Skip to main content

On this day 25th November 1945, Operation Deadlight commences.

On this day 25th November 1945, Operation Deadlight commences.





On 4 May 1945 Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz, who Hitler named as his successor as head of State shortly before he committed suicide, ordered all combat U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases with a brief one-line message: ‘All U-boats cease fire at once.

Stop all hostile action against Allied shipping. Dönitz.’ Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, Dönitz’s successor as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, surrendered the German Navy at 11.10pm on 7 May 1945 at a ceremony held at Reims in France, followed by a repeat signing in Berlin the next day at the insistence of the Russians.

The terms included the entire German fleet, but apart from the cruisers Prinz Eugen, Nurnberg and Leipzig, only 15 destroyers, 11 torpedo-boats, and two dozen minesweepers were all that remained of the Kriegsmarine’s surface fleet


Operation Deadlight was the Royal Navy code name for the remaining 116 U-boats to be sunk at sea between 25th November 1945 and 11 February 1946.

On 31 October 1945 the Admiralty instructed Commander-in-Chief Rosyth, Vice Admiral Sir William Jock Whitworth, to commence arrangements to dispose of 30 boats at Lishally and 86 boats at Loch Ryan in deep water off the north coast of Ireland starting from 25 November.


The U-boats comprised one Type IID, 76 Type VIIC, one Type VIID, one Type VIIF, 11 Type IXC, four Type IXD2, four Type XXI and 18 Type XXIII. The Royal Navy towed the unmanned boats out to sea, but things didn’t go entirely to plan.


Bad weather caused 20 of the U-boats to founder on tow; the demolition charges failed except on two occasions; only 13 air-attack sinkings were effected instead of the planned 29; the torpedo exercise attacks were reduced from 13 to eight, leaving the balance of 73 submarines to be despatched by gunfire.

In all, only 58 of the 116 U-boats reached the disposal area, the rest lie scattered in a line across the north coast of Donegal ranging in depth from 46m to 130m.

Thank you for reading.

Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two boys in this photograph from the early 1900s, taken by Dr. Allan Warner of the Isolation Hospital in Leicester

Two boys in this photograph from the early 1900s, taken by Dr. Allan Warner of the Isolation Hospital in Leicester, UK, had been exposed to the same source of smallpox.  One of them had received the smallpox vaccine, while the other had not. Dr. Warner captured these images as part of his study on the disease. The smallpox vaccine holds historical significance as the first vaccine developed to combat a contagious disease.  In 1796, British doctor Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the milder cowpox virus could provide immunity against the deadly smallpox virus.  Cowpox acted as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine became available in the 20th century. From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization led a global vaccination campaign that successfully eradicated smallpox, marking it as the only human disease to be completely eliminated. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Post a Comment
Read more

THE LEGEND OF TRAPPER NELSON.

THE LEGEND OF TRAPPER NELSON. As you ride up the Loxahatchee River from its mouth in Jupiter, the canopy of slash pines and cabbage palms eventually starts to close in on you. Wildlife hides in the gnarled thickets of mangrove.  Everything about this place feels prehistoric. The turns become more and more hairpin, deceiving and disorienting you, as turtles and alligators eye you wearily before slipping beneath the murky water. Nearly eight miles up the northwest fork of the river, a weathered, wooden boathouse juts out into the dark water: the first sign of human existence seen for miles.  Alongside it is a dock that leads through a bamboo thicket into what was once the heart of wild Florida: Trapper Nelson’s homestead, zoo and jungle garden. The biggest attraction, though, was Trapper himself. Known as Tarzan of the Loxahatchee, he’d wrestle alligators, trap wildcats, and dazzle guests with his infallible good looks and stories of the wild.   He was a man who lived witho...
Post a Comment
Read more

During the Vietnam War, one of the most dangerous jobs was undertaken by a select few known as "tunnel rats."

During the Vietnam War, one of the most dangerous jobs was undertaken by a select few known as "tunnel rats." These unsung heroes were American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers specially trained as combat engineers, who crawled through Viet Cong underground tunnels to perform perilous covert search and destroy missions.⁠ ⁠ Tunnel rats gently prodded for armed mines in order to disarm them — and prayed that they survived with both their legs intact. Most men were volunteers and tended to be of smaller stature, making it easier for them to maneuver through the cramped subterranean spaces Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Post a Comment
Read more