WW2 Kriegsmarine wrecks.

[Tychsen]

In recent years a number of wrecks have been found and as we research more of our own world the chances are we will find more , history lost and crews lost will be found.

http://www.pastfoundation.org/U166/

A IX/C boat lost in the Gulf of Mexico.


U-534 An IX/C40.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/gaz/u-534.html

http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/u534/index.aspx

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/mers ... 230011.stm

U-297 Sunk by 201 Squadron RAF Castel Archdale.
http://www.beyondmag.co.uk/wreck/u297.htm

http://newfrontierdiving.com/u297.html

Deadlight Dives.

http://www.operationdeadlight.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.periscopepublishing.com/imag ... bition.htm

http://www.taucher.net/berichte/bericht.html?nummer=38

U-767.
http://www.deepimage.co.uk/wrecks/uboat ... inpage.htm

U-864

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 758047.ece

U-701
http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/U701/U701.HTML

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... antic.html

U-853
http://www.divenewengland.com/u-853.html
Anyone with more links in their favs. fire away !

[von bock]

cheers for the links James

[West-Front]

Sobering stuff, but thanks for posting it, (the U-166 in particular)

[Tychsen]

Absolutely - internet links are easy to get - absolutely admit it and it makes doing the leg work so easy - but as a reminder of what the sea hides and keeps from us these links do have a valid purpose.
What I really find sad is that a generations of wifes , children , brothers, sisters , fathers and mothers all lost loved ones and that loss is still felt today and it is felt by all who took part or saw loved ones go - the unifrom has no bearing on the pain felt.

The discovery of these ships , aircraft and missing soldiers are important and potentially painful and emotional episodes in peoples lives , I have seen this at first hand , whilst we reenact and deem it to be important it is nothing and I mean nothing compared to reality of what took place 1939-1945.

These lost ships they are if you like a conduit to the past , a window through which we can look at the fate of those who never came home , the missing.

[mario33]

Near the Polish shores there are many wrecks that might be of interest. You cant dive on most of them for obvious reasons (mass graves).

Most notable are:
- Graf Zepelin - German aircraft carrier - destroyed by Russians after the war
- 2 (yes, TWO) VIIc class u-boots: 1st. U-346, sunk 20.09.1943 during training - 6 sailors rescued (37 dead), 2nd. unidentified - either collision or mine - still unknown
- Stutgart - German hospital ship that was bombed by Americans despite Red Cross signs and is still there with hundreds of bodies inside. Sunk in Oct. 1943.
- Boelcke - work station for seaplanes. Sunk by the Russian bomb on 17.04.45
- Bremenhaven - troop transport sunk by the bomb on 30.10.1944 with 400 soldiers on board
- Franken - tanker runk by Russian bomb on 08.04.1945
- Netelbeck - mine hunter - sunk by the bomb, restored and later thrown ashore by the strong storm. abandoned.
- Gustloff - hospital and hotel-ship, sunk on 30.01.1945 by russian u-boat with 5000 ppl onboard - only a few survived. Very well known and described tragedy... Hitler travelled on board a few times. Many divers were dead on this wreck after the war. Its just a cursed one...
- Steuben - passenger ship sunk by Russian u-boat on 09.02.1945 with almost 2500 ppl onboard, only 300 were rescued.


Theres a very good internet site describing baltic wrecks on the Polish shores. Pity, its English version is very limited. However, you can still find interactive wreck map, wreck listings with exact position - you may click the wreck name and at least see some pics. (Polish verson describes each wreck in detail - only a few of the description has been translated...)

http://www.balticwrecks.com/index/wrecks.html

[Tychsen]

Mario , thanks for that link - will take a look later this evening when time allows.
I did have one for the Graf Zepplein - it was surveyed quite recently by the Polish Navy ?
There must be quite a rich maritime history in the Baltic from WW2 , I know I would be delighted for anything you might be able to point us towards - this is your history and you know it better than we do.
( I for one don't presume or pretent to say I know it , I am here to learn as much as the next man .)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea#Sea_ice

During the Second World War, Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the Baltic states. In 1945, the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for drowned people on torpedoed refugee ships. As of 2004, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff remains the worst maritime disaster, killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Russian group of scientists found over five thousand airplane wrecks, sunken warships, and other material mainly from the Second World War, lying at the bottom of the sea.

There must be one heck of history there . ( But sadly put there at a cost).

[mario33]

Just for the starters:

Polish Navy oob 1939: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polska_Mar ... na_in_1939

Many interesting facts for the period 1939-47 are available here: http://www.polishnavy.pl/index.html

[von bock]

fantastic links gents many thanks ,The polish navy links were quite interesting ,any more?

[West-Front]

What I really find sad is that a generations of wifes , children , brothers, sisters , fathers and mothers all lost loved ones and that loss is still felt today and it is felt by all who took part or saw loved ones go - the unifrom has no bearing on the pain felt.

The discovery of these ships , aircraft and missing soldiers are important and potentially painful and emotional episodes in peoples lives , I have seen this at first hand , whilst we reenact and deem it to be important it is nothing and I mean nothing compared to reality of what took place 1939-1945.

These lost ships they are if you like a conduit to the past , a window through which we can look at the fate of those who never came home , the missing.

Yeah, just one of those shots of U-166 really came home to me, looking down into the conning tower, hatch still sealed - very much an iron coffin for those blokes on the bottom of the ocean, very sobering.

[Tychsen]

Some more found by chance on our friend U-Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvH147G4iF0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUR-_RQT ... re=related
More from U-853.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJArG1xu ... re=related
U-714.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AmORvhe ... re=related
U-1277.