Neger
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |  Kriegsmarine |
| In service: | 1943 - 1945 |
| In commission: | 1943 |
| Active: | ca 200 |
| General characteristics | |
| Speed: | Surfaced 4 knots |
| Range: | Surfaced 48 nautical miles at 4 knots (7 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1 |
| Armament: | 1x 53.3cm Torpedo |
Neger was a German torpedo-carrying miniature submarine, a so called human torpedo. The vessel was used by the Kriegsmarine between 1943 and 1945. The name was taken from the constructor of the manned torpedo, Richard Mohr, ("mohr" is German for moor, and "mohr" was an old-fashion polite term for "neger", the German word for "negro").[1]
The vessel weighed 2.75 tons and carried one torpedo. They could travel for 48 nautical miles at 4 knots surfaced.
About 200 vessels of this type was manufactured in 1944. The first Neger vessels entered service in March 1944. However, the Neger turned out to very hazardous for its crew and up to 80% of the crews were killed. In return one cruiser, one destroyer, and three Catherine Class BAMS minesweepers were sunk in 1944 with the weapon.
[edit] Normandy attacks
Two major assaults were done with Neger vessels against the Allied invasion fleet off Normandy before the Allies broke out from the landing site and forced the submarines to relocate out of reach of Normandy. The Neger flotilla consisted of some 40 vessels and operated from Favrol Woods. On 5/6 July 1944 twenty-four Neger vessels attacked the invasion fleet sinking two British minesweepers, HMS Magic and HMS Cato. Only nine Neger vessels returned from the mission.
The second attack was mounted on the night of July 7/8 and was carried out by twenty-one Neger vessels. The Neger vessels were however spotted in the moonlit night and were attacked by aircraft and ships. The Germans managed to sink another minesweeper, HMS Pylades and severely damage the Free Polish cruiser ORP Dragon which later was scuttled.
On August 3, 1944 the Hunt class destroyer HMS Quorn was an escort for convoys of personnel during Operation Neptune, the naval support of Operation Overlord, the D-Day Landings. On 3 August, she was hit and sunk during a heavy attack on the British assault area by a force of E-boats, explosive motorboats, human torpedoes and low flying aircraft. Those that survived the initial attack spent up to eight hours in the water before being rescued, and many of these perished. Four officers and 126 ratings were lost.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The New English-German Dictionary: Translation of the German word neger
[edit] External links
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