U Boat Commemoration in Kerry

[Groundhog]

Town to honour WWII U-boat crew for saving 28 sailors' lives

By Ralph Riegel

Friday September 18 2009

IT was one of the most remarkable acts of chivalry of World War II.
In the early days of the war, a U-boat crew escorted 28 Greek sailors to safety on a Kerry beach -- one of only two instances when a German submarine crew risked its own safety to protect the crew of a vessel they torpedoed and sank.
And next month a plaque commemorating the U-35 and her captain, Werner Lott, will be unveiled by the German Ambassador to mark the chivalrous act by the so-called 'Sea Wolves' of the Battle of the Atlantic.
On October 4, 1939, locals in Ventry and Ballymore were astonished to see a German submarine easing into the Kerry bay.
The U-boat launched a dinghy and began bringing ashore 28 Greek sailors from the 4,900-tonne freighter MV Diamantis, which the sub had intercepted off the Skelligs.
The MV Diamantis was taking iron ore from Freetown to Barrow-on-Furness -- and deemed to be carrying war material. But the U-35's skipper ordered that the crewmen be escorted to a safe landing.
Ventry in Co Kerry was chosen because of its proximity and its isolation.
In 1984, Lott visited both Ventry and the Tower of London, where he was briefly held as a POW after his U-boat was sunk.
While in Kerry, he was astonished to meet locals who witnessed his sub escorting the Greeks to safety back in 1939.
"In the rough weather I would not have been able to examine the ship's papers, so I gave a signal to follow me. I wanted to go to the Irish coast where I knew there would not be such rough weather," he said.
"It did not follow me so I fired a shot from my gun at the bow of the boat. This had the result that the crew panicked and jumped into the small boats. One could foresee that with the rough seas that they would overturn."
The commemoration will take place on October 17.
- Ralph Riegel

[spider]

Very interesting GH. Thanks for posting that.

They were'nt all bad.

Count Felix von Luckner from WW1 springs to mind.

He conducted a raider operation in the Atlantic and Pacific in WW1, sank thousands of tonnes of shipping, and never killed a single person.

His books are well worth a read - The Sea Devil and The Sea Devil's Foc'sle.

[Tony Kearns]

It was a remarkably humanitarian act and carried great risks for KaptLt. Werner Lott.
The previous month on the 14th a RAF Coastal Command Sunderland flying boat operating with 228 squadron based at Pembroke Dock experienced a problem on one of its engines and made an emergency landing in Ventry Harbour and taxied into the same spot as the U35 incident. The RAF were carrying out patrols along the south and south west in proximity to Ireland, so there was a real danger.
U 35 was lost on 29 November 1939 when attacked and sunk in the North Sea by three destroyers. The complete crew were saved.
Tony K

[hedgehog]

DId I read or make it up

that a U Boat commander recommended a British Naval Officer for a medal

[northie]

DId I read or make it up

that a U Boat commander recommended a British Naval Officer for a medal

One the VC's won in commando raid in a french port (it housed the U boats and possibly a dock for the tirpitz) was recommended by a German officer.

[Fireplace]

One of the big U-Boat successes, sunk 150nm off the south west coast

[Goldie fish]

I think its final resting place is marked on Google earth.

[GoneToTheCanner]

HH,
there was a case where a Coastal Command aircraft attacked a U-Boat and the sub chose to fight it out with it's defensive armament of six 20mm cannon and it's 88mm deck gun. It was a beautiful, clear day and the Germans had plenty of time to tool up and take aim, with the result that they soon were registering hits on the British aircraft as it dived in to the attack. Despite this, the bomber continued it's run, directly over the sub. The Germans said that they saw their 20mm shells bursting in the bomb-bay of the aircraft, which was already on fire, as it passed overhead. The bombs fell all around the sub and the aircraft flew on for a mile or two before crashing into the sea. The sub was badly-damaged and was unable to submerge and some of the deck crew were wounded. With Allied ships closing in, the captain elected to abandon his sub and the surviving crew got clear. They were picked up by an Allied destroyer and the U-Boat captain, upon being presented to the British captain, insisted on reporting the details of the brave attack on their submarine. He is said to have signed a statement praising the extreme courage of the shot-down crew, some of whom were also picked up.One of the bomber crew said that the pilot had been wounded by the first German burst but insisted on continuing the attack. As far as I know, the entire crew were decorated.
regards
GttC

[hedgehog]

Thats something like the story I heard GTTC

thanks.

[Fireplace]

U-35 was sunk off the Shetlands by a flotilla commanded by Lord Mountbatten. Here is an article concerning the sinking and his subsequent encounters with Lott.

