German Sub Pens and U-Boat activity in the Med

[Mr Holmes]

I was watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark the other night and it got me thinking about a topic. After the Germans recover the Ark en route over the sea, the U-Boat turns north and heads for Greece where it then makes for port in a submarine pen on a Greek island.

The topic, obviously, that comes to mind comes two-fold:

a) Was there German U-Boat activity in the Mediterranean? Or could they not get past the Gibraltar Straits (a figment of my imagination?)

b) If yes, to this end, did the Germans build/acquire submarine pen faciltites in the Mediterranean?

Any info would be most welcome, as I would find this a fascinating topic.

Any pics, would be even more welcome

[Michael Emrys]

Was there German U-Boat activity in the Mediterranean?

Yes.

If yes, to this end, did the Germans build/acquire submarine pen faciltites in the Mediterranean?

I'm not sure if they had pens in the sense of the heavily fortified type at Lorient for instance—perhaps someone else can address that—but they would have had docking and replenishment facilities in Italy.

BTW, isn't Raiders supposed to take place before the war? It was all very confused...

[Mr Holmes]

Thanks for the real quick answers!

Would be interesting to see if anyone knows anything abuout the second point.


AFAIK, it is set before the war... how they managed to occupy a whoe island without alerting international watchdogs, is beyond me

[Michael Emrys]

How they managed to get a battalion of the Wehrmacht into Egypt—virtually a British protectorate—is beyond me!

[Montys Foxhounds]

In the eastern harbour at Mersa Matruh in Egypt lies the remains of a U Boat, only a small peice is sticking out of the water, but you can swim down to the rest. It is also situated below a modern day Anti-Aircraft position, which is out of bounds.

Regards

[Michael Emrys]

In the eastern harbour at Mersa Matruh in Egypt lies the remains of a U Boat...

I wonder what it was doing there and how it met its end. Any information on that?

[Montys Foxhounds]

Considering where it is, I would think it was sunk by British planes. Aprt from that it is anybodys guess.

Regards.

[Ron Klages]

There were two german U-Boats lost off Mersa Matruh.

The first was U75 a type VIIB commanded by Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann. The U-Boat was depth charged on 28 December 1941 by the HMS Kipling after a 2 1/2 hour hunt. There were 30 survivors and 14 men lost including the captain. The location of loss was 31d50m north by 26d40m east.

The second loss was U577 a Type VIIC commanded by KpLt. Herbert Schauenburg. It was sunk by a Swordfish 'G' from 815 NAS, Fleet AirArm on 15 January 1942 at 32d40m north and 25d48m east. All hands, 43, were lost--no survivors.

The Germans lost the following quantity of U-Boats in the Med. during WW II

Oct41=1 This is U204, a Type VIIC commanded by Kplt. Walter Kell. Tey were sunk by depth charges on 19 October 1941 in the Strait of Gibralter by HMS Mallow and Rochester. The crew of 46 were all lost.
Nov41=2
dec41=5
Jan42=2
feb42=0
Mar42=1
Apr42=0
May42=3
Jun42=1
Jul42=0
Aug42=1
Sep42=0
Oct42=1
Nov42=6
Dec42=0
Jan43=2
Feb43=3
Mar43=2
Apr43=1
May43=3
Jun43=1
Jul43=3
Aug43=1
Sep43=0
Oct43=0
Nov43=1
Dec43=2
Jan44=1
Feb44=1
Mar44=5
Apr44=2
May44=5
Jun44=0
Jul44=1
Aug44=7 all of these were lost in bombing raids on the port of Toulon
Sep44=6 three of these were scuttled off Ergeli in the Black Sea off Turkey to prevent capture
Oct44=0
Nov44=0
Dec44=0
Jan45=0
Feb45=1 this is U869 a Type IXC commanded by Kplt. Hellmuth Neuerberg. The U-Boat was sunk by depth charges off Casablanca when attempting to attack a convoy. It was attacked by a US destroyer US Fowler and a French subchaser L'Indiscret. THe crew of 56 were all lost.

As you can see the German U-Boats were active for nearly the entire war in the Med. Until Italy surrendered in September 1943, the Italian ports were utilized. Until the invasion of southern France in the late summer of 1944 the big base was at Toulon. Of course the U-Boats still ran the straits although that was very dangerous.


