of three submarines off the coast of Turkey.

  	On the road: One of the U-boats being taken to Ingolstadt

  The vessels, including one once commanded by Germany's most successful U-boat ace, formed part of the 30th Flotilla of six submarines, taken by road and river across Nazi-occupied Europe, from Germany's Baltic port at Kiel to Constanta, the Romanian Black Sea port.

  In two years, the fleet sank dozens of ships and lost three of their number to enemy action. But in August 1944, Romania switched sides and declared war on Germany, leaving the three remaining vessels stranded.

  With no base and unable to sail home - the Bosporus and Dardanelles were closed to them because of Turkish neutrality - their captains were ordered to scuttle the boats before rowing ashore and trying to make their way back to Germany. However, all three crews were caught and interned by the Turks.

  Now the submarines' hulls have been discovered by a team led by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer, who will present his findings to a shipwreck conference in Plymouth this week.

  Mr Kolay established the boats' positions through research in German archives, interviews with surviving sailors and by sonar studies of the seabed.

  He has already completed successful dives to the wreckage of one vessel, U-20, two miles offshore in about 80ft of water. He believes he has discovered another, U-23, at twice that depth, three miles from the town of Agva, but bad weather forced him to suspend diving until the spring.

  He thinks he is also close to pinpointing the third boat, U-19, thought to lie more than 1,000ft down, three miles from the Turkish city of Zonguldak.

  "It's one of the least well known stories of the war but one of the most interesting," said Mr Kolay.

  "It is a quite incredible story. To get to the Black Sea these boats had to be taken across the land, and once they got there they had no way out."

  All three U-boats had been operating against British shipping in the North Sea. U-23 gained notoriety for scoring one of Germany's earliest successes, sinking a British ship off the Shetland Islands days after war began. It was later commanded by Otto Kretschmer, known as "Silent Otto", the most successful U-boat ace.

  In 1941, Germany invaded Russia and decided it needed a presence in the Black Sea to harass Soviet shipping there. Unable to use the Bosporus, the only shipping route into the Black Sea, the boats were dismantled at Kiel and taken by canal to the River Elbe, and upstream to Dresden.

  Here, they were partly dismantled and taken by lorry to Ingolstadt, on the Danube, and then ferried downstream to the Black Sea and Constanta, where they were re-assembled.

  When Romania switched sides the crews were ordered to scuttle out of sight of the Turks so the submarines' locations would remain a mystery. Mr Kolay was helped by a map drawn by Rudolf Arendt, 85, the former captain of the U-23, showing where his crew came ashore.

  Mike Williams, secretary of the Nautical Archaeology Society, said: "This is a significant find because these U-boats were all scuttled, so they should be intact, like a sealed tube. They are unique survivors of the war."

[Thunder 6]

I had the opportunity several years ago to visit the Kiel Naval Headquarters on temporary duty. At the entrance to the harbor is a monument to all the U-Boats that went on patrol, never to return.

Worth the trip. Chilling, and tragic.

Regards,

[SunkenCiv]

“They are unique survivors of the war.”

I guess they’ve never heard of the U-505? ;’) Thanks george76.

[Jeff Chandler]

Worzel Gummidge might be interested in this...

[pepsionice]

This would actually be a great movie...in telling this entire story. You have to respect these guys who dragged these subs 2,000 miles...and then had to sink them off the coast.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Just wow!

[ME-262]

I’m impressed that the Germans were able to keep track of all those nuts and bolts.

The German schools must have taught more than just sensitivity and how to put a condom on a banana. It is no wonder we're struggling to go back to the moon in a couple decades.

[mkjessup]

A fantastic article! Thank for posting!

"U-23, commanded by Otto Kretschmer, known as "Silent Otto", the most successful U-boat ace.

Ahhh yes, the unforgettable Otto, aka 'Silent But Deadly' ;)

[mkjessup]

Reminds me of how the British sought to attack the US forces on Lake Champlain in 1776. They sailed their fleet up the St. Lawrence River to the Richelieu River where they disassembled their ships, transported them overland around the rapids on the river, and then then reassembled them for service on Lake Champlain. The showpiece of the British fleet was the HMS Inflexible, an 18-gun man-of-war.

Nominated for the category 'Ironies of Naval History', ;)

[endthematrix]

"I'm amazed that the vessels were able to be designed in such a way "

German engineering was first rate. Quality over quantity was one of the Reich's downfall for sure. I saw the U-505 at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and marveled at torpedo engineering.

[NoLibZone]

I Enjoyed reading this.

Thanks for the post.

[ozzymandus]

Very interesting. I believe the Germans did something similar in WW1, basing small subs in Turkey. As I recall, they were scuttled in a harbor that was later filled in, and rediscovered when the harbor was re-dug a few years ago. I remember seeing a photo of the subs being excavated, but they were pretty well rusted away. The German navy accomplished some amazing feats in both world wars, considering what a junior service they were. The story of the Emden (and her sister ships) is fascinating reading.

[bezelbub]

I’m impressed that the Germans were able to keep track of all those nuts and bolts. I’d hate to be the one to admit I left a bag of screws back in Kiel.

They had somewhat an experience:

[1rudeboy]

Fascinating. I wonder how many they’ll find in the Great Lakes? (U-505 doesn’t count).

[freema]

Ping!

[painter]

Bump for later.

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[snippy_about_it]

INFREQUENT FOXHOLE LIST HISTORY PING.

Please Enjoy this wonderful piece of history Stoat posted.

[NicknamedBob]

The Black Sea holds an endless number of archaeological treasures.

What they need is a better imaging system to explore the sea bottom. They should talk to me.

[skinkinthegrass]

thanks, very interesting. :)

[BykrBayb]

ping