Iron Cross - Issue 13 - June 2022

136 Pages·2022·31 MB·English

‘V’ For Vengeance Turn of the Tide The Devil’s Pact ‘Treasure Castle’
Uncertain start of Germany’s Disaster on the Marne for The pre-war Soviet-Nazi pact Hitler’s hoard of medals and
V-weapon campaign, 1944 Germany: summer 1918 that carved up Poland awards discovered by Allies
Iron Cross GERMAN
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Editorial Offi ce
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PublisherRob McDonnell
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EditorAndy Saunders
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Head of Design and Production
Lynn Wright AAs this issue of Iron Cross was before the end of 1944. Not only that,
ADVERTISING in production, so Russia’s but there were initial Allied plans to use
Sales Executive Kristina Green
[email protected] illegal and horrific war these hybrid weapons against Germany
Tel: [phone] against Ukraine raged on. and Japan. However, the end of the war
Production ManagerNicola Glossop
Indeed, as I sat writing this editorial in Europe and the Far East eventually
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Tel: [phone] introduction, news arrived of more put paid to those ideas. Nevertheless,
Production Assistant Charlotte Bamford Russian cruise missile attacks against and whilst such plans were shelved, it
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Ukrainian civilian targets. This, of was not the end of the concept of this
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MARKETING course, against the background of weapon for the United States.
Marketing Manager Katherine Brown Russia’s odious foreign secretary Without doubt, the V1 Flying Bomb
[email protected] stating that Russia is simply trying to (or Fiesler Fi.103, to give it its proper
Tel: [phone]
Marketing Executive Luke Hider rid Ukraine of Nazis and, at the same title) was the very first ‘cruise missile’
[email protected] time, offering the preposterous claim and the Americans took that idea and
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that Adolf Hitler was part Jewish. developed it across the decades; this, to
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These current and unsettling world a point where the cruise missile is now
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Andy Perry events only serve to illustrate the a high precision piece of kit and very
Tel: [phone] uncomfortable shadow of the Second far removed from its predecessor, the
PUBLISHED BY World War which hangs permanently comparatively crude V1.
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over all of us, and in particular over the Whilst the United States has since
The Maltings, West Street,
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the menace of those cruise missiles, too. 21st Century wars, so the concept has
ISSN 2632-4725
In this issue, we examine the also been copied by other nations
TThhee UU--444411,, aa UU--FFllaakk bbooaatt,, ccoommeess
uunnddeerr aattttaacckk iinn tthhee BBaayy ooff BBiissccaayy bbyy interrogation report on an unidentified around the world. Among them, Russia
aa SSuunnddeerrllaanndd ooff 222288 SSqquuaaddrroonn,, RRAAFF,, Luftwaffe officer, a Prisoner of War with its own array of such weaponry;
oonn 2244 MMaayy 11994433.. UU--444411 sshhoott ddoowwnn
tthhee SSuunnddeerrllaanndd wwhhiicchh ccrraasshheedd aanndd who was captured in either late 1944 all of them being distinctly ‘look-alike’
eexxppllooddeedd iinn tthhee sseeaa,, kkiilllliinngg aallll 1111 ccrreeww..
or early 1945. This officer was attached American Tomahawk missiles. Just as
((AArrttwwoorrkk bbyy PPiioottrr FFoorrkkaassiieewwiicczz))
MAGAZINE&BROCHUREPRINTER TbThhy iiWss ppauurnbbelliirccsaa Mttiiooindn l aiissn ppdrrsii nnPttLeeCdd tnoo trhthee Vrn1 lFaruanncche uton ittasr igneitt iLaollny dboanse adn idn tPhlues A çma ecrhiacanngse .copied the V1, perhaps?
WARNERS Telephone: [phone]
Midlands PLC southeast England. The report offers us The dark wartime days which saw
SUBSCRIBE TO IRON CROSS a fascinating glimpse into how the Flak German V1 attacks were endured with
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01778 392489 structured, the various organisational population, with Ukraine’s current
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Keep up to date on Facebook Incredibly, remains of V1s downed version of the ‘Flying Bomb’ campaign.
