7th U-Boat Flotilla

by Konstam, Angus

• ISBN13: 9780711029576
• ISBN10: 0711029571
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-12-01
• Publisher: Ian Allan Pub

Summary

The 7th U-Boat Flotilla - 'Wegener' - was formed in Kiel in June 1938 with six boats, only one of which survived operationally to the end of the war. Early war action from Kiel changed completely after the fall of France when the flotilla moved to St Nazaire, where it would remain until the Allied advances led its remaining boats to move to Norway.

Some 114 boats saw service with the flotilla and most of them served in the North Atlantic where their operations almost brought Britain to its knees. The story of the flotilla starts with the story of the convoy predators; through the grim realities of the convoy system whose escorts benefited from Ultra decrypting of the Kriegsmarine's codes; the massacre of the U-boats attempting to halt the invasion of Europe; to the final coda as 14 boats escaped from St. Nazaire to Norway.

Ian Westwell spent five years in the Royal Navy before becoming Curator of Weapons at the Royal Armouries. After a spell as a marine archaeologist he became Chief Curator at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West. He moved back to Eng

Table of Contents

Origins and History	6	(10)
Ready for War	10	(4)
In Action	14	(52)
Insignia, Clothing and Equipment	66	(18)
People	84	(4)
Assessment	88	(4)
Reference	92	(4)
Index	96

Excerpts

All the photographs in this book and their captions come from the collection of Jak P. Mallmann Showell unless specifically credited otherwise. Jak Showell would like to acknowledge the help of the U-Boot-Archiv, many of whose photographs or artifacts are reproduced here. Thanks also to Teddy Nevill of TRH Pictures, Mark Franklin of Flatt Artt (maps), Donald Sommerville (editor) and Tony Stocks of Compendium Design (design).

TOC[ TC1[Origins and History]TC1 TP1[6]TP1

TC1[Ready for War]TC1 TP1[10]TP1

TC1[In Action]TC1 TP1[14]TP1

TC1[Insignia, Clothing and Equipment]TC1 TP1[66]TP1

TC1[People]TC1 TP1[84]TP1

TC1[Assessment]TC1 TP1[88]TP1

TC1[Reference]TC1 TP1[92]TP1

TC1[Index]TC1 TP1[96]TP1 ]TOC

Chapter One

ORIGINS & HISTORY

Unterseebootsflottille `Wegener', later known as 7. Unterseebootsflottille (7th U-boat Flotilla), was formed in Kiel on 25 June 1938. Unlike other naval combat formations, German U-boat flotillas were administrative bodies, designed to provide logistical and administrative support for the boats which made up the flotilla. In the case of the 7th, these boats were the latest Type VIIB craft, the result of a decade of German research and design. The flotilla was named in commemoration of a German U-boat hero of World War 1, Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt) Bernd Wegener of SMS U-27, who sailed on 10 patrols, sinking 29 Allied ships, with a total tonnage of over 29,000 tons. His boat was sunk on 19 August 1915 by the British Q-ship HMS Baralong , in an incident which caused considerable controversy. Lieutenant Herbert, commander of the Baralong , ordered his men to open fire on the German survivors, killing Wegener and nine of his crew. Although prompted by similar incidents where U-boat crews gunned down Allied survivors, the summary action of Herbert prompted an escalation of cruelty on the high seas, and created a German martyr. The name of the flotilla was not the only link with the past. The brand new boats which comprised the 7th U-boat Flotilla were the result of nearly two decades of development, building on the lessons learned by the German Navy in World War 1.

On 11 November 1918, the horror of the Great War ended with the signing of an armistice. After four years of total war, the Imperial German Navy was in disarray, and its sailors in a state of mutiny. During the war, the German U-boat arm had demonstrated the efficiency of submarine warfare, and at times had threatened the survival of the Allied alliance. Approximately 150 small U-boats with a crew of fewer than 40 men per craft had succeeded in sinking 5,700 Allied or neutral merchant ships, with a combined tonnage of over 11 million tons. While the High Seas Fleet steamed into captivity in Scapa Flow, the surviving U-boat fleet sailed into British and French ports, surrendering both men and boats. Their campaign had been relatively successful, despite growing losses as Allied anti-submarine techniques improved. The effectiveness of the U-boat campaign had also been limited by the British use of mines along the German North Sea coast, barriers consisting of armed trawlers with hyrophone sets, destroyer screens in the English Channel, and above all, the successful development of a convoy system. In the immediate post-war years, financial constraints meant that the British were unable to apply the hard-won lessons of World War I by building a powerful anti-submarine fleet. Instead, it was the Germans who were more ready to learn from their experiences, and to develop a new and better U-boat arm.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was allowed to build a small defensive navy, but this could not include submarines. As interned or captured submariners returned home to a post-war Germany, they brought their expertise with them; men like Oberleutnant-zur-See (ObltzS) Karl Dönitz, captured after his UB-68 was sunk in the Mediterranean in October 1917. These men were now in charge of developing the German Reichsmarine, and to them a navy without a submarine arm was unthinkable.

