Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

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Nautilus
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Location: Romania

Re: Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

#31

Post by Nautilus » 16 Aug 2022, 02:57

As of 2022, there are no more veterans from Delfinul.

Vice-Admiral (ret.) Petre I. Zamfir has passed away on November 15, 2020, aged 97 years, 1 month and 12 days.

Sid Guttridge
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Re: Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

#32

Post by Sid Guttridge » 17 Aug 2022, 14:05

Hi Nautilus,

Do you know if Neculai Koslinski and Raymond Stanescu are still alive? Both were Sub-Lieutenants in 1941 but neither were submariners. Stanescu told me that he was on watch up the mast of an "M" Class destroyer when the Moskva was sunk on 26 June 1941. He said he had a very clear view because the Russians came out of the sunrise, whereas the Romanian destroyers were hidden against the coastline.

Cheers,

Sid.


Nautilus
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Joined: 12 Jul 2006, 23:13
Location: Romania

Re: Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

#33

Post by Nautilus » 13 Sep 2022, 10:35

Rear-Admiral (ret.) Raymond Stănescu has passed away on Oct 22, 2010. Commander (ret.) Neculai Koslinski had already passed away some time before 2010.

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kfbr392
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Location: Germany

Re: Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

#34

Post by kfbr392 » 13 Sep 2022, 12:54

The first German surface vessels in the Black Sea in the Summer of 1941 were ... not Kriegsmarine! Instead, they were Heer (and possibly Luftwaffe) units using Pionier ferrys and Siebel ferrys, and other road and rail transportable vessels designed the year before for Seelöwe.

Case in point:
“Bis zum 14. Juni 1941 wurde das [Bau-]Bataillon [86] mit 50 sS-Fähren auf rund 25 Güterzügen nach Constanza in Rumänien verlegt. Dort bildete es das "Sonderkommando Böndel", dem neben dem Bau-Bataillon 86 die Flak-Abteilung 505 mit 8,8-cm Flak zur Fährenbewaffnung, die Nachrichten-Kompanie B, ein Lw-Werkstattzug und Lw-Motorenzug zur Wartung der BMW-Flugmotoren sowie ein Kommando von Marinespezialisten für Navigation unterstellt wurden. Nacj dem Eintreffen in Constanza wurden die Fähren montiert und das Bataillon begann mit der Ausbildung im Schwarzen Meer. Gelegentlich wurden die Boote auch zu Minensucheinsätzen eingesetzt. Vom 9. Oktober - 12. Dezember 1941 wurde das Bataillon zu Minensuch-, Minenräum- udn Kampfeinsätzen entlang der Schwarzmeerküste bis Otschakow eingesetzt. Außerdem führte es 5 Nachschubgeleite durch (Transportfähren gesichert durch Kampffähren und Fahrzeuge der deutschen und rumänischen Marine). Dabei gingen vier Fähren durch Strandung, drei durch Feuer (Flugbenzin) verloren, zwei wurden der rumänischen Armee überlassen. Am 13. Dezember 1941 wurde das Bataillon nach Constanza zurück verlegt.“
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... tl86-R.htm

Kugler has a detailled chapter about this in his book „Das Landungswesen“.

Sid Guttridge
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Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 12:19

Re: Axis naval presence in Black sea in the summer of 1941

#35

Post by Sid Guttridge » 28 Sep 2022, 06:39

Hi Nautilus,

Thanks for the sad infromation on Stanescu and Koslinski. They were friends throughout their adult lives. If I remember rightly, Koslinki's grandfather and father had both been admirals in the young Romanisan navy and his ancestors were Polish aristocrats. As a result, he had a pariciularly hard time under the Communists, spending decades as a school caretaker. Through those years they kept in touch with each other and together wrote their history of the Romanian Navy in WWII in the early 1990s. They were kind enough to share information before it was published. I think the late Cristian Craciunoiu introduced me to them.

Many thanks,

Sid.

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