Schiff 14- nachtjagd-Leitschiff "Togo"

Guys :

Wanted to share a couple of links I have used for my night fighter research. This covers one of the
radar boats in the Ost See, the "Togo", which a very interesting record, finally being stranded off the Mexican coast in November of 1984....wonder if anything is still left of it ?

Service record via several links, some nice small pics and book bibliographies to match. Note the fine details of the models....wonderful !
Under K.Kapitän Rudolf Luck from September/October of 43 through May of 45.

www.hut.fi/~andres/m44/m44togox.htm
www.hut.fi/~andres/models_togo.html

enjoy gents

E

 

Thanks, Erich. Yet again, something I knew absolutely nothing about !

 

Glad to share Martin !

what is interesting here is that the ship helped locate/home in onto soviet a/c for NJG 100 which was equipped with all types of flying a/c until a standard Ju 88G-1 and G-6 variants came to play come 1944. The Nachtjagdgeschwader operated from trains for most of it's career until 1945, thus making the wing somewhat stealth/highly mobile. They took on the varied Soviet night harassment a/c such as twin winged bi-planes, the Il-2 and associated Pe's, and bombers like the fast and hard to catch B-25. In 1945 the unit was still scoring until almost war's end as well as doing the hideous ground attack missions on Motor transports and rear guard areas, finally at the end taking on what was left of RAF bombers over the Reich in the final dark days. It is amazing to me that the Togo was not found an sunk like so many......

E

 

Wow, what a story...Same here, didn't have a clue that this ship exsisted and about it's mission.

And what a life it has had. I mean, most veterans were retired when she was still strutting her stuff...And to think that, for example, the B17 didn't make it long after WW2 as a mainline bomber...

 

Hallo!

I had already read about the auxiliar cruiser "Togo", which became a floating-communication-centre for nightfighters, when the mission of auxiliar cruiser had become too risky. I knew she survived the war. But I didn't know where it ended. Now, I am glad that it is closer of me than from you...

I will tell you tomorrow what more I have on this.

 

Freidrich, yes I would like to hear more.....

and furthermore if you can locate a book for me if at all possible ?

This is called Nachtjagdleitschiff Togo bei Kurt Petsch, 1988, ISBN # 3-927292-00-1 25 fotos plus, 211 pages.
Kurt was II WOffizier on this ship and the book is his wartime memories from September43 till may of 45. Would like a copy for my research on the Nachtjagd.

Danke im voraus !

E

 

Erich,

Helmut weitze in Hamburg has a copy for 25 euro....If you don't pick it up, I WILL!

Petsch, K., Nachtjagdleitschiff TOGO, Reutlingen, Preuss. Militär-Verlag, 1988, GLwd. m.O.U., 211 SS., m.Abb., Z2 (M657) - <Bestellnr. 218>

Gefunden im Katalog Kriegsmarine (372 weitere Einträge)
Preis: EUR 25,00

Anbieter: Helmut Weitze Militärische Antiquitäten und Antiquariat [D-20354 Hamburg

Helmut Weitze
Militärische Antiquitäten und Antiquariat

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Neuer Wall 18 (2. Stock)
D - 20354 Hamburg
Telefon: +49 40 / 35 27 61
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E-Mail: info@weitze.com
Internet: http://www.weitze.net

 

Stevin :

My friend.......please pick the copy up and then when recieved send me a private mail with the amount I owe you !! My other leads cannot find the title.

This is very Kühl !

E

 

Erich,

Done...Lieferbarkeit vorausgesetzt...

Stevin

 

Wundebar !

Alles gut !

danke Stevin

E

 

Well, Erich, all, here is another tale about the "Togo":

Captain Ernst Thienemann had been working for four years in Berlin, for the OKM ship-construction department. He had supervised, since the beginning of the war the conversion of inocent merchant ships into auxiliar cruisers. He had seen sadly how his officers went to the highseas, while he stayed behind his desk in Berlin. He saw all this:

Captain Rogge was the first to depart in the "Atlantis" in 1940. The journey lasted 662 days and sank 140.000 tons of shipping, before it was sunk by the British cruiser "Devonshire" in November 1941, just before they went back home. All the crew was rescued by U-boats and returned safely to Germany. On May 8th 1941, the "Pinguin" of captain Kreuder had been sunk by the British cruiser "Cornwall" at the Indic Ocean. Kreuder had sunk 120.000 tons of shipping and he sent 50.000 of them to Germany, including whale-oil, wheat, etc., which were lack of in Germany. Kreuder's succes could be compared with the cruiser "Emden" and "Moewe" of the First World War.
Auxiliar cruiser "Kormoran" of captain Detmers, attacked and sunk the Australian cruiser "Sydney", but had to scuttle his own ships for the severe damages it suffered, due to "Komoran"'s lack of armour... There were also the "Orion" of captain Weyher, the "Thor" of captain Kaehler and captain Gumprich on her second vogage. The "Komet" of captain Eyssen, the "Widder" and "Michel" under captain Von Ruckteschell. And finally, the "Stier", under captain Gerlach, which was the last auxiliar cruiser to scape of the "European fortress". But in 1943 things were very different, the Royal Navy had been improving its radars and recoinassence aeroplanes, so it was tremendously difficult for these ships to sneak to the Atlantic.