In 1922 Admiral Behnke, Commander-in-Chief of the Reichsmarine, authorised the start of a secret project. In several shipyards across Germany work began on the design and construction of a new fleet of U-boats. Using the cover of the Krupp armaments company, a design team of 30 marine engineers worked on the project, in conjunction with the directors of three German shipbuilding companies, all of which would become major U-boat producers. In addition, a bogus company, known as Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (IvS) was set up in Holland, with its registered offices in the Hague. This was a front for the Reichsmarine, which used IvS to build U-boats for it. Doctor of Engineering Hans Techel, the former Director of Construction at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, was the director of the IvS, assisted by the former U-boat commander Ulrich Blum, who acted as the company's Technical Director. By 1925, naval funds were being secretly directed into IvS accounts and, as the designers completed their plans, the first prototype boats were commissioned. Three prototypes were developed, for a 250-ton, a 500-ton and a 750-ton boat. Three prototypes of the small boats (vessikos) and three of the medium craft (vetehinens) were built by the IvS in Finland during the late 1920s. A Spanish yard was used for the production of the largest prototype, named E-1 .

To cover this work, IvS sought and was awarded genuine submarine-building contracts. The first from Turkey called for the production of two boats, but talks with the Spanish government led to an even better opportunity to build boats for the Spanish Navy, while developing the company's own prototypes in Spanish shipyards. This deal also allowed the company to `draw on' the expertise of serving Reichsmarine officers, and permitted the establishment of an Ausbildung (Training) office within the German Navy, charged with assisting the training of Spanish crews. For the next decade, Finland, Turkey and Spain provided the cover for what was to become a fully-fledged German naval construction programme.

In 1928 a new cover firm was established. The Ingenieurbüro für Wirtschaft und Technik GmbH (Igewit) based in Berlin allowed the construction of boats in German yards, albeit ostensibly for the use of foreign clients. This gave German shipbuilders vital experience in the construction of modern submarines, and all stages of construction were secretly supervised by Reichsmarine engineers, and a caucus of `retired' U-boat officers. Similar expertise was gained by the Navy itself, as a `Torpedo and Radio' school was created, to train naval cadets in the theoretical techniques of U-boat warfare, while engineering cadets were trained in diesel propulsion systems. Practical training was provided by the `testing' of the Finnish boats, and the Spanish submarine E-1 , undergoing trials off Cadiz.

By the early 1930s the German Navy felt safe enough to increase its level of training, in direct violation of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. A specialist U-boat school was established at Kiel in 1933, and its official title of `Anti-Submarine Warfare School' fooled nobody. Within two years, it would be transformed into a fully-fledged training facility, producing hundreds of U-boat crewmen, from commanders to machinists.

By this stage, Adolf Hitler was in power, and a cornerstone of his policy was the reversal of the `shame' of the Versailles agreement. The march towards war began. He demanded the relaxation of naval restrictions, prompting the Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935. Under its terms, Germany was allowed to maintain a fleet approximately 35 per cent of the size of the Royal Navy, and even more importantly, the Germans were allowed to develop a U-boat arm, although its size was limited to 45 per cent of the British submarine fleet. Diplomatic options were also put in place to increase this arm to match the British submarine fleet by mutual agreement, if concessions were made regarding the size of the German surface fleet. For the British, this incredible concession sealed the fate of thousands of merchant seamen. For the Germans, the gloves were off. At the treaty signing, Germany declared that it would never again resort to unrestricted submarine warfare. Less than two weeks later, it launched its first modern U-boat.

In 1935 the Reichsmarine was promptly re-named the Kriegsmarine (War Fleet), and a new U-boat arm was created, commanded by Konteradmiral Leopold Siemens. What had hitherto been a secretive development programme was transformed into a fully-fledged drive to create a powerful U-boat fleet. The basic designs needed were already in place. The previous year the prefabricated frames of 12 U-boats were constructed in the Ruhr, based on designs supplied by IvS. Brought to Kiel, together with torpedoes and engines, these boats were finished off at the Deutsche Werke yard, the first of them being launched on 15 June 1935. Designated U-1 , this small coastal Type IIA U-boat commanded by Kptlt Klaus Ewerth was the first modern U-boat of the new Kriegsmarine. U-2 to U-6 followed soon afterwards, all 250-ton boats based on the vessiko design constructed for the Finnish Navy. Officially, these first boats were designated as part of a Unterseebootesschulflottille (U-boat Training Flotilla), attached to the U-boat School, (which was moved to Neustadt in May 1937). This was a mere decoy as, on 27 September 1935, U-boat Flotilla `Weddingen' was formed at Kiel, comprising three of the latest Type IIB coastal U-boats, produced by Germaniawerft and Deutsche Werke. Fregattenkapitän (Fgkpt) Karl Dönitz was appointed as the flotilla's first commander, and served until the end of the year, until singled out for greater things. Although these first boats were used for schooling purposes, the crews knew this training was for a war that was becoming inevitable. The `grey wolves' were gathering.

