24 September 2016

WW2 for the day

There's stuff from World War Two scattered across the globe, and War History Online has an article about one (big) piece of it:

Recreational divers located the located the remains of a World War Two German Schnellboot lying in forty feet of water in the Black Sea near the Crimea.  The Russian military undertook initial salvage on the vessel.
The boat, S-102, was used by the Germans during World War Two to attack and sink British supply ships, causing the loss of thousands of tons of desperately needed supplies in war-torn Britain.  The Schnellboot or, as it was known to the Allies, the E-Boat, was operated by the Kriegsmarine during the war.
The boats were 35 meters long and had a beam of a little over 5 meters.  Their hull design was slim and sleek, and the vessels cut through the water propelled by powerful diesel engines. It was extremely fast, having the capability of cruising at over forty knots and accelerating to almost fifty knots.  It was very well armed and was a feared hunter of the Merchant Marine.
The E-boats served with great distinction during World War Two, and members of the Ninth Flotilla responded out of Cherbourg, France to the first reports of Operation Overlord on D-Day in 1944.  As they were the first German assets to respond, and being faced with an entire invasion fleet, they fired their torpedoes at long range and retired back to Cherbourg. Notwithstanding this episode, these vessels were responsible for the sinking of a hundred merchant ships during the war, along with destroyers, MTBs, minesweepers, a submarine, and landing ships. They also caused damage to cruisers, destroyers, tugs, and many merchant vessels.
S-102 carried a crew of twelve men whom experts believe went down with the vessel when it sank in 1943.  Initial salvage has brought several small items, as well as the flak gun, to the surface.  It is not known if the remains of the twelve sailors are still on board but, until proven otherwise, this will be treated as a war grave.  The wreck will be thoroughly researched by a team of military and expert researchers.
Rico says it's like the dog that caught the car: now what do you do with it?

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