Kriegsmarine in the Mediterranean 1942

[Davide Pastore]

Hello to all.

Can anyone provide the full OOB (including Flotillas and - most important - ships/boats) of Kriegsmarine forces in the Mediterranean theatre during summer 1942?

I'm researching the details of C3 (the planned invasion of Malta - commonly but mistakenly known under the German term "Herkules" - there is an ongoing thread on the newsgroup soc.history.war.world-war-ii ). I've checked the axishistory site, but I haven't found what I need.

Davide

[redcoat]

From what little I've read, it would seem that it was the Italian navy which was to provide the naval forces for this attack.

[Davide Pastore]

From what little I've read, it would seem that it was the Italian navy which was to provide the naval forces for this attack.

Yes, of course, since during 1942 the only German military ship big enough to be called a "ship" in the area was the ZG3/Hermes.

However, I know for sure that Kriegsmarine had some "mosquito fleet" assets (S-, M-, R-boote, MFP, etc.) in Mediterranean in 1942, and I was looking for information about these boats. I've only been able to identify the 29. U-boote Flotilla at La Spezia (U-73, U-77, U-81, U-83, U-97, U-205, U-331, U-371, U-372, U-375, U-431, U-453, U-559, U-561, U-562, U-565 available during July 1942, according to http://www.ubootwaffe.net/index.html) and the 3. S-boote Flotilla at Porto Empedocle (at least: S-30, S-31, S-34-:-36, S-54-:-59, S-61) but I'm sure there were other units.

According to C3 planning, one of the beachheads (to be precise: Fort Benghisa/Benghaisa) would have been under German control (Admiral Weichold - probably onboard ZG3?) with German landing crafts (some 20-30 MFP unloading Pz.Abt. 66 z.b.v., plus some infantry support onboard a Sturmboot-Kompanie, a dozen Siebel ferries, and - probably - 778. Pionier-Landungsboot-Kompanie) protected by German escort boats (at least an R- and a S-Flotilla).

Any other info?

Davide

[Scarlett]

In summer 1942 the 2. Landungsflotille consisting of MFPs was operating in the Mediterranean.

Later some others were active in the theatre too.

For deteils look at http://www.deutsches-marinearchiv.de/Ei ... tillen.htm

It's German, if you have trouble with it, ask me to translate.

[Scarlett]

The only other boats I can find, operating there in summer 1942 is

21. U-Bootsjagdflottille

Details at http://www.deutsches-marinearchiv.de/

Click on "Einheiten", then "Flotillen", then "U-Bottjagdflotillen"

[Davide Pastore]

For deteils look at http://www.deutsches-marinearchiv.de/Ei ... tillen.htm
It's German, if you have trouble with it, ask me to translate.

Thank you. In that site I've also found 7.S-boot Flotilla (unsure of the meaning of "Bemerkungen: zur 3. S.Boot-Fl")
(additionally. according to other sources, 21., 22. and 24. Flotillas were active in the Mediterranean after 1943, using captured Italian boats; and all the five Mediterranean flotillas were apparently grouped under the "1st Schnellboote division" in 1943)

In same site there is a reference to 11. and 12. R-boot Flotilla in the Mediterranean, but from the text I can't understand if that happened only after 1943. However, Italian sources are quite specific about the planned presence of an R-boote flotilla for C3.

Davide

[Scarlett]

After losses a flotilla was often dissolved and the remaining boats became part of another flotilla.

So here the 7. Schnellboot-Flotille was dissolved October 13, 1944.

The 21, Schnellboot-Flotille served in the Aegean between spring and October 1944.
It consisted of small boats developed by the aircraft-company Dornier
originally for the use from the German merchant-raiders. Some of them actually did and mined Austealian ports.

The 22. Schnellboot-Flotille was transferred by train from the Baltic to Ligano May 1944.
They trained Croatian crews and the boats were given to them October 1944
The flotilla was dissolved then.

The 24. Schnellboot-Flotille consisted of Italian boats.
It was used in the Aegean.
October 13, 1944 the florilla was dissolved,
the boats becoming part of the 3. Schnellboot-Flotille.

Much more on 1. Schnellboot-Division
on http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/km ... div-mm.htm
I just found the link.

The 11. Räumboot-Flotille was transferred to to the Med summer 1943
and dissolved there September 23, 1944.

The 12. Räumbotot-Flotiile was transferred to Marseile in spring 1943 and served
in the Aegean and Adriatic.
It was dissolved February 1945.

[Scarlett]

Much more about the Räumboot-Flotillen in the Med
see http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/km ... elmeer.htm

[Davide Pastore]

Thank you. So it appears that the "one s-boot flotilla and one r-boot flotilla" of mid-1942 plan were 3. S-boot and 6. R-boot, respectively, while the MFPs would have come from 2. Landungsflotille.

Surfing the site you provided, I've found also 10., 11., 12. and 13. Küstenschutzflotille;
http://wiesel.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg ... st/ksf.htm
however it seems to me these were just very small, auxiliary coastal boats, right? (or wrong?)

