U-boats to the black Sea

[Bewolf]

First of all, I thought about posting this to the propper Silent Hunter Forums first, but then saw they lack a general discussion topic to put the pictures. If there is a better place to post these, my apologies and please feel free to move the thread.

However, "Der Spiegel" brought a nice article about the Operation around the transportation of several U-boats from the german coasts to the black sea, covering a distance of 2500 km all together. The boats could not travel by sea because the Bosporus was blocked by neutral Turkey, a condition favored by the germans because it kept the russians in the black sea and kept the british out.

Highly interesting pics imho


http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/65/659fa6c6d3047b08f73fd210f46fda80_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

Here the boats are "floated up". This boat and the one behind were the first going from Kiel harbor down to the black sea.
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/67/39559a463b40199f3d19b1c6f3fe875b_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

The heavy transports with the U-Boats reached a maximum speed of around 8km/h.
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/68/0dd1a079050170102bfdbc8161674ea5_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/69/fea2f24a7a0c9855e05c6401daa46f12_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

The boats were transported both on road and by rivers. Here one of the boat is unloaded into the Danube
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/70/0a093a7ad4627512002b409673f281f6_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/72/50220fb513f8066ae105a45e6bfd5cb0_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

Some boats were tugged, others were driven on their own
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/73/a312f5070050ec950ddd2004e157eec2_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

Emblem of U-18, showing a Torpedo shattering a soviet red star. The boat sankt itself in 1944 when the soviets overran the romanian sea ports.
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/74/53c8e3e8d89718903baa28543eb3b71b_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

U-19 in Konstanza (english name?)
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/75/e7b5aa6ea9631ff192c0e27e262c5258_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

Another boat that sank itself near the turkish coast. The crew was interned there for the rest of the war.

U-24's last Kaleun, Rudolf Arendt, back in Turkey near the place the boats were sunk.
http://einestages.spiegel.de/hund-images/2008/02/04/66/d2b86d3b2060a41a371ab0a52a2dc55d_image_document_la rge_featured_borderless.jpg

Hope you like!


The article can be found here:
http://einestages.spiegel.de/external/ShowTopicAlbumBackground/a1342/l0/l0/F.html#featuredEntry

[Dowly]

Thanks for posting! Never seen those pics before! :salute:

[Torplexed]

Yes...very interesting pictures. I never realized they covered the subs with a giant tarp for transport, but I can see why with prying spies everywhere. :hmm2:

[nikimcbee]

That is one of my favorite theaters of operation

[Onkel Neal]

Very cool, Bewolf. :salute:

I will move this to the Sub & Naval Discussions: News, Books, Films, and Models (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=186) forum, and leave a redirect here.

salute!
Neal

[Hitman]

Yes nice pics, I have them and also a few very interesting more -I never saw them elsewhere- in this book I brought from my trip to Austria some years ago: http://www.amazon.de/Deutsche-U-Boote-Schwarzen-Meer-1942/dp/3813207617

I can only recommend the book, it's well written (Albeit only in german as far as I know) covers a unusual and poorly know stuff, and ships many interesting and never before published pictures :up:

[Bewolf]

Yes nice pics, I have them and also a few very interesting more -I never saw them elsewhere- in this book I brought from my trip to Austria some years ago: http://www.amazon.de/Deutsche-U-Boote-Schwarzen-Meer-1942/dp/3813207617

I can only recommend the book, it's well written (Albeit only in german as far as I know) covers a unusual and poorly know stuff, and ships many interesting and never before published pictures :up:

Thanks for the tip, Hitman, I will keep that in mind for the next shopping spree!

And good, appears these pics were indeed a novelty here :sunny: