Sinking of torpedo boats TA 24 and TA 29.

[cam]

Hi,
Colleagues,
Please help me find out the details of the death of the German torpedoboats of the 10th flotilla TA 24 and TA 29 in a battle with the British destroyers Meteor and Lookout off Corsica Island on the night of 18 March  1945. Are there German documents describing this battle?

cam

[Urs Heßling]

moin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ligurian_Sea - bekannt ?

Gruß, Urs

[cam]

Thanks Urs.
I read it. This is from Vincent O'Hara's work that I have.
I don't consider Wikipedia to be a reliable source. Therefore, I would like to see the German information about this battle.

[Urs Heßling]

moin,

Da TA 24 und TA 29 verlorengingen, müßtest Du nach dem KTB TA 32 suchen.

Gruß, Urs

[cam]

Yes, if this KTB exists. But a German description, although in Russian, is available (it is not clear only who its author is):
18 марта капитан 3-го ранга Буркарт с тремя боеготовыми миноносцами вышел из Генуи в Лигурийское море для проведения активной минной постановки. Едва ТА-24, ТА-29 и ТА-32 успели построиться в кильватерную колонну в указанном порядке, как с флагманского ТА-24 сообщили о появлении темных силуэтов по компасному пеленгу 180 градусов. Чуть позднее они были опознаны как три вражеских эсминца. Буркарт приказал действовать по возможности: «Начальник флотилии - всем: Эсминцы противника, расстояние 80 гектометров - разрешаю открытие огня!». Торпедистам было приказано приготовить аппараты к бою. Все три миноносца повернули на врага и легли на курс атаки торпедами. Незамедлительно эсминцы противника открыли огонь. Снаряды падали вокруг немецких миноносцев, а непосредственной близости от бортов, но те продолжали держать курс, надеясь на удачную торпедную атаку. После выстрела торпедами и по истечении времени хода торпед у борта одного из эсминцев наблюдались два высоких торпедных взрыва, но густой черный дым вскоре прикрыл поврежденный эсминец от взоров, и судьба его для немецких моряков осталась неясной. В это время с юга внезапно появился один из эсминцев противника. Это был третий в колонне эсминец, которому пришлось выйти из строя во время уклонения от торпед. Взрывы снарядов окружили миноносцы. «Ставить дымовую завесу!» - передал приказ начальник флотилии. Из сопел дымовой аппаратуры повалил густой белый дым. В это время командир ТА-32 капитан-лейтенант Копка заметил как на ТА-29 и ТА-24 почти одновременно взвились по несколько разрывов снарядов, причем изнутри носовой части ТА-29 вырвались большие сполохи огня. Все три эсминца противника, включая поврежденный, стали стрелять по ним быстрыми залпами. Вероятно были выпущены и торпеды, так как у левого борта ТА-24 в средней части вдруг выросли два высоких огненных столба'. Через несколько секунд было получено сообщение: «Имею торпедные пробоины! - Корабль быстро тонет!» ТА-29, надеясь на спасение экипажа, попытался отвлечь огонь противника на себя. К нему присоединился и ТА-32, но эсминцы противника не отходили от тонувшего ТА-24. И только будучи уверенными, что с ним кончено, они перенесли огонь на ТА-29. Такой же огневой град теперь накрывал этот миноносец. Снаряды пробивали надстройки корабля и рвались внутри. Прислуга орудий была перебита. Яркими взрывами начал рваться подготовленный боезапас. Экипажи обеих тяжело поврежденных миноносцев стали покидать обреченные корабли. Первым затонул ТА-24, а несколько минут спустя под водой скрылся и ТА-29. Лишь ТА-32 удалось пробиться сквозь огненный град. Он смог доставить в Геную 108 подобранных из воды членов экипажей погибших кораблей, в том числе и начальника флотилии.
http://wunderwafe.ru/Articles/Nem_Sred.htm

[Urs Heßling]

moin,

But a German description, although in Russian, is available

Da Du so viel von der Hilfe im FMA profitierst, wäre es doch nett, wenn Du es uns übersetzt

Gruß, Urs

[cam]

I don't know English very well, so there may be inaccuracies.