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reverse-engineered copy of the V1 was Andy Saunders
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IN THIS ISSUE
CONTENTS
at Scapa Flow in 1919. We ask whether
it could have originated from the light
cruiser, the SMS Nürnberg.
53
COMPETITION
In this issue, win one of eight
ISSUE THIRTEEN copies of the superbly informative
‘German U-boat Losses during World
War II’ by leading German naval historian,
Alex Niestle.
Features the last throw of the dice for the forces
56
of Imperial Germany. More than any NOTES FROM THE ARMOURY –
06
COVER THE U-BOAT FLAK STING other battle across that momentous THE MG 42
STORY In the deadly U-boat last year of the war, the fighting of Widely regarded as the best light
war of the Atlantic, Allied aircraft were July and August signalled the end for machine gun of the Second World War, a
pitted against German submarines. Germany. version of the MG 42 remains in service
Very often, there was a bad outcome with some armies to this day. Mark
88
for attacking aircraft as the U-boats THE DEVIL’S PACT Khan evaluates this significant weapon
fought back. We chart what was often As a new war rages in Eastern and describes its development and
an unequal battle and detail the Allied Europe, we examine the road to operational deployment.
aircraft downed by the U-boat force. war in 1939 and a pre-war Soviet-
71
Nazi pact which led to joint military OBJECTS IN FOCUS
20
ZEPPELIN DOWN! training, sharing of technology and an A unique emblem taken as a
When the L 33 was downed agreement as to the division of Poland souvenir from a Messerschmitt Bf 109
over Essex in September 1916, the before Germany finally turned on the which was brought down over Malta
British were presented with a relatively Soviet Union in 1941. during 1942 comes under the spotlight.
complete Zeppelin and they examined
117 72
and photographed its every detail. Ian CHANNEL DASH – AIR BOOK REVIEWS
Castle explains what can be seen in CLAIMS AND CASUALTIES We review some of the latest
this fascinating collection of official As a follow-up to his full-length feature German military history titles.
photographs. on the February 1942 Channel Dash, in
76
which Chris Goss detailed the principal THE TREASURE CASTLE
40
THE FÜHRER’S WOLF’S LAIR naval aspects of the ‘Dash’, he now lists When American troops came
Hidden away in dense forest on and details all the German and British across a castle near Salzburg during
the Polish - Russian border, a group of air losses directly associated with that the closing stages of the war they
huge bunkers and buildings was built in dramatic action. discovered a treasure trove of Third Reich
1941 to serve as Hitler’s military HQ and high awards and decorations. Dietrich
command post: the Wolfsschanze. John Regulars Maerz tells the astonishing story in our
Grehan describes the complex, explains ‘Orders, Medals, and Decorations’ feature,
50
its purpose, and visits its eerily macabre A QUESTION OF PROVENANCE explaining what became of them.
ruins. In our regular ‘Unlocking History’
98
series, we investigate the intriguing FROM THE ARCHIVES –
62
TURN OF THE TIDE story behind an Imperial German Navy INTERROGATION OF V1
The Second Battle of the Marne ensign taken as a trophy after the OFFICER
in the summer of 1918 was, in effect, scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet The interrogation of a Luftwaffe officer
EDITOR’S CHOICE
28
RED BANDS AND SWASTIKAS
In early 1940 a new commander took over the leadership of one of the
Luftwaffe’s most famous fighter units, JG53, and became the focus of anger from
senior Nazi’s when his wife’s Jewish ancestry was revealed. It was something which
had repercussions for the unit and its pilots, seeing 'punishment' markings applied to
its aircraft to obliterate its 'Ace of Spades' emblem. But the men stood by their CO,
however, with one part of the unit obliterating the swastikas on its aircraft in solidarity.
4 ❙ IRON CROSS
62 CONTRIBUTORS
Introducing you to some of our main
contributors for this issue:-
DR JACK SHELDON
Jack Sheldon retired from
the British army in 2003.
