I know I have been busy and missed a few weeks, but I will make it up today because I will post something special (at least for me) of my 2000th post.
It is a KC & OL group that belonged to a real navy person: Heinrich Hoffmann (1920-1998).
He stepped at 30-09-1928 in the Reichsmarine and retired exactly 40 years later on 30.09.1968 from the Bundesmarine.
There is much written about this person, but he is most known for his actions on D-Day (as Korvettenkapitën and commander of the 5th Torpedoboat flotilla) where he earned hid his KC and shortly after also his oaks. The D-Day part of his carreer it is pretty interesting (a least to me) and I used 2 different sources to give an impression how he got the KC and oaks but also the involvement of the Kriegsmarine during and after D-day in the Channel.
After the impression I will off course post picturs of his 57's as that is what we are really interested in.
It will take a while before I am done posting but I here we go:
After an alert from German batteries at the normandy coast over Bombardment with heavy ship artillery, Hoffmann recieved the order to: "Leave port to reconnoitre!" With only three operational boats -- T28 (his leading ship), Jaguar and the Möwe -- Hoffmann set out at 0415 hours. They roared up the Channel in bad weather and bad visability and at 0515 hours they came up against an unnatural looking smoke-screen to hide the invasion fleet.
Commander Hoffmann aboard T28 stared at the scene, and he was shocked what he saw when he came on the other side of the smoke.
One enormous, unending fleet, as far as the eye could see.
The vast armada was guarded by six battleships, and around these circled two dozen destroyers.
He immediately ordered his 3 boats to attack, just as if this were merely a naval exercise.
Amid the huge battleships, cruiser and destroyers he said he felt as if he were "sitting in a rowboat. Turning and Zigzagging to avoid shell fire of the allied fleet, the German flotilla advanced . As they swung round they released their torpedoes. Eighteen torpedo's shot out from their tubes. Engines slammed to full speed astern, rudders turned sharply as HMS Warspite, Ramilles and the Norwegian destroyer Svenner sought to avoid them. By brilliant manoeuvres of the Ramilles and Warspite, they evaded two torpedo's that knifed through the water. But Svenner did not make it. Lieutenant Desmond Lloyd aboard the ship wondered "How far would I fly?" as the torpedo exploded.The vessel lifted from the water and was literally cut in half with the Bow and stern rising up out the water forming a "V" before dissappearing under the waves.
The British battleships Warspite and Ramillies spotted the German E-boats and opened fire. But Hoffmann and his boats had already vanished through the smoke-screen.
Hoffmann repoted by radio that there were about 4000 landing crafts behind the heavy ships, but at the headquarters they saw it as a diverting manoeuvre, because they expected the actual invasion falsely at Calais.
This was the only battle of the day between the Allied invasion fleet and the Kriegsmarine, and the Svenner was the only ship in the invasion to be sunk by a German vessel.
Although The Germans planned to use U-boats to disrupt the invasion, they could not be deployed from the bases along the Bay of Biscay in time to be effective. It was almost impossible for the U-boats to even enter the heavily defended Channel. Let alone opererate effectively once inside. Many boats were lost simply trying to reach the Channel.
The boats of the 5th and 9th Flotillas, stationed in the harbour bunker of Cherbourg, likewise left base. These bold, fast fighting craft had three 200-h.p. Daimler-Benz diesel engines which gave them a speed of 50 m.p.h. They were armed with two torpedo tubes, flak, and machine-guns. But they too were unable to accomplish anything against the floating fortresses which shielded the invasion fleet on all sides. However, both flotillas subsequently broke through to Le Havre.
At 07.06. Hoffmann recieved the knight cross. His boats (4 again from 12.06.1945), ran out night for night attacked the Invasion fleet (whereby they obtained numerous hits), and protected minesweepers with the mine laying against Airplane attacks. There were numerous people killed and wounded due to low flier attacks. Into the night from the 14th to the the 15th, there were about 2 waves of nearly 300 four-engined Lancaster bombers attacked Le Havre. " Möwe" , " Falke" and " Kondor" , like all the other German ships that were present, sank after heavy hits. Only the " T28" got lightly damaged. Senior Lieutenant Johannsen, the leader of the 5th flotilla, was killed in the bombing. But an hour before he had been awarded the Knight's Cross.