During the war the German U-Boats sunk 179 Allied ships in the Med. with a gross tonnage of 643,094 tons. The Italian subs sunk 37 Allied ships with a tonnage of 126,535. The most successful German U-Boat was U81 which sunk 20 Allied ships with a tonnage of 46315. It sunk the HMS Ark Royal carrier. 17 of the sinkings were under the command of Kplt. Friedrich Guggenberger. He received the Knights Cross with Oakleaves and became a POW on 19 July 1943. U81 was sunk by a USAAF raid on the facilities at Pola in the Adriatic Sea on 9 January 1944 while it was tied up to the dock. Two of the crew were killed. It was raised on 22 April 1944 and broken up.

Hope this info helps.

best regards,

Ron Klages

[Andy H]

b) If yes, to this end, did the Germans build/acquire submarine pen faciltites in the Mediterranean?

No, unless they built something in the southern French nval ports of Toulon & Marsellie (Sp?)

When I was on holiday in Greek Islands I remember being told that there were the remains of a German UBoat base nearby. What I saw was a concrete jetty with a pillbox/bunker built into a cove. Very hard to spot from the air I would imagine

Regards

Andy H

[Montys Foxhounds]

In fact there is no place at all on the North African coast where U Boat pens could have been built and disguised.

Regards

[Michael Emrys]

b) If yes, to this end, did the Germans build/acquire submarine pen faciltites in the Mediterranean?

No, unless they built something in the southern French nval ports of Toulon & Marsellie (Sp?)

I am wondering if Toulon could have been used. The facilities would have been blocked by the scuttled ships of the French Navy and I don't think the Germans tried to raise most of them. But they could have used Italian ports freely throughout most of 1943 and whichever ones they still held after the Allied invasion.

[Ron Klages]

Guys,

Toulon was used as a submarine facility. Check my post above regarding the loss of U Boats in the Med.

Also Italian facilities, various held islands in the med, the Yugoslavian coast in several locations.

There were no hardened facilities as found in France along the Atlantic coast.

Donitz never liked the idea of operaing in the Med. since the sea was too calm, the water too clear and the weather generally too good for sucessful operations. Donitz, however, was ordered to operate U Boats in the Med. For most of the time there were two U-Boat flotillas in the Med. The 23rd was based at Salamis, Greece and the 29th first in La Spezia, Italy and after the surrender of Italy they were based in Toulon and Marseille France and even later after the fall of southern France in Pola in Yugoslavia.

It should also be remembered that the 30th Flotillia was stationed in the Black Sea at Constanta, Romania with a provisioning facility at Feodosia on the Crimean Peninsula. They were disbanded in October 1944. The boats were of the small Type IIB coastal subs U9, U18, U19, U20, U23 and U24. The boats were brought into the Black Sea by being dismantled loaded on pontoons floated down the Elbe River to Dresden then transported overland to Regensburg on the Danube River. Again floated down the river on the pontoons to the Black Sea where they were reassembled. All this just to sink 59 small ships in a two year period.
U 9 sunk 6
U 18 sunk 19
U 19 sunk 4
U 20 sunk 7
U 23 sunk 12
U 24 sunk 11

U-9 was sunk dockside at Constanza by Soviet bombers on 20 August 1944
U18 had been damaged in a Soviet air raid on Constanza and was eventually scuttled by the Germans on 25 August 1944 as the Soviets advanced
U19, U20 and U23 were all scuttled by the Germans on 10 September 1944 off the coast of Turkey and the crews were interned by the Turks at Beyschir where they spent the remainder of the war.

Best regards,

Ron Klages

[richard cormier]

According to "Ten Years and Twenty Days", Adm. Donitz comments that, due to the currents at the straits, it was easier to get in, and, with the favourable currents, les fuel and dffort being used. They could almost slip by any patrols unnoticed, virtually by shutting down any power, and just floating with the current. Quite obviously, the opposite was true for getting out of the Mediterranean; thus, once in, a lot of boats were permaently assigned there.

Rich

[Erik E]

The Germans had a huge submarine bunker under construction in Marseille when the city was captured by the Allies. Only the workshops in the rear were finished, the pens themselves were not.

In addition, they had just started the construction of a underground production line for submarines in a nearby 7Km long tunnel made by the French navy during ww1 (Tunnel du Rove) Which connects Marseille harbour with l`Etang de Berre.

[gabriel pagliarani]

....Until Italy surrendered in September 1943, the Italian ports were utilized. Until the invasion of southern France in the late summer of 1944 the big base was at Toulon....

The base was surely in Arma di Taggia harbour (improperly known as La Spezia), the same facility base of italian subs. Some reports about their displacement in La Maddalena island, the main italian sub-sea fortress just out of Sardinia, but never confirmed.