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= = = = Flanders Flotilla = = = =
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The first Type UB I to enter service was UB @-@ 10 , which formed the nucleus of the Flanders Flotilla , on 27 March 1915 . By the end of April five more Type UB I boats had become operational . UB @-@ 10 was eventually joined in the Flanders Flotilla by UB @-@ 2 , UB @-@ 4 , UB @-@ 5 , UB @-@ 6 , UB @-@ 12 , UB @-@ 13 , UB @-@ 16 , and UB @-@ 17 ; of these , only UB @-@ 2 made the journey to Flanders by sea rather than rail .
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UB @-@ 4 departed on the first patrol from Flanders on 9 April , and was responsible for sinking the first ship sent down by the flotilla . The Type UB I boats of the Flanders Flotilla originally patrolled the area between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands , but began patrolling the English Channel after UB @-@ 6 pioneered a route past British antisubmarine nets and mines in the Straits of Dover in late June .
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Over the Type UB Is ' first year of service , UB @-@ 4 and UB @-@ 13 were both lost , and UB @-@ 2 and UB @-@ 5 were transferred to the Baltic Flotilla . In March 1917 , UB @-@ 6 ran aground in Dutch waters and was interned for the rest of the war , along with her crew . The four remaining Type UB Is in Flanders — UB @-@ 10 , UB @-@ 12 , UB @-@ 16 , UB @-@ 17 — were all converted to minelayers by 1918 , having their torpedo tubes removed and replaced with chutes to carry up to eight mines . All but UB @-@ |
10 were lost in 1918 ; UB @-@ 10 , in poor repair and out of service , was scuttled in October 1918 when the Germans evacuated from Flanders .
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= = = = Baltic Flotilla = = = =
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UB @-@ 9 was initially assigned to the Baltic Flotilla , and was joined by UB @-@ 2 and UB @-@ 5 in early 1916 . All three became training boats at Kiel in 1916 , joining UB @-@ 11 in that duty . Little information is available about the Type UB I boats operating in the Baltic .
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= = = = Constantinople Flotilla = = = =
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Four of the German Imperial Navy boats — UB @-@ 3 , UB @-@ 7 , UB @-@ 8 , and UB @-@ 14 — were selected for service with the Constantinople Flotilla . All were sent to Pola for assembly and trials there as part of the Pola Flotilla before sailing on to join the Constantinople Flotilla . UB @-@ 3 disappeared en route to Constantinople in May 1915 , but the other three arrived there by mid @-@ June .
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The three Type UB I boats of the Constantinople Flotilla seem to have patrolled primarily in the Black Sea . UB @-@ 8 was transferred to the Bulgarian Navy in May 1916 , and UB @-@ 7 disappeared in the Black Sea in October 1916 , leaving UB @-@ 14 as the sole remaining German Type UB I in the flotilla ; she was surrendered at Sevastopol in November 1918 to French armies stationed there during the Russian Civil War .
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= = = Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy = = =
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UB @-@ 1 and the still incomplete UB @-@ 15 were sold to the Austria @-@ Hungary in February 1915 ; both were dismantled and shipped to Pola in May . After one cruise under the German flag , each boat was commissioned into the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . The pair — renamed U @-@ 10 and U @-@ 11 , respectively — were joined by U @-@ 15 , U @-@ 16 , and U @-@ 17 in October . Known as the U @-@ 10 or the Okarina ( English : Ocarina ) class as a part of the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy , the five boats operated p |
rimarily in the Adriatic in patrols off Italy and Albania . U @-@ 10 ( ex UB @-@ 1 ) hit a mine in July 1918 and was beached , but had not been repaired by the end of the war . U @-@ 16 was sunk after she torpedoed an Italian destroyer in October 1916 , and the remaining three ( and the unrepaired U @-@ 10 ) were ceded to Italy at the end of the war .
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= = = Bulgarian Navy = = =
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After UB @-@ 8 was transferred to the Bulgarian Navy in May 1916 , she was renamed Podvodnik No. 18 ( in Cyrillic : Пoдвoдник No. 18 ) . She was Bulgaria 's first submarine , and was engaged primarily in coastal defense duties off Bulgaria 's main Black Sea port of Varna . Podvodnik No. 18 survived the war and was ceded to France after the Treaty of Neuilly @-@ sur @-@ Seine .
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= = List of Type UB I submarines = =
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20 Type UB I submarines were built , 17 for the German Imperial Navy and three for the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . Two of the German submarines — UB @-@ 1 and UB @-@ 15 — were sold to Austria @-@ Hungary and commissioned into the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy as U @-@ 10 and U @-@ 11 , respectively . Those two and a further three built by AG Weser comprised the virtually identical U @-@ 10 class for the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy . Another of the German submarines , UB @-@ 8 , was sold to Bulgaria in May 1916 , |
becoming Podvodnik No. 18 .