Hoffmann recieved his oaks at 11.07.44.
It is a KC & OL group that belonged to a real navy person: Heinrich Hoffmann (1920-1998).
He stepped at 30-09-1928 in the Reichsmarine and retired exactly 40 years later on 30.09.1968 from the Bundesmarine.
There is much written about this person, but he is most known for his actions on D-Day (as Korvettenkapitën and commander of the 5th Torpedoboat flotilla) where he earned hid his KC and shortly after also his oaks. The D-Day part of his carreer it is pretty interesting (a least to me) and I used 2 different sources to give an impression how he got the KC and oaks but also the involvement of the Kriegsmarine during and after D-day in the Channel.
After the impression I will off course post picturs of his 57's as that is what we are really interested in.
It will take a while before I am done posting but I here we go:
After an alert from German batteries at the normandy coast over Bombardment with heavy ship artillery, Hoffmann recieved the order to: "Leave port to reconnoitre!" With only three operational boats -- T28 (his leading ship), Jaguar and the Möwe -- Hoffmann set out at 0415 hours. They roared up the Channel in bad weather and bad visability and at 0515 hours they came up against an unnatural looking smoke-screen to hide the invasion fleet.
Commander Hoffmann aboard T28 stared at the scene, and he was shocked what he saw when he came on the other side of the smoke.
One enormous, unending fleet, as far as the eye could see.
The vast armada was guarded by six battleships, and around these circled two dozen destroyers.
He immediately ordered his 3 boats to attack, just as if this were merely a naval exercise.
Amid the huge battleships, cruiser and destroyers he said he felt as if he were "sitting in a rowboat. Turning and Zigzagging to avoid shell fire of the allied fleet, the German flotilla advanced . As they swung round they released their torpedoes. Eighteen torpedo's shot out from their tubes. Engines slammed to full speed astern, rudders turned sharply as HMS Warspite, Ramilles and the Norwegian destroyer Svenner sought to avoid them. By brilliant manoeuvres of the Ramilles and Warspite, they evaded two torpedo's that knifed through the water. But Svenner did not make it. Lieutenant Desmond Lloyd aboard the ship wondered "How far would I fly?" as the torpedo exploded.The vessel lifted from the water and was literally cut in half with the Bow and stern rising up out the water forming a "V" before dissappearing under the waves.
The British battleships Warspite and Ramillies spotted the German E-boats and opened fire. But Hoffmann and his boats had already vanished through the smoke-screen.
Hoffmann repoted by radio that there were about 4000 landing crafts behind the heavy ships, but at the headquarters they saw it as a diverting manoeuvre, because they expected the actual invasion falsely at Calais.
This was the only battle of the day between the Allied invasion fleet and the Kriegsmarine, and the Svenner was the only ship in the invasion to be sunk by a German vessel.
Although The Germans planned to use U-boats to disrupt the invasion, they could not be deployed from the bases along the Bay of Biscay in time to be effective. It was almost impossible for the U-boats to even enter the heavily defended Channel. Let alone opererate effectively once inside. Many boats were lost simply trying to reach the Channel.
The boats of the 5th and 9th Flotillas, stationed in the harbour bunker of Cherbourg, likewise left base. These bold, fast fighting craft had three 200-h.p. Daimler-Benz diesel engines which gave them a speed of 50 m.p.h. They were armed with two torpedo tubes, flak, and machine-guns. But they too were unable to accomplish anything against the floating fortresses which shielded the invasion fleet on all sides. However, both flotillas subsequently broke through to Le Havre.
At 07.06. Hoffmann recieved the knight cross. His boats (4 again from 12.06.1945), ran out night for night attacked the Invasion fleet (whereby they obtained numerous hits), and protected minesweepers with the mine laying against Airplane attacks. There were numerous people killed and wounded due to low flier attacks. Into the night from the 14th to the the 15th, there were about 2 waves of nearly 300 four-engined Lancaster bombers attacked Le Havre. " Möwe" , " Falke" and " Kondor" , like all the other German ships that were present, sank after heavy hits. Only the " T28" got lightly damaged. Senior Lieutenant Johannsen, the leader of the 5th flotilla, was killed in the bombing. But an hour before he had been awarded the Knight's Cross.
Hoffmann recieved his oaks at 11.07.44.
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