20th Century « Shipwreckology

Archives For November 30, 1999

The Marine Raiders of WWII

January 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

Marine Raiders embarked aboard US Navy submarine

Today marks the 69th anniversary of the disbandment of the US Marine Corps’ four Marine Raider Battalions. The Battalions were initially formed to conduct operations behind enemy lines in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The Raiders are perhaps most famous for their operation in August 1942 against Japanese forces on tiny Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.

In order to gather intelligence on enemy forces in the area and to sow confusion in the Japanese command as to where the main Allied thrusts would occur, Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered the 2nd Marine Raiders Battalion, better known as Carlson’s Raiders, to assault Makin Atoll on August 17, shortly after the initial invasion of the Lower Solomons by US forces. On August 8, companies A and B of Carlson’s Raiders were embarked aboard two submarines, USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut, and stealthily made their way to Makin Atoll.

Going ashore in small combat rubber raiding craft, the two companies quickly became intermingled in heavy surf and lost the element of surprise shortly after landing. Over two days of fighting, though, the Raiders annihilated the Japanese ground force and fended off multiple air attacks – all while losing only eighteen dead and twelve missing. Additionally, their supporting submarines sank several small craft with fire from their deck guns. Carlson’s Raiders then re-embarked and made their way to Pearl Harbor to a hero’s welcome. Unfortunately, in the chaos of combat, nine Raiders were left behind and later beheaded after they surrendered on August 30th.

During their brief existence, the men of the Marine Raider Battalions earned seven Medals of Honor and several dozen Navy Crosses and one member went on to earn the Medal of Honor in the Korean War. Today, the spirit of the Marine Raiders live on through their sister WWII unit, the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, which has since become Force Recon; as well as through the MARSOC units stood up as part of the US Marine Corps contribution to SOCCOM. The Marine Raiders accomplisments are also remembered through the US Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island. The units have also found their place in popular culture with Makin Atoll missions being featured in the wildly popular Call of Duty and Medal of Honor video game franchises.

USS Makin Island
Photo: US Navy

In 20th Century, American Shipwrecks, Japanese Shipwrecks, Pacific Ocean, US Navy, Warships, WWII

Dramatic Danish Grounding

January 2, 2013 — Leave a comment

SS Knud Aground
Photo: Wrecksite

Some of the most impressive maritime images are derived from ships being found in places where they are completely out of their element. Blogger gCaptain compiled a grouping of photos the top ten maritime incidents of 2012 and many of them are ship’s aground in spectacular locations or angles. More than a century ago, the Danish steamer SS Knud created a similar image when it ran aground in Robin Hood’s Bay on January 2, 1900. The steamer had been launched on October 19, 1871 and was a Clyde built merchant steamship of 1,185 tons. When she ran aground she was loaded with a cargo of ballast, but thankfully none of her crew were lost in the debacle. The cargo was later salvaged and the ship sold for scrap.

In 20th Century, Danish Shipwrecks, Merchant Vessels, Salvage, UK Shipwrecks

Battle of North Cape – Adolf Hitler’s Belated Christmas Gift from the Royal Navy

December 26, 2012 — Leave a comment

Scharnhorst fires on HMS Glorious
Photo: US Navy

The Nazi battleship Scharnhorst lived a charmed life from the early days of World War II until Christmas 1943. The ship was among the most powerful of the Kriegsmarine’s most powerful surface units and, until the launch of the Bismarck and the Tirpitz, she and her sister ship Gneisenau were the pride of the Kriegsmarine. Often operating as a pair, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau wreaked havoc on the Royal Navy. In the opening days of World War II, the ships sank the armed British merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi and later sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious (see photo above) during the 1940 invasion of Norway.

The sister ships also broke out into the North Atlantic and sent several Allied merchantmen to the bottom of the sea. After the loss of the Bismarck, the decision was made to withdraw Nazi surface ships from the French coast. In early February 1942, the ships, along with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, made a daring dash up the length of the English Channel. The Scharnhorst was then re-deployed to the northern waters of Norway in order to threaten Allied convoys supplying the Soviet Union.

On Christmas Day 1943, the Scharnhorst along with several destroyer escorts set sail from Norway to intercept an Allied convoy. Unbeknownst to the Kriegsmarine, the Royal Navy had intercepted and decoded the Scharnhorst’s orders and therefore laid a trap for the ship. Three Royal Navy cruisers screened the convoy from Scharnhorst while a squadron led by the battleship Duke of York raced to cut off the Nazi force from safety in Norwegian waters. After a fruitless pursuit of the convoy, the Scharnhorst cut off contact and began to return to base on December 26. In a three hour battle, the Scharnhorst was battered by the Royal Navy squadron and finally sank with only 36 survivors out of a crew of 1,968.

