a translation................please

thanks Skip for the additions was hoping you would come onboard this thread. have purchased the Seeman's Steribild, and note if it is still listed he was KIA on the ship.

now to find a foto of the ship.............. ? boy that is asking quite a bit. I also find it interesting the cow motif for the 42. Mine-Flt that holding what appears to be a German KM sea-mine within it's Horns

 

one of the Seemen in question ~

 

Not a cow Erich but a Bull. (Powerful, swift and dashing ) and yes it faces danger and sweeps the mines .


Note the shield that is possibly inspired from a halt in Spain where the Km frequently bought supplies and crews would go to souvenirs shops where they'd find similar bull heads.

 

Great Deathcard Erich, you may know Rosenheim where the card was printed it's in south east Bavaria.

 

no doubt, good thoughts Skip actually we have a cow breed here that the females wear horns as the males. I was a bit careless I see in my speech. have not followed exactly where the possible carnage-mining occurred so it ws off the SW coast of France or ? makes one wonder if the first CO of the 42nd had the Wappenshield for the Flottille developed or someone on the 42nd M-Flt Stab ?

 

Sables d'ollones is on the Atlantic coast between Lorient and Bordeaux.


You'll recongize some famous KM bases nearby , like St Nazaire for instance

 

now go out west 75km and .............. possible mine clearing towards Sables ?

 

It's a V.I.P. holiday resort crowed with Dutch Germans and Englishmen .

 

I'd rather think they were trying to join a pocket, or commute or even get the hell out of liberated places. 75km off the coast would be a safe distance from ground crews, but I wonder if any Mossies were around.

 

that is possible one wonders if a 42 M-Flt. diary exists, there had to have been total panic or regulated dispersion of the remaining ships that had not been blown to bits by mines or Allied bombing and rocket attacks. AS you say Skip heading down to Spain sounds like pure joy

 

This makes me think about the Brest fleet which attempted an escape during the Summer of 1944. Several made it to La Palisse, la Rochelle and Lorient, but others were sunk . I must have the story in one of my Heimdal books. Will look it up.

 

it seems only feasible to me they would make the trip at night fully knowing that air space was in Allied hands but then again .............. if the areas were not cleared by sea then ?

 

Got it Erich! It's possibly an indirect victim of operation "KINETIC" which was instigated by the Royal Navy (combined with the RAF) to eradicate the KM from the French Atlantic coast and which started on August 1st 1944.

August 1st to 5th : gardening (mines)
August 6th attack of Brest harbour (3 times including Lancs with tallboys)
the Royal Navy would trap most escapers at Audierne.
august 6th the Bellona and 4 other destoyers sank 7 km ships off the Island of YEU.
On August 12th another patrol boat was sank near audierne.
august 8th 4 Minensuchers were sunk near Noirmoutier.
According to Captain Roskill between august 4th and 27th not less than 101 km vessels were destroyed.

source : l'enfer de Brest, Heimdal.

there is a pic of the wreck of the Maria Simone too.

 

SUPER ! can you post a pic of the Maria Simone Skip ? the destruction of the KM in this vital area reaching into the central and south of France

 

Will do Erich , allow me some time though, I have to go to work in a few minutes. Glad Ican help. There are also further references to Km vessels but not so many M class ones, couple of Sperbrechers here and there and quite a few V class references.