Molch [pic heavy]

[WetOne]

So here in Johannesburg, we have South Africa's Military History Museum with a wealth of very interesting exhibits. Of particular interest is their Molch Mini U boat. Now how exactly it came to be in South Africa I have no idea, but I thought I would share some pics for those who are interested.



In this first pic you can see the size of it. I believe it would carry just one man, it looks like it would accomodate one person very easily, however when you actually look in you see that it had better be a very small person.



One of the things that surprised me was the fact that the periscope stuck out far more than i would have thought.



So i guess the number M391 refered to it being the 391st out of a total of 393 built in total. The torpedos you can see are G7e's



Here you can see the rudder and tail assembly quite nicely.



In this pic you can see the torpedo again as well as the battery. Also if you look above it, you will see a mine with a cross section (I had imagined the mines to be bigger)





Ya, I dunno what that funny litle thing is in front either, I imagine it is for attaching a rope to.




This pic shows the battery. Well, one of them, apparently the reason the Molch was so big was because most of the forward part contained the batteries.

So there it is, my own "U boat up the road" I think the only U boat I am likely to come across in my part of the world.

[ediko]

Is that something similar to ohka? Or is it meant to return after launching torpedoes? It looks like a torpedo itself, must have quite a bad range I guess, with those batteries you won't get far. Besides where's the food, water, bed, loo, or anything in it? Needs perfect weather to sail too I guess, such a small thing wouldn't hold out long in the big waves and traveling underwater for long periods would be difficult, can't see much oxygen in it.

Can't see it as anything but a suicide boat, or perhaps it's meant to be towed by a real uboat or ship and released when the target is in range, how would one get back to the uboat/ship is a difficult question as well. You got me intrigued, gonna research this one a little when I get the time, or one of the experts will post a summary of this thing.

[FlankSpeed]

Great pictures. It looks like something inbetween a manned torpedo and a midget submarine. Were they ever used in action?

[Sailor Steve]

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them.

[HW3]

From Wikipedia

The Molch (German language: "newt" or "salamander") was an unsuccessful, one-man series of German midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of the Kriegsmarine, but was not successful in combat operations and suffered heavy losses.
The Molch was based on torpedo technology, and carried two G7e torpedoes attached externally on either side of the craft. It was fully electrical and was created for coastal operations, with a range of 64 km (40 miles) at 5 knots (9.26 km/h). The front section of the boat held a large battery. Behind the battery was the operator's position, which sat between two small trimming tanks. Behind the operator sat the electric motor. The complicated system of tanks made it difficult to control during combat operations. The first of 393 boats were delivered on June 12, 1944 and were built by AG Weser in Bremen.

Schematic of the Molch


The Molch were first used in the Mediterranean against the Allied Operation Dragoon in 1944. The submarines were apart of the K-Verband 411 flotilla. On the night of September 25 they attacked allied battleships, with the loss of ten out of the twelve Molch submarines in the flotilla. Shortly after, the remaining two were sunk by allied warship bombardment off of the Sanremo coast.
Other Molch flotillas were sent to Holland in December 1944, but were also unsuccessful. From January to April 1945, Molch and Biber submarines went out on 102 sorties, losing seven of their own and sunk only seven small ships. Due to the ineffectiveness of the Molch in combat operations, it was later used as a training vessel for more advanced midget submarines.

[WetOne]

Well it sounds like a death trap to me. With stats like those, I wonder who would volunteer to operate one? If you look inside, the space for the operator is so small, its crazy to think that the whole front part JUST caries the batteries.

Can you imagine being depth charged in one of these? I mean I can't realy imagine what it must have felt like at the best of times, never mind on my own in little more than a tin can. It must have been terrifying. The hatch is so small I dont know how anybody could NOT feel claustrophobic in one of these.

It just makes me respect those U boat sailors even more.

I found the following Patrol report from M 58:

PATROL AND SINKING OF M 58
M 58 left on 2330 and proceeded dead slow (four knots) for 1½ hours with periscope visible. The Coxswain then took her to 5 metres (16.4 feet) and maintained the same speed until 0300, when he increased to ¾ speed (7 knots). At 0400 he arrived in his operational area off Nice, some 4-5 miles south-west. of Cap Ferrat, having steered 230 degrees throughout. He took his boat down to 12 metres (39.4 feet) and slowly circled around. Shortly before 0615, it became evident that the boat was bow heavy, and the coxswain was unable to trim her. At 0615 he came to periscope depth, and was almost immediately sighted by an aircraft which dropped a number of smoke floats near him. Destroyers soon approached and made contact; the coxswain, believing that depth charges would be set much deeper, decided that it would be safest to remain at 5 metres, (16.4 feet). Eighteen to twenty depth-charges were dropped shortly afterwards, but all exploded beneath him. Two more series followed, and the last depth charge to explode caused a water entry on the port side below the Control Room. The boat became stern heavy, and after setting the scuttling charges, the coxswain opened the cupola and abandoned ship at 0845.

Have alook at the following site for a few more:
http://www.juergenthuro.de/html/molchusa.html

[FlankSpeed]

Wow, the Molch certainly seems like a weapon born out of desperation, you'd have to be equipped with nerves of steel to operate one!

Although the design, intended use and operating procedures are very different, they do remind me of the British and Italian manned torpedos. Originally an Italian idea, they were used by underwater demolition teams to sink ships at anchor in enemy harbours.

Commando frogmen riding the device would infiltrate the enemy harbour, steer the torpedo towards the target, detatch the warhead under the ship, (or physically attatch it to the ship's hull in the case of limpet mines) set it for a timed detonation and then ride the torpedo away.

Seems like madness but infact they were rather successful.