u-boat decoy

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lonestarson
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u-boat decoy

#1

Post by lonestarson » 07 Jun 2008, 17:35

Hello. In the past I have heard of the Germans using devices like a mine with a dummy periscope attached to lure allied ships into ramming them, or u-boats towing a dummy conning tower to lure convoy escorts out of position. Any truth to this? Any info greatly appreciated.

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redcoat
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Re: u-boat decoy

#2

Post by redcoat » 07 Jun 2008, 19:19

lonestarson wrote:Hello. In the past I have heard of the Germans using devices like a mine with a dummy periscope attached to lure allied ships into ramming them, or u-boats towing a dummy conning tower to lure convoy escorts out of position. Any truth to this? Any info greatly appreciated.
I must be honest I've never heard of either of these ploys. :?
The one where the U-boat is supposedly towing a dummy conning tower in order to lure an escort out of position is a rather insane thing for a u-boat to do. For a start it alerts the escort to the presence of a U-boat, and far from luring an escort out of position, it lures the escort near to the position of the towing u-boat, giving the escort every chance of picking it up on its sonar.


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Xavier
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Re: u-boat decoy

#3

Post by Xavier » 07 Jun 2008, 22:40

maybe you are refering to the decoys launched by torpedo tubes to simulate a hit underwater by antisub weapons and then presume a u-boat sunken (canisters filled with debris, oil, papers, etc, designed to float as wreckage on the surface)
Xavier
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Mark McShane
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Re: u-boat decoy

#4

Post by Mark McShane » 08 Jun 2008, 02:14

This may also help, its about the sonar decoys used by the uboats.

http://www.uboataces.com/sonar-decoys.shtml

Regards,

Mark

ohrdruf
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Re: u-boat decoy

#5

Post by ohrdruf » 10 Jun 2008, 22:51

Yes, I remember seeing in Helmut Blocksdorf's book "Das Kommando der Kleinkampfverbände der Kriegsmarine" (published in English translation this year by Pen & Sword)that explosive devices which looked like German one-man torpedoes were set adrift off the Cherbourg Peninsula in 1944: I will look through my copy but it has some pages missing and I may not be successful...

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Natter
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Re: u-boat decoy

#6

Post by Natter » 14 Jan 2014, 12:45

You are thinking of the "wasseresel" decoy, which was towed behind a uboat by a 2000m wire. It had provisions for releasing both oil and certain effects like clothes etc to pretend it was a sunken uboat after an allied attack.

The attached illustration is from the norwegian book "Marinen i kamp" ("The navy in battle")

The "wasseresel" is also described in "German secret weapons of the second world war" (Rudolf Lusar, 1960)
Attachments
wasseresel.JPG

frediuncle
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Re: u-boat decoy

#7

Post by frediuncle » 16 Jan 2014, 13:08

For a start it alerts the escort to the presence of a U-boat, and far from luring an escort out of position, it lures the escort near to the position of the towing u-boat, giving the escort every chance of picking it up on its sonar.
ThanksSsssSsssSSs :)

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Natter
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Re: u-boat decoy

#8

Post by Natter » 17 Jan 2014, 17:03

frediuncle wrote:For a start it alerts the escort to the presence of a U-boat, and far from luring an escort out of position, it lures the escort near to the position of the towing u-boat, giving the escort every chance of picking it up on its sonar.
Probably important factors contributing to it not being used much, and appearently strongly disliked by u-boot commanders...

SnakeDoc
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Re: u-boat decoy

#9

Post by SnakeDoc » 17 Jan 2014, 17:21

Hi,

there can be also German mine EMS - Einheitsmine Sehrohr Treibmine.
Some information you can find here (page: 32 or 23 in original numeration)
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref ... -Mines.pdf

--
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Maciek

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Natter
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Re: u-boat decoy

#10

Post by Natter » 17 Jan 2014, 17:23

SnakeDoc wrote:there can be also German mine EMS - Einheitsmine Sehrohr Treibmine.
Some information you can find here (page: 32 or 23 in original numeration)
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref ... -Mines.pdf
Yes (it's also illustrated on the drawing I posted above).

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