At dawn on 29 November 1939, U 35 was cruising on the surface east of the Shetland Islands, 60.53N X 02.47E in the North Sea. The British Destroyer HMS ICARUS (Lt Cdr C D Maud) saw U 35 and turned to attack, with the sun rising behind her. Blinded by the sun, U 35's bridge watch failed to see HMS ICARUS approaching. Caught by surprise, U 35 crash-dived and went deep - to 229 feet - and steered evasive courses. But HMS ICARUS got her on sonar and dropped depth charges set for 250 feet. Two other destroyers, HMS KINGSTON (Lt Cdr P Somerville) and HMS KASHMIR (Lt Cdr H A King), responded to HMS ICARUS's alert; all were under the direction of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten aboard the HMS KELLY. Directed by HMS ICARUS to the likely spot, HMS KINGSTON made two depth-charge attacks, which jammed the diving planes of U 35 and put her at a sharp up angle. In an attempt to bring the bow down and regain control of the boat, all available men were rushed to the forward torpedo room. U 35 was put on full speed, but in vain. The depth charges had also ruptured fuel and ballast tanks aft and no amount of weight forward could level the boat.

Believing the boat to be doomed, Werner Lott ordered all ballast tanks blown, resulting in an agonizingly slow rise to the surface. Upon surfacing, the deck gun was manned with the intention to shoot it out, but when three destroyers were seen close by and when one of them, HMS KASHMIR, fired at U 35, Werner Lott gave up and ordered the boat scuttled. As U 35 slowly flooded and settled, the gun crew raised their arms in surrender. There was a mad scramble overboard by the crew into the slimy, choppy and terribly cold water. HMS KASHMIR fished several officers and twenty-seven men from the icy water. HMS KINGSTON picked up Werner Lott and eleven others, who were the last to leave the boat. The entire crew of 43 survived.

The entire crew of U 35 was taken to the Tower of London, arriving there on 03 December 1939. Placed immediately in his own, very cold cell, Werner Lott, commander of U 35, said he would go on a hunger strike until he was seen by an officer. On the second day, Werner Lott was visited by Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, commander of the destroyer flotilla which had sunk U 35. Part of their conversation, as remembered by both men:

Werner Lott: "I should like to thank you for the way that we were treated onboard the KINGSTON and KASHMIR after the whole of my ship's company was captured by them. We could not have been more correctly treated and Lieutenant Commander Somerville even let me have a cabin of an officer on leave. Finding he was unmarried I obtained the name and address of his mother so that I could see she was properly looked after."

Lord Mountbatten: "She is a free woman living in a free country. You are a prisoner-of-war in our hands. I don�t see what you can do to help her?"
Werner Lott: "Not now but next Summer when we invade England and take over. Then I would like to make sure that she is well treated by the occupying forces."

Lord Mountbatten: "I am afraid you don�t understand what is going to happen in this war; yet you should as you are a naval officer. In the 1914/18 war your army was victorious everywhere but the Royal Navy blockaded you to the point of starvation, surrender and revolution. In this war your army will unquestionably be victorious in Europe when they come to over- run France next year but you still have got to cross the sea to invade England. The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force will prevent that. You will find the Germans confined to a conquered continent without having conquered the United Kingdom. Then in due course Hitler will make the same mistake that the Kaiser made which will involve the United States of America coming into the war on our side. When that happens it will be we who will invade the continent and defeat Hitler on land. That will be the end of the war with victory for us and defeat for you. I think therefore you had better start learning English and preparing yourself for the difficult times you will find in Germany after your release."

Lord Mountbatten arranged for him to be seen by the military commandant and soon afterwards Werner Lott was moved to new quarters, where he accepted an offered meal, honour now satisfied. The Admiralty sent apologies, via Lord Mountbatten, for the way that Werner Lott had been treated and offered as recompense a 'splendid' meal - an invitation for Werner Lott to dine at Scott's Restaurant. Werner Lott accepted on the condition that his second-in-command, Heinz Erchen, could accompany him. The two Germans, under promise not to attempt to escape, were given parole for the evening. Dressed in civilian clothes, they were escorted across the drawbridge to a waiting Admiralty limousine. After a very convivial dinner with two British naval officers (one being Commander Halahan), whom both had known in Gibraltar in 1938, the Germans returned to the Tower. [5,17,39]

The crewmembers of U 35 were transported to Canadian POW camps beginning in June 1940, and transported back to British POW camps after the war.

http://www.u-35.com/mountbatten/index.html

[Goldie fish]

Big write up in one of the sunday Papers(Mail I think) about this over the weekend.
Very interesting story.