| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | PA 2 |
| Builder | Chantiers de la Loire |
| Launched | 22 November 1940 |
| Fate | Bombed and sunk by Royal Air Force aircraft, 15 June 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Flower-class corvette |
| Armament |
|
The German patrol boat PA 2 (intended French name Hallebarde) was a captured French vessel in the service of the Kriegsmarine in the 15 Vorpostenflotille as a Channel convoy escort throughout the latter half of World War II.
PA 2 was a Flower-class corvette constructed by the French to British specifications. However, since none of the ships were completed by the time that the Germans captured them, they were completed with different modifications using available armaments that fitted the Germans' needs. The ship's main armament was a 10.5 cm C/32 naval gun mounted at the fore of the ship on the deck. The ship also boasted an impressive anti-aircraft arsenal, including two single 2 cm Flak 30 guns on each side of the ship, two quad 2 cm Flak guns on top of the bridge, and a twin 3.7 Flak gun by the engine room. In addition, the ship carried two depth charge throwers on each side as well as minesweeping gear, consisting of measures against acoustic and magnetic mines. [1] [2]
With the fall of France in early 1940, the German Kriegsmarine took control of a number of French shipyards in the process of constructing both civilian and military ships. Among these was Chantiers de la Loire shipyard in St. Nazaire-Penhoet, which was in the process of constructing four Flower-class corvettes to be called Arquebuse , Hallebarde, Sabre , and Poignard , with each in various stages of construction when the Germans took the shipyard. Hallebarde was the closest to completion of the four and was re-designated as PA 2 by the Kriegsmarine. PA stood for Patroullienboot Ausland, which translates to foreign patrol boat, a designation used only for the four captured corvettes. PA 2 was placed in the unit of 15 Vorpostenflotille, a flotilla of German trawlers and whalers that had been converted into Vorpostenboote , escort and flak ships for German shipping in the Atlantic. [1] [2]
The captured corvettes were constructed to fill a deficiency in the escort fleets in the English Channel, which was that the ships protecting merchant shipping were generally only armed with 3.7 cm guns. This armament was incapable of launching flares to coordinate counter-fire against British motor torpedo boat and motor gun boat attacks that took place at night. The corvettes thus filled the dual role of an anti-aircraft vessel and a fire control ship for the escort of merchant ships. [3]
PA 2 was the first in the series to be commissioned into active duty in September 1943. Its first recorded action was on the night of 26 September, while she was escorting the freighter Maladi alongside the minesweepers M82 and M84, Von Der Groeben and Jungingen, and the Vorpostenboot V 1507 Rau I. The convoy came under attack by Dutch motor torpedo boats and British motor gun boats. The convoy was unable to defend Maladi, which was sunk by torpedoes, and Jungingen was damaged by gunfire. [1] [2]
On 26 February 1944, PA 2 participated in a joint mission with PA 3 and several Vorpostenboote: V 1506 Wal 9, V 1507 Rau I and V 1509 Rau III. The convoy was escorting the tanker Reckum from Cherbourg to Le Havre. That night, the convoy came under attack from British gun and torpedo boats aiming to sink the tanker. PA 2 and PA 3 were able to direct the convoy's fire by firing hundreds of flare shells, allowing the convoy to successfully screen the tanker through the run and also sink a torpedo boat . [1] [2]
PA 3 was ultimately sunk in a massive Allied bombing raid of the port of Le Havre by heavy Lancaster bombers on the night of 14 June, along with six other ships of the flotilla docked there. [1] [2]
German submarine U-262 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
At the outbreak of the Second World War Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine had 21 destroyers in service, while another one was just being completed. These 22 vessels – comprising 3 classes – had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels. Including that final pre-war vessel, a further 19 were brought into service during the war and more were captured from opposing navies, including the Italian Navy after the Italian Armistice with the Allies in 1943.
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German submarine U-70 was a Type VIIC submarine of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
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Vorpostenboot, also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked with – among other things – coastal patrol, ship escort, and naval combat.
German submarine U-65 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Over the course of six war patrols between 9 April 1940 and 28 April 1941, she sank twelve ships and damaged three others for a total loss of 88,664 gross register tons (GRT).
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The Patrouillenboot Ausland (PA)-class patrol ships were a class of vessels commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War.
German submarine U-568 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She conducted five patrols, sinking one merchant ship, two warships, and severely damaging another warship. On 28 May 1942, she was depth charged and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea; all hands survived.
Z34 was a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1943, the ship spent all of 1944 in Norwegian waters, and was twice damaged by British aircraft attacking the battleship Tirpitz. She escorted troop convoys from northern Norway when the Germans began evacuating the area beginning in October. Z34 was transferred to the Baltic with two of her sister ships at the beginning of 1945 and participated in the action of 28 January 1945 when they were intercepted off the Norwegian coast by a pair of British light cruisers. The ship was only lightly damaged during the battle and all three destroyers were able to disengage.
The German torpedo boat T9 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in July 1940, the boat participated in an abortive attempt to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast in November. T9 was placed in reserve in August 1941 and was reactivated in June 1942 for duties in France. She participated in an unsuccessful attempt to escort a blockade runner through the Bay of Biscay in early 1943 and was then transferred to the Torpedo School in September. In mid-1944 the boat returned to active duty and was assigned to the Baltic Sea area. She escorted a bombardment mission in November and was damaged by bombers in East Prussia in early 1945. T9 was sunk near Kiel, Germany, during an air raid on 3 May.
The German torpedo boat T13 was the lead ship of her class of nine torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in mid-1941, the boat was assigned convoy escort work in the Baltic Sea before she was transferred to Occupied France in early 1942. T13 helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February in the Channel Dash and then returned to France in July after receiving a refit. There the boat laid minefields and escorted Axis blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic Ocean. In mid-1943, she was assigned to the Torpedo School where she remained until mid-1944. T13 returned to the Baltic where she screened German ships as they bombarded Soviet positions for the rest of the year. The boat was then assigned convoy escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945. During one such mission in April, T13 was sunk by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers.
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The German torpedo boat T17 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, the ship arrived in France in December. She helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February 1942 in the Channel Dash and then was ordered to Norway for escort work. The ship returned to Germany in March for a refit before redeploying back to France. T17 began another refit in Germany in early 1943 and was then assigned as a training ship for U-boat flotillas.
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The German patrol boat PA 1 was a captured French vessel in service with the Kriegsmarine in the 15 Vorpostenflotille as a Channel convoy escort throughout the latter half of World War II.
The German torpedo boat TA37 was an Ariete-class torpedo boat operated by the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. The ship was built for the Italian Navy by the shipbuilder CRDA at their Trieste shipyard with the name Gladio in 1943, but was incomplete when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, and was seized by Nazi Germany. The ship entered service as TA37 in 1944, serving in the Adriatic and Aegean seas and was sunk by British destroyers on 7 October 1944.
Pegaso was a torpedo boat and an escort aviso of the Italian Regia Marina. She was one of the most successful Axis anti-submarine warships of World War II.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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