Siebel Ferries and MFPs

[Paul Lakowski]

http://navypedia.org/ships/germany/ger_amph_mfp.htm

built specially to move tigers.

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

An image from Ebay:

Sturm78

[Byrden]

The Aspromante carried only the first 3 Tigers (in a single voyage).

The fourth Tiger sent to Africa, landed off an MFP on the beach at Tunis, specifically to be photographed in the city.

There exist photos of Tigers (of both 501 and 504 battalions) unloading from MFPs at Karouba.

Photos show two Tigers leaving the Reggio beach on MFPs. I have not seen any evidence of Tigers crossing Sicily to sail from Trapani, although other vehicles of the battalions did so.

David

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

MFP in tow ??

Image from Ebay
Sturm78

[Peter K.]

Yes, it is a MFP without bow ramp during the transit to the Mediterranean in France.

[Paul Lakowski]

Yes, it is a MFP without bow ramp during the transit to the Mediterranean in France.

One of their few successes in water transport . I Gather Type II U-Boats were to be sectioned and transported to the Med.

Did that work?

[Sturm78]

Thank you, Peter K.

Regards Sturm78

[eisenbahn9]

I've read somewhere that ten MFPs (Italian-built versions of the MFP-A, called motozattera) were specially modified for the planned invasion of Malta in July 1942 (Operation Herkules). They were intended to ferry captured Russian KV-1 and KV-2 heavy tanks from 2.Kompanie/Panzerabteilung z.b.V.66 over to the island for additional armor support. Changes to these motozattera (referred to as Type A1) involved reinforcement of the well deck and internal ramp flooring and repositioning of the bow ramp counterbalance weights to accommodate the Russian tanks' larger size and weight. Could these have been the ones used to transport Tiger tanks to Tunisia?

[Xavier]

Type II U-Boats were transported overland tothe black sea due to not being able to sail them thru channels.
not sectioned, but loaded sideways in barges and trailers, with conning tower and other external fittings removed
"Six U-boats of the rather small coastal submarine Type IIB, which at the time served as training vessels in the Baltic Sea, were assigned to this flotilla in being. Starting from May 1942, they were partially dismantled in Kiel, to reduce weight and size. Toppled over 90°, and fitted with additional floating devices, the stripped down hulls, weighing 140 tons, were shipped through the Kiel Canal and on the Elbe up to Dresden-Übigau, where they were placed on two 70 ton Culemeyer road transporters[3] hauled by Kaelble tractors. The boats then traveled at an average speed of 5 mph over the Reichsautobahn (modern day A4 and A9) to the slipway in Ingolstadt. Traveling down the Danube, one obstacle[4] was the old Stone Bridge of Regensburg with its arches. Eventually, the submarines arrived in the Romanian port of Galați where they were re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard.[5]"
source, wiki

[Sturm78]

Hi all,

An image from Ebay:

Sturm78

[the Rocketman]

Sturm,

Thanks for the picture but this guy has more pictures of Sibelfahre for sale on his site.
https://www.ebay.nl/sch/koelsch333/m.ht ... pg=&_from=

Greetings Bert

[B Hellqvist]

Does anyone recognize the emblem on this SF 40 Schwere? It's an "H" with a raised sword, the crossguard shaped like gull's wings. Also, does the "2" indicate the Luftwaffen-Fährenflotille II or the individual ferry (SF2)?

[Darius333]

Hi,

"2" in this picture is the tactical number of this ferry in the Einsatzstab Fähre Ost (E.F.O.). It is not the "Flottillennummer" nor "Siebelfährennummer".

The emblem represents i.m.o. a tactical icon for a artillery gun (Schwäre Flak?) with a seabird crossing it and watermarkings in the lower part.

EFO4.jpg

EFO.jpg

Regards

Darius

[B Hellqvist]

That makes sense. I checked the tactical sign for 8,8 cm Flak, and it's that symbol. I guess they prettied it up for the EFO. Thanks!

[pey]

Darius333, please do not trust the picture below!
To me it smells of 1/6th Scale model!
I remember one big model has been done of it.
Regards
Federico