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= = = German Imperial Navy = = =
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SM UB @-@ 1 ( became the Austro @-@ Hungarian U @-@ 10 , July 1915 )
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SM UB @-@ 2
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SM UB @-@ 3
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SM UB @-@ 4
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SM UB @-@ 5
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SM UB @-@ 6
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SM UB @-@ 7
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SM UB @-@ 8 ( became the Bulgarian Podvodnik No. 18 , May 1916 )
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SM UB @-@ 9
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SM UB @-@ 10
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SM UB @-@ 11
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SM UB @-@ 12
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SM UB @-@ 13
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SM UB @-@ 14
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SM UB @-@ 15 ( became the Austro @-@ Hungarian U @-@ 11 , June 1915 )
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SM UB @-@ 16
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SM UB @-@ 17
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= = = Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy = = =
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In the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy the Type UB I boats were known as the U @-@ 10 class , which consisted of two former German Type UB I boats and three built specifically for Austria @-@ Hungary .
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SM U @-@ 10 ( the former German UB @-@ 1 )
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SM U @-@ 11 ( the former German UB @-@ 15 )
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SM U @-@ 15 ( Austria @-@ Hungary )
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SM U @-@ 16 ( Austria @-@ Hungary )
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SM U @-@ 17 ( Austria @-@ Hungary )
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In addition , four of the German Type UB Is assigned to the Pola Flotilla based at the Austro @-@ Hungarian Navy 's main naval base at Pola were assigned Austro @-@ Hungarian designations .
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SM UB @-@ 3 ( as U @-@ 9 )
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SM UB @-@ 7 ( as U @-@ 7 )
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SM UB @-@ 8 ( as U @-@ 8 )
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SM UB @-@ 14 ( as U @-@ 26 )
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These four boats remained under commission in the German Imperial Navy , retained German crews and commanders , and received orders from the German flotilla commander at Pola .
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= = = Bulgarian Navy = = =
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Germany and Bulgaria negotiated the purchase of two UB I boats for the Bulgarian Navy , UB @-@ 7 and UB @-@ 8 , in 1916 . Two crews of Bulgarian sailors were sent to Kiel for training . Before the purchase could be completed , UB @-@ 7 was sunk , leaving only one boat for Bulgaria . On 25 May 1916 , UB @-@ 8 was officially transferred to Bulgaria for the remainder of the war .
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Podvodnik No. 18 ( the former German UB @-@ 8 )
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Key
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= Military history of Gibraltar during World War II =
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The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar 's position as a British fortress since the early 18th century and as a vital factor in British military strategy , both as a foothold on the continent of Europe , and as a bastion of British sea power . During World War II , Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre , controlling virtually all naval traffic into and out of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean .
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In addition to its commanding position , Gibraltar provided a strongly defended harbour from which ships could operate in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean . Force H , under the command of Vice @-@ Admiral James Somerville was based in Gibraltar and had the task of maintaining naval superiority and providing a strong escort for convoys to and from the besieged island of Malta . During the course of the war , Gibraltar came under aerial bombardment from Vichy French aircraft and from aircraft of the I |
talian Royal Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica ) based on Sardinia . Additionally , the fortress was the focus of underwater attacks by the Italian Royal Navy ( Regia Marina ) commando frogman unit ( Decima Flottiglia MAS ) and their human torpedoes . This Italian unit was based on the interned Italian ship SS Olterra in the nearby Spanish harbour of Algeciras . A number of attacks were also carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents acting on behalf of the German Abwehr .
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Inside the Rock of Gibraltar itself , miles of tunnels were excavated from the limestone . Masses of rock were blasted out to build an " underground city " . In huge man @-@ made caverns , barracks , offices , and a fully equipped hospital were constructed , complete with an operating theatre and X @-@ ray equipment .
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Operation Torch , the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 , was coordinated from the " Rock " . General Dwight D. Eisenhower , who was given command of the operation , set up his headquarters in Gibraltar during the planning phases of the operation . Following the successful completion of the North African campaign and the surrender of Italy in 1943 , Gibraltar 's role shifted from a forward operating base to a rear @-@ area supply position . The harbour continued to operate dry docks a |
nd supply depots for the convoy routes through the Mediterranean until V @-@ E Day in 1945 .
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= = Prelude and evacuation = =
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World War II dramatically changed the lives of Gibraltarians . The decision to enforce mass evacuation in order to increase the strength of the Rock with more military and naval personnel meant that most Gibraltarians ( some for up to ten years ) had nowhere to call ' home ' . Only those civilians with essential jobs were allowed to stay but it gave the entire community a sense of being ' British ' by sharing in the war effort .