On March 18, Captain 3rd Rank Burkart with three combat-ready destroyers left Genoa for the Ligurian Sea to conduct an active mine laying. As soon as the TA-24, TA-29 and TA-32 had time to line up in a wake column in the indicated order, the flagship TA-24 reported the appearance of dark silhouettes on a compass bearing of 180 degrees. A little later, they were identified as three enemy destroyers. Burkart ordered to act whenever possible: "The head of the flotilla - to everyone: enemy destroyers, distance of 80 hectometers - I authorize the opening of fire!" The torpedoists were ordered to prepare their vehicles for battle. All three destroyers turned on the enemy and laid down on the course of attack with torpedoes. Immediately, enemy destroyers opened fire. The shells fell around the German destroyers, and in the immediate vicinity of the sides, but they continued to hold their course, hoping for a successful torpedo attack. After firing the torpedoes and after the torpedo speed expired, two high torpedo explosions were observed near one of the destroyers, but thick black smoke soon covered the damaged destroyer from sight, and its fate remained unclear for the German sailors. At this time, one of the enemy destroyers suddenly appeared from the south. This was the third destroyer in the convoy, which had to be out of order while dodging torpedoes. Explosions of shells surrounded the destroyers. "Set up a smoke screen!" - the flotilla chief conveyed the order. Thick white smoke poured from the nozzles of the smoke apparatus. At this time, the commander of the TA-32 Lieutenant-Commander Kopka noticed how several bursts of shells soared on the TA-29 and TA-24 almost simultaneously, and large flashes of fire erupted from inside the bow of the TA-29. All three enemy destroyers, including the damaged one, began to shoot at them with rapid volleys. Probably, torpedoes were also fired, since two high pillars of fire suddenly grew in the middle of the left side of the TA-24. ' A few seconds later the message was received: "I have torpedo holes! "The ship is sinking fast!" TA-29, hoping to save the crew, tried to divert enemy fire to himself. The TA-32 also joined him, but the enemy destroyers did not depart from the sinking TA-24. And only being sure that it was over with him, they transferred fire to the TA-29. The same torrent of fire now covered this destroyer. The shells pierced the ship's superstructures and exploded inside. The gun servants were killed. The prepared ammunition began to explode with bright explosions. The crews of both heavily damaged destroyers began to abandon the doomed ships. The TA-24 was the first to sink, and a few minutes later the TA-29 also disappeared under the water. Only the TA-32 managed to break through the fiery hail. He was able to deliver 108 crew members of the deceased ships picked up from the water to Genoa, including the head of the flotilla.
I assume this information is from the book Torpedoboote und Zerstörer im Einsatz 1939-1945 but I don't know where Mr. Volkmar Kühn got it from.

[Urs Heßling]

moin, cam,
danke

Gruß, Urs

[Darius]

Some data is the book "Die Flottille - Außergewöhnlicher Seekrieg deutscher Mittelmeer-Torpedoboote" by Wirich von Gartzen, pp. 144-153.


Regards

Darius

[cam]

Thanks Darius.
All the same, it is again not clear what was the basis of this description. It is very different from the English as presented by Vincent O'Hara's.

[Urs Heßling]

moin,

I assume this information is from the book Torpedoboote und Zerstörer im Einsatz 1939-1945 but I don't know where Mr. Volkmar Kühn got it from.

dazu einer meiner Beiträge

wenn ich als Autorenname Frank Kurowski aka Volkmar Kühn aka Karl Alman lese ... stellen sich mir immer die Nackenhaare auf 

Gruß, Urs

[cam]