One morning in 1943, an officer came to captain Thienemann's office and said: 'I am here to replace you. They will give you a ship'.
A ship was put under his command. It was the "Togo", 5.600 tons and a single propeller, which had belonged to the German Africa Line. She could made 17 knots with her MAN machine. Her ofitial name was "Boot 14". She had six six-inches cannons, six ainti-aircraft four-centimmetres guns, several machine guns and Vierlinger of four cannons of two centimmetres. She had three hydro-planes on board, perhaps Ar-196, one ready for action on deck and two other below decks. She looked as an entire inocent, merchant ship. Her disguised was very well designed. Grossadmiral Erich Raeder talked to Thienemann: 'This is the last try we give to auxiliar cruisers, perhaps, if there is luck and everything goes fine, it will be the penultimate. While this method has succes, we should try, doesn't matter their air recoinascense". Then, Thienemann started realising how dangerous his mission was. He had not thought about it at the beginning, because he was so happy and excited, but now he thought that he must take his ship down the Channel. The battleships had been sucessful a year earlier, but could his slow-merchant-ship do it?
'The posibilties of success are one in a hundred', said Raeder, 'But if you succeed, you will not come back to Germany, you will go to Japan'.

On January 31st 1943, captain Thienemann and 350 men departed from Ruegen. They named their ship as "Coronel" (Colonel), for the victorious scene of Admiral Graf von Spee in South America during WWI. He took his ship to Christiansaand in Norway, where he lost 24 hours for an order sent from Kiel that said: 'Do not depart, there is bad weather'. Yes, there was bad weather, in Kiel! The sun shone ferouscely in Christiansaand... The "Coronel" departed heading North, to the Artic Circle, then she turned 180 degrees and headed South, so, the Norweigan informers be confussed. In Heligoland there was a storm which dragged a lot of mines and made the way too dangerous, so the ship went to Sylt. Finally, on February 7th, the "Coronel" tried the last push. They saw a minesweeper hit a mine, which difficultely returned to Rotterdam. But in that season of the year, the mine-free part of the channel is not very deep and the "Coronel" was too heavy. Then, the crew yelled: 'Four fathoms... three and three quarters -then they yelled louder- three and a half, three, two and a half, two...' 'Stop the engines! Full a stern!' yelled Thienemann, but it was too late. There was heard a terrible noise and the ship trembled, they had hit a sand bank... Forty-five minutes later, with all the power of the machine they realeased the ship. Then, when she was near Dunkirk, she ran aground again, but this time more seriuosly. There would have to pass eight-hours for the high-tide. Inmediately, four entire mobile anti-aircraft units were stationed in the coast. Fortunately, there were snow, rain and fog. The next night, the "Coronel" was realeased and went on with her trip, but as she could not reach Dover before sunrise, she went to Dunkirk. There, an officer od the "Luftwaffe" boarded the ship, he was expert in Channel-operations and a radar-operator of the Luftwaffe also. Then, the ship departes with an escort of 12 minesweepers and headed Calais.
'Sir, we are now in the range of Dover's radars' announced the pilot. Seconds later, flashes were seen in the coast. Dover's sixteen-inches-batteries opened fire. Seventy seconds later eight enormous water-columns, three hundred-feet-high splashed near the ship. Forty minutes, the mini-fleet was shot, but the British guns did not hit even once.

'We have had too much luck' thought Thienemann. He was right, the British intelligence had already realised that the "Togo" had spent too much tiem in Swinemünde's shipyards. So they had several cruisers, a battleships and several destroyers waiting for her. Five days later, a smooth moon-light permitted RAF bombers to hit the ship in the bows with a bomb. Therefore, the ship took her wounded-men to Boulogne and went to Dunkirk to be fixed. There, the RAF stilled attacking and achieved piercing the deck amid-ship; it did not explote. It was not the end of the "Togo", but it was the end of auxiliar cruisers. She went back to Germany were she became Nachtjagdleitschiff "Togo", floating-communication-centre for night fighters. A little bit later, "Boot 5", a more modern auxiliar cruiser was prepared, but didn't depart as well as the "Coronel".

 

Excellent account Friedrich ! From where does this info come......reference ?

good work !!!

E

 

I forgot, I based on:

C.D. Bekker, "Kampf und Untergang der Kriegsmarine", Düsseldorf, 1953.

 

I thought this might be the work you were using since you had mentioned it in an earlier thread. Friedrich does it cover the Togo's history at all as a night fighter ship ?
I am curious until the book via Stevin lands on my doorstep.....

many thanks for the info as a Auxillary Crusier

E

 

I am very glad you liked it, Erich. That is why I love that book. I will just post it all by the end of the year...

No, I am afraid that it only covers the story of auxiliar ships. There is a photograph of the "Togo" as the communication-centre she was after being an auxiliar cruiser, with many anthenas and stuff... I hope I could scan it and send it to you... I will try...

 

Friedrich :

.... Kühl ! ....

E

 

* BIG bump *

more to come very soon, as I received to responses in some length of the web-master for the ship model and his site, plus when the book is received from Stevin I will also add a bit more.......stay tuned !!

E

 

ship icon please ! Stevin and I are still researching this most amzing and illusive ship of the KM.

more on her......Buenos Aires 1980

www.iespana.es/navymar/TopekaSuiza.htm

E

 

Nice Pic, Erich! Amazing...when you're used to all these rather faint black and white pics (mostly), this one, in its own way, brings it all home a lot closer, even if it doesn't have the radar and armament...

Good pic!

Hopefully more info on wednesday....

BTW I am sure you already know but the KRETA, TOGO's "father" was sunk off the coast of Corsica by the submarine HMS Unseen. It was involved in the withdrawal of the German forces off the island and was sunk while it was in a flotilla with minelayer BRANDENBURG, which was also sunk on the same day by the same sub...

Stevin

[ 09 September 2002, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]

 

I'll be waiting my friend ! have a Norwegian friend that was telling me that he is in contact with two German KM authors and is looking for more details on the Luftwaffe boys that performed the radar feats. He did mention the ship sitting in the gulf of Tallin and being able to pick up everything the Soviets were doing, from flying out of base to the target. Nothing like having a little piece of stealth equipment at your fingertips huh ? !

E