The wreck of the Scharnhorst was discovered in 2000 by the Norwegian Navy and further investigation revealed the extent of the damage inflicted by the Royal Navy. A total of 2,195 shells were fired at the ship along with 55 torpedoes. Eleven of the torpedoes found their mark and the torpedo and shell damage was extensive. The entire bow section of the ship was blown off the ship, most likely the result of an explosion in a forward magazine. Go here for a gallery of images from the Norwegian Navy’s investigation as well as period photos of the Scharnhorst.

In 20th Century, German Shipwrecks, Merchant Raiders, Polar Regions, Royal Navy, UK Shipwrecks, Warships, WWII

When In Doubt, Use More C4

December 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Photo: US Department of Defense

While today the US Navy’s Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) units have become household names for taking down Osama Bin Laden and Somali pirates, there was a time when their exploits were much more in keeping with their reputation as Silent Professionals. In 1989, during the invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause), a team of SEALs played a quiet, but integral role to the success of the invasion.

Although Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega had been a US ally in the early 1980s, his relations with the US took a chilly turn in the late 1980s. Fueled by disputes over the Panama Canal Zone and the War on Drugs, tensions escalated between the US and Panama until December 20, 1989 when President George H.W. Bush ordered that Operation Just Cause be set into motion.

One of the primary objectives of the invasion was to secure Manuel Noriega and bring him back to the United States to stand trial. The SEALs were tasked with preventing Noriega’s escape by capturing, disabling or destroying his private jet and gunboat. A team of four SEALs used a combat rubber raiding craft (CRRC) to approach within swimming range of the gunboat. The team then silently approached the gunboat, but were detected and attacked with grenades. Despite this minor setback, the SEALs successfully planted their explosives and exfiltrated out of the area. The gunboat was destroyed and, even though the plan had originally been to merely sever the propellers with explosives, in the aftermath of the attack one of the gunboat’s engines couldn’t even be located because so much explosives had been used.

Meanwhile a team of three SEAL platoons moved on Noriega’s private, but unfortunately took 12 casualties including 4 KIA in a firefight surrounding the hangar. The jet was destroyed with rocket fire and the SEALs’ objective of sealing off Noriega’s escape routes was accomplished. Operation Just Cause concluded less than 2 weeks later when Noriega, who had holed up in the Vatican Embassy, surrendered to US forces.

In 20th Century, American Shipwrecks, Riverine, South American Shipwrecks, US Navy, Warships

Death Comes for the Admiral

December 18, 2012 — Leave a comment

Sinking of the Graf Spee

At the outset of World War II, the Nazi Kriegsmarine didn’t just deploy their merchant raiders and U-boats, but also tasked capital ships with the destruction of Allied shipping. One such ship was the Graf Spee, a pocket battleship constructed during the 1930s before Nazi Germany renounced the provisions of the Versailles Treaty. Germany’s pocket battleships were designed as a re-incarnation of the World War I battlecruiser concept – better armed than heavy cruisers and faster than battleships. The strategic concept was that each ship could operate independently against Allied merchant shipping and choose fight or flight when faced with the threat of engaging a warship.

The Graf Spee was named for Admiral Graf von Spee who had defeated a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel (November 1, 1914) only to have his squadron destroyed by a superior British force a month later at the Battle of the Falklands. Admiral von Spee was lauded by both sides of the conflict as a brilliant tactician and consummate naval officer and gentleman. After his death at the Battle of the Falklands, Admiral von Spee was quickly enshrined in the then small pantheon of Germany’s naval heroes. In addition to the Graf Spee, Germany built two other pocket battleships – the Deutschland and Admiral Scheer – both of which ended the war as floating artillery batteries and were destroyed in the waning weeks of the war.

Commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, the Graf Spee found herself in the South Atlantic at the outbreak of the war. Captain Langsdorff and his crew quickly got to work dispatching Allied shipping and sank 50,000 tons of British shipping before being engaged on December 13, 1939 by a trio of British cruisers – Achilles, Ajax, and Exeter. In the subsequent battle, dubbed the Battle of the River Plate, the Graf Spee seriously damaged the Exeter but was herself damaged and Captain Langsdorff sought shelter to perform repairs in Montevideo, Uruguay. Fearing a superior British force had gathered outside Montevideo, Captain Langsdorff and a skeleton crew sailed the Graf Spee into the river estuary on December 18 and scuttled the ship to prevent her from falling into Allied hands. Captain Langsdorff then committed suicide and the crew were interned in Uruguary.