Since retirement he has
written or co-authored
18 books and battlefield
guides. He is a member of
the British Commission for Military History,
a Vice President of the Western Front
Association and the 2022 Fellow of the
Douglas Haig Fellowship.
IAN ONA JOHNSON
Ian Ona Johnson is the P
J Moran Family Assistant
Professor of Military History
at the University of Notre
Dame. His first monograph,
Faustian Bargain: The Soviet-
German Partnership and the Origins of the
Second World War (Oxford University Press,
2021) won the 2022 Distinguished Book
Award from the Society for Military History.
IAN CASTLE
Ian has been researching
and writing about military
history for 35 years. Besides
numerous articles in
magazines and journals, he
has authored or co-authored
20 books on a variety of subjects. His work has
focused on German air raids on Britain during
closely involved with the V1 Flying occasional Myth Buster feature looks WW1 and he has been an adviser for and
appeared in a number of TV documentaries.
Bomb campaign, and who was taken at the strange tale of wooden bullets
DIETRICH MAERZ
POW during 1944, revealed to the Allies supposedly being used by German
Dietrich Maerz is a researcher
a great deal about the organisation troops in Normandy during 1944. We
and historian and is also the
behind the V1 organisation, the order separate fact from fiction. author of several books and
of battle, the campaign, and its rather articles about the decorations
faltering start. 127NEXT ISSUE of the Third Reich, among
them The Knights Cross of
We reveal some of the
112 the Iron Cross and The German Cross in Gold
UNIFORMS AND exciting content lined up to appear in and Silver. He is the owner of B&D Publishing
EQUIPMENT – SHOOTING our next issue. LLC, where he also publishes the quarterly
THE PAST magazine International Militaria Collector.
128
We showcase some of the stunning PHOTOS FROM THE FRONT IRON CROSS
imagery shot by the Netherlands based Our subject photograph for COLOURISATION ARTIST
Marcel Bahnen of ImageworX which this issue depicts the Messerschmitt Bf Richard J Molloy is the
feature the Wehrmacht uniforms and 109 F of a high-scoring Luftwaffe ace house colourisation artist for Iron Cross magazine,
unless colourised images are credited otherwise.
equipment of 1939 – 45, all posed in who was brought down in the Western
historical re-enactments and living Desert in December 1941. The image SAVE OVER
history tableaux. has been colourised by our in-house
20% A YEAR
colourisation artist, Richard J Molloy.
122
NEW WEAPON SPOTLIGHT
130
#1 FILM POSTERS
when you
In this new occasional series, we Featured in this issue
showcase German military weaponry we have the rather striking poster ppuurrcchhaassee aann
spanning the period 1914 to 1945. advertising the film ‘Stosstrupp 1917’,
Iron Cross
Our focus in this issue is on the MG 08 a film about the First World War but
machine gun of the First World War. made during the period of the National ssuubbssccrriippttiioonn
Socialists, and thus very much in
124
WOODEN BULLETS accord with the Nazi messaging of that SSEEEE PPAAGGEE 5544 FFOORR DDEETTAAIILLSS
This issue’s subject for our period.
IRON CROSS ❙ 5
THE U-BOAT WAR
■ U-848 comes under
attack from three B-24
and one B-25 aircraft on
5 November 1943 in the
South Atlantic south-west
of Ascension Island. The
U-boat was sunk by depth
charges and all 63 of the
crew were lost. The anti-
aircraft gunners cower on
the conning tower from the
attacker’s fire and at least
one of them can be seen
wearing a steel helmet.
Although this U-boat was
sunk, an attack by aircraft
was by no means always a
one-sided contest.
The U-boat Flak Sting
While U-boat claims during the Second World War are more often-than-not associated
with shipping losses, the U-boat force exacted a terrible toll against patrolling Allied
aircraft as Chris Goss explains.
