A wehrpass of a Flak gunner, related to one of the most dramatic sinking of German ships carrying Italian prisoners (and war material) from the Aegean islands to the land after the armistice. There will be almost 15,000 Italian soldiers, prisoners of the Germans, drowned in these sinkings, about 5% of the total number of Italian soldiers fallen in the Second World War.
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Wehrpass, the cross in memory on the cover, issued in July 1938 in Frankfurt, to Willi Steimmetz, class 1919 of Anspach, Protestant, mechanic, married in 1942 with Rosel -
enlisted in September 1939, Flak, after training always in Mannheim in Flak Abteilug 491, then in Flak Abteilung 776. Then in Crete in Flak Regiment 23 from November 1942 (precisely to guard Tymakion airport in the south coast)Comment
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His Flak training:
240a Leichte Flakeinheit 2 cm
241a Schwere Flakeinheit 8.8 cm
873 schweinwerferpersonal 60Comment
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A course as a probable Uffz, his promotions, sizes, visit for tropical serviceComment
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campaignsComment
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and Willi is missing on 18 October 1943, while he was on board (probably as an anti-aircraft escort on the Sinfra ship). The Sinfra leaves on the evening of October 18, 1943, starts from the Souda Bay to Piraeus with stowed tons of Luftwaffe bombs and above all 2389 Italian POW ( for most of the Siena Division
that guarded the Crrte island) other a few hundered of Greek and 204 German soldiers.
It is escorted by two germans ships (GK 05 and GK 06) but immediately shortly after departure the Sinfra came under Allied air attack. A total of ten Allied bombers engaged the ship, some 19 nautical miles (35 km) north of Souda Bay. At 22:05, after nightfall, Sinfra was struck by a torpedo near the front hatch, and at 23:00 the ship was hit by a bomb which penetrated the engine room. Set hits the ship's steering and set Sinfra on fire. At 02:31 on 19 October, the ship blew up and sank. Most of those who were in the sinking were Italian POWs. The number of dead is disputed, but the latest data indicate only 597 Italians survived (then fallen around 1800/1850) and 197 Germans (therefore only 7 fallen, including our Willi) also due to insufficient safety equipment in relation to the number of people on board.Comment
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Sinfra: former Norwegian Fernglen, then Swedish Sandhamn and finally French Sinfra, confiscated by the Germans in 1942
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_SinfraComment
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the point where it was hit.....Comment
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Powerful piece, not only the lost of the man, but the hundreds also killed in the same action.
Angel
Looking for DKiG Heer winner Soldbuch who also won the TDB and/or CCC, specially in Silver.Comment
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we also have the name of the pilot of the Wellington who launched the torpedo that hit the Sinfra : Hendrick John Van Der Pol,
(he died in July 1945 in Burma in an accident)
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=165718
Wellington with torpedoesComment
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I go back to Willy: his obituaryComment
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and with the closeup of Willi one of the unfortunate 1850 Italian soldiers who have fallen with him
Lieutnant Antonio Zanettin of 341th Infantry Regiment, died on October 19, 1943 following the sinking of the "Sinfra"
and the monument to the Italian and Greek victims of the Sinfra on the Crete islandComment
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Oriano,
Another great and interesting presentation!
JeffComment
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Hello Oriano !
Great research and outstanding presentation
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Many thanks once more for explaining another important part of history
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One question :
Were these transports not marked with a red cross or something similar ?
Best rgeards,
ArchiComment
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