U-Boats in the Black Sea in WW2 - Submarines on land and sea (ft. Military History Visualized)

Pinned post for Q&A :)

When you turn a U-Boat on it's side to transport it overland, does it become a C-Boat? Asking for a friend.

Imagine if the title is literal. The chances of getting torpedoed by a U-Boat on land are low but never zero.

The Italians also moved five 30 ton 'pocket' submarines to the Black Sea overland by rail through the Balkans. They caused the Soviets trouble including sinking at least two Soviet submarines according to Antonio Bragadin's, Italian Navy in World War II. This would seem to be as much a story of an incredible feat of civil engineering as a submarine story. I'd love to know more about it.

I really only watch a few Youtube channels because I've always preferred reading over TV and such so it's a very pleasant surprise to see two of my favourite historical content providers working together for this!

The neighbor of my parents was Rudolf Arendt. He was the Commander of subs U-18 and U-23. He told me the story of how three subs met of the Turkish coast in September 1944. They decided to scuttle the subs and get interned in Turkey. He died this year, 98 years old.

The names of the Romanian subs that were mentioned were as follows: Delfinul = The Dolphin Rechinul = The Shark Marsuinul = The Porpoise The white waters mentioned on the Danube were in the region where the current dam and waters gates are located called Iron Gates (https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Por%C8%9Bile_de_Fier)

Once when I was in the USN operating in the Indian Ocean on a very clear and calm night the luminescence was right to the horizon and it seemed to blend in with the stars so well that it gave the impression that we were sailing through stars . An unforgettable moment for me .

A little exposition on the Type 2 uboat: 1. German sailors called it the “dugout canoe” due to its small size. 2. The top uboat ace, Otto Kretschmer, began the war in command of U-23, a Type 2B that was one of the 6 Black Sea uboats.

I'm employed as a truck driver in N. Idaho, North America. The idea of transporting U-boats overland to destinations, is fascinating to me. Thank-you. Good health to you and your families. 🙂

Hello, was a pleasure to join!

Drachnifel: "makes me feel a little less guilty for wandering off on tangents, occasionally" Possibly the one of the biggest understatements of the year P.S don't change, we like tangential information

I've been studying WWII history since I was a child and I'm pretty old now. I had never heard of the Black Sea U-Boats. I'm always happy when I learn something I did not know about.

Regarding the Romanian submarines: 1. They were never referred to as U-boats (and Romanian navy command was never subordinated to the Kriegsmarine). 2. The names translate as: Delfinul = Dolphin, Rechinul = Shark, Marsuinul = Porpoise 3. Delfinul torpedoed and sunk a large Soviet cargo ship on the 5th of November 1941 (near cape Ai-Todor, firing at 800 meters from the target). In the mission report, her captain (commander Costăchescu, a very experienced officer) estimated target displacement at around 12.000 tons, but post-war Soviet reports mention only a 2.000 tons ship. The matter is still debated, as Soviet post-war reports were notoriously unreliable and it's rather unlikely that a veteran commander would make such a large error at that distance. To give some perspective, following that sinking Delfinul evaded 23 successive attacks from Soviet ASW escorts (circa 80 depth charges in total) without receiving any damage.

The Black Sea is fascinating as there are amazing ancient settlements and shipwrecks hiding in the depths. It would also seem that it left an impression on people when that massive area flooded!

I'd love more videos in general on the black sea campaign and navies in that region. theres plenty said about the atlantic, pacific and mediterranean but not much about the black sea

The Romanian Navy built two medium-sized subs during the war (770 tons with 5 tubes), and had a total of 4 with two of them mini Italian models. They also had 4 DD's and several motor torpedo boats... some home-built, some Italian built, and even having three from the UK that were sold to them in 1940, strangely enough. The Romanian Navy had a pretty good record and sank many Soviet vessels, including 7 or 8 subs (mostly from mines, their barrages were very effective). The Italians sent MAS torpedo boats and mini subs to the Black Sea as well, and one MAS damaged the Soviet cruiser Molotov with a torpedo. In 1943 the Italian units were transferred to German operation. Most of the Axis losses in the Black Sea were from Soviet air attacks; which were heavy as the Russians usually kept about 500 or more aircraft in the theater.

I'm shocked that Linz did not have a thriving shipbuilding industry. It's only a couple of hundred miles from the nearest sea.

A fascinating tale of engineering silliness. Putting U-boats on an autobahn is right up there eith dragging motor launches through the jungle to fight a naval battle on Lake Tanganyika. You KNOW that there must have been a wager involved at some point in both cases. Actuallt, a Rum Ration on Spicer-Simpson's adventures would be good for a laugh.

I enjoy the cllabs in the YT military history so much! SO many great narrators and historians around and working together.