TT
he U-boat war fought in the Atlantic was a resulting in the loss of the German submarines and their
bitter one that cost many thousands of lives. crews. It wasn’t all a one-sided battle, though, and at the
Generally, accounts tend to concentrate on beginning of May 1943, the Befehlshaber der U-Boot (BdU),
the ships sunk and on battles fought by Allied commander-in-chief of the U-boat force, ordered:
aircraft and naval forces against the U-boats, invariably “Anti-aircraft submarines are to be tried out against
6 ❙ IRON CROSS
to lure unsuspecting Allied aircraft towards U-boats on
the surface. And these U-boats would literally be bristling
with all sorts of anti-aircraft defences.
By the very nature of such air attacks, the attacking
aircraft would generally engage surfaced U-boats low
and at a relatively slow airspeed. Such aircraft presented
themselves (potentially) as ideal targets, and if the
boats now fought it out on the surface, then the results
achieved by what would be designated U-Flak boats were
predicted to be significant against their unsuspecting
attackers.
■ Konteadmiral Karl Dönitz seen here visiting the Focke-Wulf 200 FIRST TO FALL
unit, I/KG 40, in 1941. Dönitz was Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote
The first loss of an aircraft credited to a U-boat, however,
(BdU) from October 1939 until becoming Oberbefehlshaber der
occurred on the afternoon of 17 December 1941;
Kriegsmarine in January 1943. After January 1943 he still retained
practical control of his U-boats. this was to U-131, a type IXC U-boat commanded by
Korvettenkapitän (KKpt) Arend Bauman. She was part
of Wolfpack Seeräuber (lit: pirate or buccaneer) which
enemy aircraft in Biscay. The first of these submarines comprised eight U-boats and sailed between 14 and 21
will leave port at the beginning of May. These boats December 1941. The primary objective of the Wolfpack
carry strong anti-aircraft armament and have a lightly was to attack a north-bound convoy: HG76.
armoured bridge and weapons. They are to operate on The Wolfpack’s first sinking was credited to U-108 on
the surface in Biscay with the specialised task of attacking 14 December 1941: a neutral Portuguese merchant vessel,
aircraft.” Cassequel, which was not part of the convoy. This was 160
With this announcement, Großadmiral Dönitz miles south-west of Cape St Vincent. Meanwhile, Convoy
signalled grave concerns about the growing scale of HG76 would go on to lose two ships to U-boats on 19
U-boat losses to aircraft and made clear his intent to December. But this was at the cost of four U-boats - one
find a way to turn the tide. What he had in mind might of them being U-131.
be considered a ‘sting’ operation in which he intended On the morning of 17 December, U-131 was spotted
■ A U-boat seen
practicing with a Do
217 of I/KG 2 in the
Bay of Biscay during
June 1942. Exercises
like this enabled the
anti-aircraft gunners
on U-boats to hone
their skills in engaging
aircraft.
▲
IRON CROSS ❙ 7
THE U-BOAT WAR
■ U-995 can be
seen today on
display at Laboe
near Kiel. It
survived the war
and served with
the Norwegian
Navy as Kaura
but was returned
to Germany to
become a museum
piece in 1971. A
pair of twin 20
mm and a single
37 mm Flak guns
are mounted on
the conning tower
bandstand.
by a Grumman Martlet of 802 Squadron, FAA, flying Martlet of 802 Squadron flown by Sub-Lieutenant George
from HMS Audacity. The U-boat was sighted 22 miles Fletcher.
off the port side of the convoy and five warships were However, the U-boat’s primary defensive armament (a
immediately sent to intercept. By now submerged, the 37 mm and 20 mm gun) succeeded in shooting down the
submarine was damaged by depth charges, forcing her to fighter, killing its pilot. George Fletcher had become the
surface. Shortly afterwards, she was strafed by another first Allied airman to fall to a U-boat’s guns.
Shortly afterwards, U-boat U-131, now trying to flee
on the surface, was further damaged by shellfire and at
13.30 hrs she was scuttled with all 47 of her crew being
captured.
NO SURVIVORS
Despite America now having entered the war, and the
Battle of the Atlantic starting to intensify, relatively few
aircraft were shot down by U-boats in 1942. However, this
would change dramatically in 1943. At the end of August
1942, however, the BdU had already stated:
“Numbers of enemy aircraft have increased, a great
variety of aircraft types have appeared, aircraft are
equipped with an excellent radar set against U-
boats; all these factors have made the conduct of the
U-boat war in the east Atlantic very difficult.”