Here is another description of the fight with some details for TA 32.
The last TA32 action took place on the night of March 17-18, 1945. At that time, only TA32 and the pair of TA24 and TA29 mentioned above remained from the entire 10th fleet of torpedo boats - it was a pair of ex-Italian Ariete class torpedo boats, which but in real terms with its displacement of 757 tons and the armament of a pair of 100 mm guns corresponded more to small destroyers. Under the command of Korvettenkapitän Franz Burkart, the three vessels set sail for the area northeast of Corsica, where they were to lay naval mines. After the successful landing of mines, however, the vessels were intercepted by ground radar in Livorno, whose staff alerted four Allied destroyers patrolling the area - two French destroyers Basque and Tempete and a pair of British destroyers, HMS Lookout and HMS Meteor. The French destroyers separated in an effort to block the Germans' path to the Allied convoy, then passing around Cape Corse, and the British vessels then made contact and headed directly for the Germans.

Returning German vessels were attacked by the British in the early morning hours of March 18, when Lookout suddenly rushed to the formation at full speed and launched 4.5 km at high distance from its 120 mm guns, after which it fired a volley of torpedoes. . The Germans were completely taken by surprise and the TA29 and TA24 boats were hit several times in the first minutes. The TA32 was able to fire several inaccurate volleys and carry out an unsuccessful torpedo attack, but then suffered a hit at the stern, which knocked out the rudder and forced the ship to circle in large circles. But as it turned out, it was luck in the accident - the circling TA32 was lost to the British from the radars, and they focused on a pair of torpedo boats. They had no chance against well-armed destroyers - TA29 was literally shot to pieces by cannons and Lookout cannons, when a British ship circled for almost an hour around its virtually defenseless prey and fired at a distance of barely 1800 meters from all the main. The Meteor arriving in the area then attacked the TA24 and after one hit fired a volley of torpedoes. One of them hit and TA24 flew into the air, losing 30 men. The crew of TA29, which remained a burning pile of scrap metal, was more fortunate - "only" 20 men died. British destroyers subsequently fished 244 wrecks out of the water, including Korvettenkapitän Burkart. The only resistance to which the German boats rose was a dose of 20 mm cannons fired by TA29, which hit the stored smokestacks aboard the Lookout and caused a small fire. However, it was quickly extinguished and the damage caused was negligible. The one-sided encounter, later called the Battle of the Ligurian Sea, ended. It was the last major surface action of the Kriegsmarine during the 2nd st. war - ironically, not a single vessel of German origin was. For the British, this was the last surface encounter on the Western Front, and generally the last major surface battle in the Mediterranean.

The TA32 crew managed to put the rudder back into operation and transport the ship back to Genoa. The destroyer did not return to the action, and when the Germans withdrew from Genoa on April 25, 1945, the TA32 was sunk by its own crew.
https://jankozak2.blog.idnes.cz/blog.aspx?c=633212

Undoubtedly, somewhere there is a report of the corvetten-captian Emil Kopka about the battle.

[Iceman]

Strange that the German torpedo boats were taken totally by surprise becasue at that time they were all equipped by Fu.Mo radar.....

Best regards

Marco Ghiglino

[lafet944]

moin,

dazu einer meiner Beiträge

wenn ich als Autorenname Frank Kurowski aka Volkmar Kühn aka Karl Alman lese ... stellen sich mir immer die Nackenhaare auf 

Gruß, Urs

  genau, ich glaub ihm nicht mal seinen Vornamen! 

Viele Grüße

[cam]

Strange that the German torpedo boats were taken totally by surprise becasue at that time they were all equipped by Fu.Mo radar.....

It is the British who write that they took the German torpedoboats by surprise. According to the German description:
As soon as the TA-24, TA-29 and TA-32 had time to line up in a wake column in the indicated order, the flagship TA-24 reported the appearance of dark silhouettes on a compass bearing of 180 degrees. A little later, they were identified as three enemy destroyers. Burkart ordered to act whenever possible: "The head of the flotilla - to everyone: enemy destroyers, distance of 80 hectometers - I authorize the opening of fire!" The torpedoists were ordered to prepare their vehicles for battle. All three destroyers turned on the enemy and laid down on the course of attack with torpedoes.