Davide

[Davide Pastore]

About German landing craft, the (Italian) C3 plan called for the following craft types (these are my translation in English of a German term translated in Italian, with possible imprecision in both passages). Any idea, comment, correction, suggestion etc. is VERY welcome:

1) 12-17x "Motozattere" (barges) - I'm fairly sure these ones are classic MFP

2) 10x "Motozattere per Carri Pesanti" (heavy tank barges) - These ones should be MFP adapted for carrying a single KV-1/KV-2 tank. At 44t/52t they were well within the barge's payload limit (65t) but probably the structure required some minor modification

3) 12x "Motozattere da 51t" [51t barges] - These ones I couldn't identify

4) 10-12x "Zattere Siebel" [Siebel Ferries] - According to my sources, these boats, as developed for Seelowe, had four Ford car engines (with traditional screws) for cruise, and three BMW VI plane engines (with airscrews) for speed dashes, could carry 50t payload, and were armed with a 88mm (probably a 88/45 SKC/30 or SKC/35). Same sources say that by 1942 an evolved model was available with 100t payload, other characteristics unclear.

5) 81x "Battelli d'Assalto" [Assault Boats] - This model is obviously the Sturmboot 39. The 81 boats are exactly the dotation of a single Sturmboot-Kompanie (there were eight of them at the time: 901.-906., 911., 912., according to Niehorster).

6) 6x "Grosse Imbarcazioni da Sbarco (Battelli del Genio)" [Large Landing Crafts (Engineer Boats)]
7) 6x "Piccole Imbarcazioni da Sbarco" [Small Landing Crafts]
I've some doubts about these two classes. My guess is, they were the crafts of 778. Pionier-Landungsboot-Kompanie (with the DAK at the time, earmarked for a landing in Lybia in the previous May, during the Gazala battle) and more specifically the Pionier-Landungsboote 41 (30t) and the Sturmboote 42 (9.5t). However, C3 plan called for 6+6 boats, while according to Niehorster 778. PLK had 2+13 instead.

The above Gazala landing should have included 13. Kompanie of 800. Regiment (the celebrated Brandenburger). As per July, this unit was acting as 1. Kompanie of the Sonderverband 288, newly raised in Potsdam for operations in Iraq (Niehorster). My personal guess is, all or part of this unit would have been carried onboard the above landing craft for close cooperation with the German tanks.

Any suggestion?

Davide

[Scarlett]

Look at these links:


http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ ... index.html

http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/ks ... bik/fp.htm

http://ww2aircraft.net/forum/post-65957.html

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... ht=corsica

There should be all possible craft listed.

[Davide Pastore]

Thank you

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ ... index.html

The MAL *_might_* be the "51t barge", since it has a somewhat intermediate size. However, although the displacement is not reported, the craft seems quite too big for displacing only 51t. A possible alternative would be: "51t of payload". The Italian MZ (a close copy of the MFP) could carry 65t of dry load (or 77t of gasoline) so a 51t load would require a craft only slightly smaller, and now the MAL is too little! Any idea?

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... ht=corsica

The "Large Landing Crafts" seem to be the Grosses Landungsboot 40/41
The "Small Landing Craft" seem to be the Kleine Landungsboot 39
(supposing that the translator from German to Italian had done a literal translation. The paper is signed by Korvette Kapitan Paschen, a German expert on loan to Supermarina)

Davide

[Scarlett]

With regard to the 10.-13. Küstenschutzflotillen I can't find details.
As a 'Minensuchboot' in the terminology of Kriegsmarine was
a ship in 750-850 t-class and there were M-Boote in the flotillas, there could well have been
larger ships involved.

With regard to the 51-to barge:
The MAL is in the 180-200-to-category.
51 to could be possible, but only if she was disarmed.
I could not find any MAL operating in the Med.
Maybe the PiLaBo of 40to-payload had an overload of 51.

The translation is correct, I think
PiLb39 = Kleines Landungsboot 39 = Pionierlandungsboot39 =
PiLaBo39 = Piccole Imbarcazioni da Sbarco

PiLb40 = Großes Landungsboot 40 = Pionierlandungsboot40 =
PiLaBo40 = Grosse Imbarcazioni da Sbarco (Battelli del Genio)

[PT Dockyard]

Regarding the MAL in the Med, there were two in the Aegean. Both were type 1 craft.

Here in an interesting page on Italian preparations for C3. The small landing boats shown were later taken over by the Kriegsmarine and used as harbor security craft in COrsica and Toulon.

http://digilander.libero.it/avantisavoi ... 0Malta.htm

Here is a listing of ALL craft the Italians planned to use.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Opera ... .it&rnum=3

Dave G.
The PT Dockyard
http://ptdockyard.tripod.com

[Davide Pastore]

Here is a listing of ALL craft the Italians planned to use.

This was a very rough first draft of old (1998). I totally rewrote and expanded it a few months ago on newsgroup soc.history.war.world-war-ii, and I am currently working on a further refined version to be hosted somewhere in this augustus site.

Davide