■ The first aircraft to fall to a U-boat’s guns was a diminutive Grumman The BdU then went on to state at the end of March
Martlet of 802 Squadron, FAA, flying from HMS Audacity on the morning
1943, that:
of 17 December, having been shot down by U-131’s guns after attacking
“During the period November 1942 to January 1943,
the German submarine. (Note: this photograph depicts a Martlet of 888
Squadron.) (Colour by RJM)) enemy aircraft anti-submarine activity had little result
8 ❙ IRON CROSS
■ A Coastal Command Wellington of 311 Squadron. The type was heavily ■ Another unit active against U-boats was the USN’s Fleet Air Wing 7,
engaged against the U-boats. based at Dunkeswell in Devon, and which operated the PB4Y-1, one of
which is seen here over a relatively calm Atlantic.
but since February 1943, its effect has increased to an west of Ireland by a B-24 Liberator of the United States
alarming extent. It is not known whether this is due to Navy’s 2nd Anti-Submarine Squadron (AS), 480th Anti-
improved detection equipment or to the use of more Submarine Group (ASG), the aircraft commanded by 1st
suitable types of aircraft. The fact is that during the last Lieutenant William Sandford.
two months there have been more U-boat sightings by Exactly one month later, the first confirmed shooting
British aircraft and more U-boats have been attacked.” down of the year occurred and again it was a 172
Despite this, it appears the first aircraft to be shot Squadron Wellington which fell to a U-boat. Flying
down in 1943 occurred on 4 February when it is believed Officer Gordon Lundon* had taken off from Chivenor
that U-519, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther at 18.35 hrs and, again, nothing further was heard from
Eppen, was attacked and, in turn, shot down its attacker - Lundon’s crew. However, we know that at 21.31hrs,
a Wellington of 172 Squadron flown by Pilot Officer John U-333, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Werner
Myers. Myers had taken off from RAF Chivenor, north Schwaff, reported being surprised by an aircraft while on
Devon, at 16.32 hrs and after this, nothing further was the surface in the Bay of Biscay while headed out for the
heard from the Wellington. Whether Eppen reported submarine’s sixth patrol of the war.
the shooting down has not been confirmed, because The first that Schwaff’s crew were aware of the
on 10 February, U-519 was sunk with all hands south- Wellington was when it switched on its Leigh Light
(a carbon-arc searchlight carried under the
wing) which bathed the submarine in bright
light. Despite dropping four depth charges,
one of which broke up without exploding and
another bounced off the U-boat’s deck causing
minor damage, U-333’s two 20mm guns hit
the Wellington, setting it on fire. The blazing
aircraft hit the sea and exploded 200 metres
from them. There were no survivors. Schwaff
then submerged and continued with his patrol,
returning to La Pallice on 13 April 1943 having
sunk the Greek steam merchant ship Carras on
19 March.
There would be one more recorded shooting
down in March 1943 when U-338, commanded
by Oberleutnant zer See Manfred Kinzel, shot
(*Note: On 19 February 1943, Gordon Lundon had carried out
another Leigh Light attack on U-268, sinking it west of St
■ The Bay of Biscay was a busy and dangerous place. This photograph shows Nazaire and killing Oberleutnant zur See, Ernst Heydemann, and
▲
a major action against German vessels on 28 Dec 1943. his 43 crew.)
IRON CROSS ❙ 9
THE U-BOAT WAR
It went on to add:
“Anti-aircraft armament is being strengthened as a
counter-measure, but the solution can be considered
satisfactory only when the boats’ armament permits them
to remain on the surface to fight it out with the aircraft,
or at any rate when it is essential for boats attacking a
convoy to get ahead to make an attack despite enemy air
escorts.”
In addition, the BdU set out its requirement for the
U-Flak boats (as at the head of this article) and, in the
event, it would transpire that the majority of claims
against aircraft by U-boats were made by attack U-boats
which had chosen to ‘fight it out’ on the surface rather
than claims by the U-flak boats.