The destruction of the Graf Spee and her limited contributions to the war effort enraged Adolf Hitler who instructed the commander of the Kriegsmarine, Admiral Raeder, to issue an order stating, “The German warship and her crew are to fight with all their strength to the last shell; until they win or go down with their flag flying.” For the Allies, the victory provided a healthy morale boost after the loss of Poland earlier in the year.

In 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, German Shipwrecks, Merchant Raiders, Royal Navy, Warships, WWII

WWII Soviet Sub Discovered in Baltic Sea

December 17, 2012 — 1 Comment

Wreckage of Soviet WWII Submarine S-6
Photo: Försvarsmakten

Earlier this summer civilian divers reported discovering what they believed to be a sunken submarine in 130 feet of water near Sweden’s island of Oland in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Navy returned to the site with its submarine salvage ship HSWMS Belos to further inspect the wreck and determine its identity. Swedish news site The Local reports that the Swedish military believes the vessel is the Soviet submarine S-6 which never returned from its September 1941 patrol. Cyrillic text and a Soviet hammer and sickle are visible on the wreck providing evidence that the wreck is indeed a Soviet sub.

The Swedish military further believes that while cruising on the surface of the Baltic the sub struck a Nazi mine and was blown to pieces. This hypothesis flows from the fact that a hatch (seen above) was open on the vessel and it was found in multiple pieces on the sea floor. The large size of the debris field rules out the possibility the sub struck a mine below the surface and that the crew were able to make an attempt at escape. Thus it is most likely the sub was cruising on the surface, possibly re-charging its batteries at night, with hatches open to circulate air within the boat when it struck the mine.

HSWMS Belos
Photo: Wikimedia

In 20th Century, Baltic Sea, German Shipwrecks, Russian Shipwrecks, Scandinavia, Warships, WWII

Museum Ship Monday – HMCS Sackville

December 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

HMCS Sackville
CC Image Courtesy of Paul B on Flickr

The HMCS Sackville was laid down in early 1940 and was 1 of 267 Flower-class Corvettes built for the Allied navies during World War II. The U-boat threat to the Atlantic shipping lanes required hundreds of small, nimble ocean going warships to fend off U-boat and Luftwaffe bomber attacks on Allied convoys. The Flower-class were intended to fulfill this role and helped get American and Canadian men and war material across the Atlantic safely.

The Sackville first saw service in early 1942 when she was deployed to the Northern Atlantic to protect convoys off the coast of Newfoundland. The ship damaged several U-boats during her wartime patrols and even forced two U-boats to completely break off their attacks and return to occupied Europe for extensive repairs. Unfortunately, the Sackville was herself damaged in August 1944 when a massive explosion damaged one of her boilers. The cause of the explosion is still unknown, but was most likely the result of one of her depth charges exploding a Nazi torpedo close to the Sackville’s hull.

Relegated to harbor duty the ship was later converted into a research vessel for use by the Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries. Finally retired in 1982, the Sackville avoided the scrap heap and is now the last remaining Flower-class corvette in the world. She now continues in service as a museum ship and Canada’s Naval Memorial in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ship can be visited during the summer months and more information can be found here.

In 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Canadian Shipwrecks, Museum Ships, Warships, WWII

Operation Lila & the Scuttling of the Vichy French Fleet

November 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

Aerial View of the Vichy French Fleet Scuttled in Toulon

Despite the overwhelming success of Nazi Germany’s Blitzkrieg assault on France in May 1940, Adolf Hitler chose not to occupy the entirety of the country. Along with a small zone occupied by Italy, a significant slice of southern France was allowed to remain nominally free. Dubbed Vichy France and headed by Marshall Petain, the “country” effectively functioned as a satellite state of Nazi Germany. In November 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the occupation of Vichy France after the Allies landed in Vichy French North Africa.

One of the highest value targets in the Vichy French zone was the Vichy French fleet stationed in Toulon. Consisting of 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 18 destroyers and 21 submarines, the addition of the Vichy French fleet to Italy’s Regia Marina or Germany’s Kriegsmarine could have had a significant effect on the balance of power in the Mediterranean theater. Aiming to deprive the Allies of the Vichy French fleet, Hitler ordered Operation Lila as a part of the larger takeover of Vichy France. Lila was intended to capture the Vichy French fleet at their anchorage in Toulon and turn the ships over to the Regia Marina.

