[Stoat]

They formed part of the German U-boat fleet that almost brought Britain to its knees during the Second World War

 

 

Six submarines were taken almost 2,000 miles across Nazi-occupied Europe, by road and river, from Germany’s Baltic port at Kiel to Constanta, on Romania’s Black Sea coast

 

 

The epic odyssey, which lasted several months, saw them taken from their base at Kiel, by canal to the river Elbe, and upstream to Dresden

 

 

From here, they were partly dismantled and loaded onto lorries for a cross country trip to Ingolstadt, on the Danube, and then downstream to the Black Sea, where they were rebuilt

 

 

In a two year campaign, the fleet attacked more than 50 enemy vessels, sinking 46,500 tonnes of shipping

 

Otto Kretschmer, known as “Silent Otto”, commanded U-23, and became the most successful U-boat ace of the war

 

 

But, in August 1944, the remaining three vessels suddenly found themselves stranded in the Black Sea after Romania switched sides and declared war on Germany

 

 

Without a base to return to and unable to sail home, their captains were ordered to sink their U-boats at secret locations along the Turkish coast

 

 

Now, more than 60 years on, explorers have located the final resting place of a flotilla of three submarines, dubbed “Hitler’s lost fleet”

 

They have now been discovered by a team led by Turkish marine engineer, Selçuk Kolay, who established the positions of the ships through research in German naval archives, interviews with surviving members of the fleet, and by sonar studies of the seabed

 

 

Mr Kolay was also helped by a map drawn by Rudolf Arendt, who, in 1944 was the 21-year-old captain of U-23

 

He has already completed successful dives onto the wreckage of one of the vessels, U-20, and believes he has discovered the position of another, U-23

[Stoat]

Military History Ping request :-)

[Kirkwood]

Thanks for posting this!

[Thrownatbirth]

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.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

bkmark/ great article. thanks.1

[Cold Heart]

Great article. Trailer Boat magazine never covered anything like that.

[Stoat]

FYI :-)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Great article! 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.

[hc87]

Type II’s?

[null and void]

I’m impressed!

[george76]

Thanks for posting this.

[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,

[Jeff Chandler]

Worzel Gummidge might be interested in this...

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Just wow!

[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' ;)

[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.

[1rudeboy]

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

[freema]

Ping!

[painter]

Bump for later.

[skinkinthegrass]

thanks, very interesting. :)