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In early June 1940 , about 13 @,@ 500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco . However , following the capitulation of the French to the German armies later in June 1940 , the new Pro @-@ German French Vichy Government found the presence of Gibraltarian evacuees in Casablanca an embarrassment and sought opportunities for their removal . The opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo vessels arrived under Commodore Crichton , repatriating 15 @,@ 000 French servicemen who had been rescued fr |
om Dunkirk . Once their own rescued servicemen had disembarked , the ships were interned until they agreed to take away all the evacuees . Although Crichton was unable to obtain permission to clean and restock his ships ( and contrary to British Admiralty orders which forbade the taking on of evacuees ) , when he saw the mass of civilians pouring through the dockyards , he opened up his gangways for boarding . Just beforehand , the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships at Mers el @-@ Kebir |
in order to prevent them ending up in German hands . The attack , during which 1 @,@ 297 French sailors died , led to high tensions , which were evident when families were forced at bayonet point by French troops to board taking only what they could carry , leaving many possessions behind . However , when they arrived at Gibraltar , the Governor would not allow them to land , fearing that once the evacuees were back on the Rock , it would be virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time . Crowds gath |
ered in John Mackintosh Square in the centre of Gibraltar as the news broke , speeches were made and two City Councillors accompanied by the Acting President of the Exchange and Commercial Library went to see the Governor ( Sir Clive Liddell ) to ask that the evacuees be allowed to land . After receiving instructions from London , a landing was allowed as long as the evacuees returned when other ships arrived to take them away from the Rock , and by 13 July the re @-@ evacuation back to Gibraltar had been c |
ompleted .
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British conservative politician Oliver Stanley agreed to accept the evacuees in the United Kingdom , but he argued with Gibraltar over the number of people involved . The Governor , he declared , had given the number of evacuees first as 13 @,@ 000 , then as 14 @,@ 000 and finally as 16 @,@ 000 . He asked for the situation to be clarified , stressing the shortage of accommodation in Britain and insisting that only 13 @,@ 000 could be accepted , 2 @,@ 000 of whom were to be sent to the Portuguese Atlantic i |
sland of Madeira . The situation , replied General Liddell on 19 July , " is that this is a fortress liable to heavy and immediate attack and there should be no civilians here whereas there are 22 @,@ 000 . The 13 @,@ 000 was the number sent to Morocco , and more would have been sent had the situation there not altered . " In London the evacuees were placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health , and many were housed in Kensington area . Concern for them in Gibraltar mounted as the air raids against London |
intensified , coupled with the arrival of harrowing letters , describing the circumstances in which the evacuees were living .
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In September rumours were already circulating among the evacuees , and in Gibraltar , that the possibility of re @-@ evacuating the Gibraltarians once more was being mooted , this time the destination being Jamaica , in the West Indies . After much contention , it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island , and 1 @,@ 093 evacuees left for Jamaica direct , on 9 October , with more following later on . However petitions followed and the demands were met , partly for strategic reasons |
and the lack of available shipping . The situation at the end of 1940 , therefore , was that approximately 2 @,@ 000 evacuees were in Jamaica and a lesser number in Madeira , with the bulk of around 10 @,@ 000 housed in the London area .
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= = Royal Air Force involvement : 1939 – 1941 = =
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Construction of a solid surface runway began in late 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing runway to a length of 1 @,@ 550 yards ( 1 @,@ 417 m ) . The land reclamation commenced towards the end of 1941 along with the construction of an RAF camp at the " North Front " , now RAF Gibraltar . The RAF dispatched their next squadron to Gibraltar at this time and it was in September 1939 that war with Germany was declared and the strong possibility of German submarines concentrating in the Strai |
t of Gibraltar and using Spanish port facilities , loomed large in Admiralty thinking . So at 09 : 00 ( UTC ) on the 9 September 1939 , No. 202 Squadron RAF was ordered to Gibraltar , loaded to the gunwales with equipment .
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On 25 September 1939 , No 200 ( Coastal ) Group was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of No 202 Sqn . The Group 's function was the control of Royal Air Force units operating from Gibraltar . In late 1940 the Group was transferred to Coastal Command . Later a combined HQ was formed which commenced operations in early 1942 .
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= = Vichy French attacks : 1940 = =
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On 18 July 1940 , after the attack on the French Fleet at Mers @-@ el @-@ Kébir by the British , the Vichy government authorized a bombing raid of Gibraltar as a response . Little damage was reported to have been done .