■ Aircrew of 248 Squadron in 1943. The three pilots involved in
seriously damaging U-441 on 12 July are Flight Lieutenant Charles
Schofield (front far left) Flying Officer Pat Payne (2nd left) Flying DEMISE OF THE U-FLAK BOATS
Officer George Newman (back 2nd from right). Newman was in fact a
As to the U-Flak boats, the first to see active service was
Frenchman, Lieutenant Claude Serf, but served as George Newman.
the U-441 which had been built as a Type VIIC but was
converted to be U-Flak-1 (U-256 would become U-Flak-2)
down a Halifax of 502 Squdaron flown by Pilot Officer with an expanded bridge and additional gun platform
Leslie McCulloch. Again, the Type VIIC’s two 20 mm ahead of the conning tower. It was now armed with two
guns hit the bomber, striking it in the starboard wing quadruple 20 mm guns and a single 37 mm gun, although
and fuselage after which it crashed into the sea. Seven some records state the latter was either replaced or
of crew were killed, which included a passenger, Pilot enhanced by another two 20 mm guns. The bridge also
Officer Adam Stuart. Amazingly, Sergeant Harold Taylor bristled with MG34 or MG42 machine guns.
survived and was taken to St Nazaire as prisoner, arriving The modified U-441, commanded by KptLt Götz von
there two days later when U-338 returned from its first Hartmann, set sail from Brest on its first patrol as a Flak
patrol having already sunk four ships and damaged boat on 22 May 1943. Two days later, she encountered her
another. first aircraft.
At 14 00 hrs on 24 May, Flying Officer Bert Debnam
lifted-off his Sunderland of 228 Squadron from RAF
TO ‘FIGHT IT OUT’ ON THE SURFACE Pembroke Dock, Wales, to patrol the Bay of Biscay. At
These early successes against aircraft should, however, 20.50 hrs, they came across the surfaced U-441 and went
be balanced against how many U-boats were lost during into attack just as U-441’s captain had intended.* The
the same period: 18 U-boats were lost on operations trap was sprung and the ‘sting’ was in play. Immediately,
during February 1943, eight of them to aircraft, while 15 the Sunderland flew into a hail of gunfire. Despite being
were lost in March 1943, eight of those also being sunk by damaged, the Sunderland’s crew dropped their depth
aircraft. charges, although afterwards the flying boat crashed into
April 1943 would see four claims for aircraft shot down, the sea and exploded, killing all 11 on board. However,
of which only two can be matched against RAF losses. the Sunderland had caused sufficient damage to force
Meanwhile, 16 U-boats were lost in action this month the U-441 to return to Brest where she arrived on 25 May.
and, yet again, eight of these were due to air attacks. She was repaired and immediately sent out again on 8
May, though, saw a big jump in claims for aircraft shot July 1943 on yet another flak-baiting patrol. This time,
down, with the BdU reporting at the start of the month: however, she fell-foul of her intended prey.
“Air escort, provided by a large number of aircraft At 10.32 hrs on 12 July 1943, three Beaufighters of 248
operating over a fairly large area round the convoy, has Squadron, led by Flight Lieutenant Charles Schofield,
always forced our submarines to lag hopelessly behind lifted off from RAF Predannack, Cornwall, on an
the convoy and prevented them achieving any successes, offensive patrol, later reporting the following:
especially when the naval and air escorts cooperated “Sighted U-boat, believed to be 740-ton class, two
efficiently. miles to port. All three aircraft immediately turned in
“In addition, enemy air forces have made themselves line astern and came in to attack. About 15 to 18 people
felt over the approaches to Biscay to a very marked degree were standing on deck watching Beaufighters approach.
- losses and damage in this area have again sharply U-boat at once opened fire with light gun aft of conning
increased, as during the period before the first improvised
radar interception sets were introduced .” *This scene is depicted in our front cover artwork by Piotr Forkasiewicz.
10 ❙ IRON CROSS