READY FOR WAR

The first U-boat Flotillas were named rather than numbered, the titles commemorating U-boat `aces' of World War 1. The `Weddingen' (1st) Flotilla was therefore named after the legendary commander of SMS U-9 , who sank three British armoured cruisers in September 1914. The new U-9 was an improvement on its namesake, but it was still not an oceangoing submarine. The first three boats of the 1st Flotilla ( U-7, U-8 and U-9 ) were all Type IIB U-boats, displacing 275 tons, with the same power plant as the Type IIA boats in the Training Flotilla.

This first flotilla was commanded by Fgkpt Karl Dönitz, a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler, a committed Nazi, and a heartfelt believer in the offensive capabilities of the U-boat. Promoted to Kapitän-zur-See in October 1935, Dönitz was able to draw on the best of the Navy's volunteers (Freiwilliger zur Unterseebootwaffe) , and through the development of an arduous training regimen he developed these men into highly-skilled U-boat crews. Those who survived the training were considered members of an elite force, with a high morale and belief in their abilities which had not been seen in the German Navy since 1918.

On 1 January 1936 Dönitz became Führer der Unterseeboote (FdU), a post which gave him operational command of the entire U-boat fleet. Of course, in early 1936 this was very much a paper fleet, as only 12 boats were in service (six Type IIA and six Type IIB). Although no more Type IIA boats were planned, a further dozen Type IIB craft were in production, and would be commissioned before the year was out. Even more important, work had begun on a series of new ocean-going boats.

Although further Type II boats would be produced in small numbers until 1940, the Navy had moved on to the design of larger ocean-going boats, better equipped to wage an offensive U-boat campaign against Britain or France. Type Ill was a design for a motor-torpedo boat carrier, which was never developed beyond the drawing board. Likewise, designs for a series of U-boats classified as Types IV, V and VI were shelved in favour of a better, medium-sized design, whose plans had been developed during 1933-34. This was the Type VII U-boat, created by Dr Friedrich Schürer and Ministerial Counsellor Bröking, a craft which would define U-boat strategy during World War II, and which would become the mainstay of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. Larger, faster and more agile than the Type II boats, these were true ocean-going attack submarines. Each was designed to carry four bow torpedo tubes and one stern tube, with a total capacity of 11 torpedoes, double the armament of the earlier boats.

On 16 January 1935 work on other designs in the Germaniawerft yard was set aside in favour of the Type VII boats. The first was due for delivery within 18 months. In fact, ten Type VIIA boats were laid down in the spring of 1935, and the first was completed within a mere ten months. It was soon discovered that the only real flaw in the Type VIIA design was its limited fuel capacity. Consequently the design was modified to hold an additional 33 tons of diesel, giving the boats an additional range of some 2,500 miles, at a surface speed of 10 knots. Improvements were also made to the engine, making them slightly faster than their predecessors, and they had additional storage space for three more torpedoes. This improved design was dubbed the Type VIIB, soon to become the main boat of the 7th Flotilla. In 1937, work began on the first of these improved boats at the Germaniawerft yard in Kiel, and the following year, Type VIIB boats were laid down at Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft in Bremen.

While these new ocean-going boats were being built, Dönitz increased the number of men undergoing U-boat training and, when the first Type VIIA (U-27) boat was commissioned on 12 August 1936, these men had true ocean-going craft to hone their skills in. The (2nd) `Saltzwedel' Flotilla was formed on 1 September 1936 (commanded by Fgkpt Scheer), providing an operational home for the new Type VIIA boats, augmenting the two Type IA boats (U-26 and U-27) provided for training purposes. Unterseebootsflottille `Weddingen' continued to rely on the small IIB, IIC and IID boats until after the outbreak of the war. Other flotillas followed in close succession. Unterseebootsflottille `Lohs' (later known as 3rd U-boat Flotilla) was founded on 4 October 1937 (commanded by Kptlt Hans Eckermann), providing a home for the remaining Type IIB boats.

Continues...

Excerpted from 7th U-BOAT FLOTILLA by Angus Konstam & Jak Mallmann Showell Copyright © 2003 by Compendium Publishing
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.