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On Tuesday , 24 September , the Italian Stefani news agency reported : " As a reprisal for the bombardment of Dakar yesterday morning , one @-@ hundred @-@ and @-@ twenty French aircraft based in Morocco attacked Gibraltar . " On the same day , the United Press Agency reported : " The French government has issued an official denial of reports , according to which French aircraft were said to have attacked Gibraltar . Up until now , no reprisals have been undertaken . " But the United Press report ended on |
an ominous note with : " French reprisals are imminent . "
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Again , on the same day , the Vichy French government issued orders for the naval base and city of Gibraltar to be bombarded . As a result , six bomber squadrons of the Vichy French Air Force ( Armée de l 'Air de Vichy ) and four squadrons of the Vichy French Navy ( Marine nationale de Vichy ) were employed in the operation . The 64 bombers flew from bases in Oran , Tafaroui ( in Algeria ) , Meknes , Mediouna , and Port Lyautey ( in Morocco ) . The French action was approved by both the German Armistice Co |
mmission and the Italian Armistice Commission .
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No British aircraft were encountered and much damage was done in the area south of the fortress . The South Mole and a large ship in the harbour were heavily damaged . In the northern part of Gibraltar , fires broke out .
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On 25 September , the French returned with a larger force of eighty @-@ three bombers to cause additional damage to the naval base and harbour installations . Again , aircraft of the British Royal Air Force made no appearance . However , the French crews did report encountering heavy anti @-@ aircraft fire . One LeO 451 bomber was lost and 13 other aircraft were lightly damaged during the two days of bombing attacks . The British armed trawler HMT Stella Sirius was sunk by bombs .
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The air attack on 25 September was the last by Vichy forces on Gibraltar .
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= = Operation Felix : 1940 – 1941 = =
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The Rock came through the war relatively unscathed but , given its strategic importance , Germany made plans to capture Gibraltar . Codenamed " Felix " , the plan which was signed by Adolf Hitler himself was formulated at the highest level of command . With or without permission , Germany would take entry through Spain and attack Gibraltar driving the British out of the Western Mediterranean . The Strait would be effectively closed to the Allies once Gibraltar was in German hands , forcing Asia @-@ bound A |
llied shipping to steam all the way around Africa rather than to proceed to the east via the shorter route through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal . The Rock was to be heavily dive bombed by planes leaving France but landing afterward at Spanish air bases . To deny a possible Spanish capture of the base , the German planners decided that the final attack to seize Gibraltar was to be made by German troops alone .
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Diplomatic failure at the highest levels of government prevented the operation from occurring at the beginning of 1941 which had been drawn up in detail by the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1940 .
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General Ludwig Kübler 's XLIX Corps would conduct the actual attack on the Rock . The assault forces would comprise the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland , the 98th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division , 26 medium and heavy artillery battalions , three observation battalions , three engineer battalions , two smoke battalions , a detachment of 150 Brandenburgers , and up to 150 miniature remote controlled demolition vehicles ( Goliaths ) , packed with high explosives .
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As part of a combined @-@ force operation , the German Air Force ( Luftwaffe ) would contribute Ju 88As , Stukas , Messerschmitts , three light AA battalions , and three heavy AA battalions . Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine would cooperate by using U @-@ boats to interfere with British naval movement and emplacing coastal batteries to further discourage the Royal Navy .
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On 10 March 1941 , with Operation Barbarossa looming , Felix was amended to Operation Felix @-@ Heinrich , whereby German troops would be withdrawn from the USSR to capture Gibraltar . As a result of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco 's intransigence , the operation was postponed , modified , and ultimately abandoned .
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= = Italian bombing of Gibraltar = =
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From Sardinia , Italian Piaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar several times , mainly in 1942 . The last raids on Gibraltar were done during the 1943 Allied landing in Algeria , when those bombers hit successfully even the Oran port .
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The only unit of the Regia Aeronautica ( Royal Air Force ) ever to fly the Piaggio P.108 was the " 274th Long @-@ Range Bombardment Squadron " . This unit was formed in May 1941 around the first machines that came off the assembly lines . The training of the crews lasted far longer than anticipated and only in June 1942 the 274th became operational . The most spectacular raids with the P. 108 bombers were flown in October 1942 when several night attacks against Gibraltar were undertaken from Sardinia .
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After the armistice of Cassibile ( 8 September ) , the German @-@ allied Italian Social Republic launched at least two raids on Gibraltar : one on the night of 4 – 5 June 1944 with ten SM.79bis aircraft and another on 6 June with nine aircraft . Both sorties were undertaken by the Gruppo Aerosiluranti " Buscaglia – Faggioni " .
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= = Italian frogmen raids 1940 – 1943 = =
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Known as the " Floating Trojan Horse of Gibraltar " , Decima Flottiglia MAS , an Italian commando frogman unit created during the Fascist government , engaged in numerous attacks against the harbour at Gibraltar .
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Gibraltar was a very tempting target for the Italians , who saw it as a refuge for British warships and allied merchant shipping . The Italian frogmen originally used a Spanish villa ( Villa Carmela ) located two miles ( 3 km ) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino . Their base was shifted later to the Italian tanker SS Olterra , interned in Algeciras .
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= = Abwehr saboteurs from Spain = =
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