At the same time Nazi forces were setting in motion Operation Lila, Vichy French forces were planning to either flee to North Africa or, in the event they couldn’t escape, scuttle their ships at anchor. Unfortunately for the Vichy French and for the greater Allied war effort, only a handful of submarines and a single surface vessel were able to escape the clutches of the advancing Nazi war machine. Instead, the majority of the fleet was scuttled in Toulon and rendered combat ineffective to the Nazis and Italians. In total, 77 ships were scuttled including all of the French capital ships and, while 30+ small vessels were captured, Operation Lila was essentially a complete failure for the Axis.

In 20th Century, French Shipwrecks, German Shipwrecks, Warships, WWII

Museum Ship Monday – USS North Carolina

November 26, 2012 — Leave a comment

USS North Carolina
CC Image Courtesy of Jay Turner on Flickr

Although today the USS North Carolina floats peacefully in Wilmington, NC, the ship was once at the tip of the US Navy’s spear in the Pacific during World War II. The North Carolina had originally been planned for construction in the 1920’s and her keel was even laid down, however, the approval of the Washington Naval Treaty caused the ship to be scrapped to honor the United States’ treaty commitments. Not until the gradual re-armament of the 1930s was the ship brought back off the drawing board. The ship was finally commissioned on April 9, 1941 and bristled from end to end with nine 16-inch guns, twenty 5-inch dual purpose guns and dozens of 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

The North Carolina first tasted blood in the Guadalcanal campaign of August 1942 and participated in every major naval offensive of the war. Nicknamed the Showboat, the North Carolina earned 15 battle stars during World War II, survived being torpedoed, sank a Japanese troopship, participated in 9 shore bombardments and downed 24 enemy aircraft. Additionally, the pilots of her Kingfisher aircraft assisted in the rescue of numerous Allied pilots and aircrew and on one occasion Lt. John Burns used his Kingfisher to rescue 10 airmen.

Following the war, the North Carolina was placed in the Inactive Reserve Fleet and, after a fundraising effort by North Carolina schoolchildren, was dedicated as a museum ship in 1962. As the most decorated battleship of World War II, the USS North Carolina now serves as a memorial to North Carolina’s World War II service men and women. The ship is open for tours and even hosts an annual 5-K and 1/2 Marathon.

In 20th Century, Museum Ships, US Navy, Warships, WWII

Pyrrhic Victory – HMAS Sydney vs. HSK Kormoran

November 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

CC Image courtesy of Horatio Kookaburra on Flickr

German naval strategy during World War II was similar to that employed in World War I – strangle the United Kingdom by sinking or disrupting its merchant shipping. In addition to the ubiquitous U-boat, the Kriegsmarine utilized surface warships and camouflaged merchant vessels to target Allied shipping in all theaters of the war. One such camouflaged merchant vessel was the HSK Kormoran. Formerly the merchantman Steiermark, the ship was converted in 1940 to carry mines and hidden armaments as well as two float planes. Departing Germany in December 1940, Kormoran captured or sunk 11 merchant ships as it cruised through the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The Kormoran’s luck ran out, though, when it happened upon the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney on November 19, 1941. Sydney was returning to port from escorting a troopship and decided to investigate what appeared to be a suspicious vessel. The two ships exchanged signals until the Kormoran, posing as the Dutch ship Straat Malaka, failed to identify itself by the Straat Malaka’s secondary secret signal. Realizing he could no longer keep up the ruse, Kormoran’s captain ordered the Dutch ensign struck, raised the German naval ensign and opened fire. The two ships engaged in their deadly duel for about an hour at which point the heavily damaged Sydney, struck by hundreds of rounds of 5.9 inch shells as well as several torpedoes, drifted off to the southwest.

The Sydney disappeared with its entire crew complement of 645 officers and sailors. The Kormoran, irreparably damaged by Sydney’s broadsides, was ordered scuttled by her captain and the crew took to the lifeboats. Only 317 of the Kormoran’s 400 man crew were rescued. While Sydney’s sinking of the Kormoran was a pyrrhic victory for her crew, it helped eliminate the threat of continued predation on Allied merchant shipping and the lives of Sydney’s crew were not lost in vain. On March 12, 2008, searchers from the Finding Sydney Foundation located the wreck of the Kormoran in 2,500 meters of water. Five days later, the wreck of the Sydney was finally located approximately 11 miles from the Kormoran. Today, a new HMAS Sydney proudly serves the Royal Australian Navy and its replacement will be christened with the same name when it enters service in 2017.

In 20th Century, German Shipwrecks, Indian Ocean, Merchant Raiders, Oceanian Shipwrecks, Royal Navy, UK Shipwrecks, Warships, WWII

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