Rhine River Patrol
|
Rhine River Patrol |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| active | March 1949 to June 30, 1958 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} United States
|
| Armed forces | United States Navy |
| Location | Wiesbaden-Schierstein |
The Rhine River Patrol (German: Rheinpatrouille) was a unit of the United States Naval Forces Germany (USNAVFORGER) after the Second World War with headquarters (CORRPAT) in Wiesbaden-Schierstein . In addition to the Bremerhaven Advanced Naval Base and the Intelligence Detachment in Berlin, it was subordinate to the "COMNAVFORGER" with headquarters in Heidelberg in the Campbell Barracks , the former Großdeutschland barracks .
Although the Rhine River Patrol was normally subordinate to the COMNAVFORGER, in emergencies or exceptional events, command was transferred to the Commanding General of the US Constabulary . There was close cooperation between EUCOM and USNAVFORGER regarding the supply. Material requirements that the Navy, the Wiesbaden Military Post (site administration), or other departments could not meet, were processed by the Logistics Division in the “EUCOM Headquarters”.
Lineup and tasks
In December 1948 the COMNAVFORGER was ordered to set up the Rhine River Patrol and commissioned as an inland water patrol in March 1949. The area of operations of the "RRP" stretched from Lorch up the Rhine to the heights of Lauterburg in Alsace , thus encompassing the river in the area of Germany's US occupation zone .
Four units were set up:
- Unit "Sugar" with the port of operations in Wiesbaden-Schierstein
- Unit "Mike" with the deployment port in Sandhofen
- Unit “King” with the port of operations in Karlsruhe
- Labor Service Unit (LSU-C) in Wiesbaden
The tasks of the "RRP" were:
- Patrols on the river
- Protection of bridges and other structures
- Control of trade with registration of all ships
- Control of the licenses of private vehicles of the members of the US armed forces
- Messages about the condition of the river bed
- Transfer of military units by means of ferries during maneuvers by US troops or other NATO forces
Furnishing
A wide variety of devices have been used over the years. In the basic configuration, the association had eleven floating units, an air-to-sea lifeboat and ten torpedo fishing boats from the former German Navy . The US Navy provided eight crews of seven men and a small commando unit. There were also three more men from the US constabulary per team . This workforce increased over time to over 350 officers and men in the US Navy and 200 German seamen.
Due to their age, the torpedo fishing boats were soon replaced by German post-war patrol boats .
The boats known as "PR '" (Patrol, River), in contrast to the ferries, had a purely American crew of nine men. The commandant of the boat was a Boatswain's first class mate . As armament, the boats carried four heavy machine guns 12.7 mm cal. 50 machine guns each in a double mount with protective shield on the foredeck and on the roof of the deckhouse.
- Two types of boats were used:
- CL 21 - 23 m long, 3.8 m wide, 440 HP MWM eight-cylinder engines, top speed 21 knots, (Hitzler shipyard)
- CL33 - 27 m long, 4.8 m wide, 1000 hp Mercedes-Maybach six-cylinder engines with turbocharging, top speed 33 knots (Burmester shipyard)
The maximum speed was dependent on the water depth, which had to be at least four meters.
The hulls were made of welded and galvanized steel, the superstructures of riveted aluminum sheet.
During the patrol trips, the crews were field-equipped and armed with type M1 carbines .
,_return_to_the_amphibious_assault_ship_USS_Essex_(LHD_2).jpg)
The landing craft of the type LCU (Landing Craft, Utility) drove with a mixed crew of Germans and Americans, with the German crew members belonging to the Labor Service Organization . Most of them were former members of the Navy. The smaller ferries were soon operated with a purely German crew.
Association of Translation Agents
- 16 Medium Landing Craft (LCM-RR) from German post-war production with a lifting capacity of 60 tons
- 1 flying ferry in Schierstein
- 1 houseboat in Mannheim
- 2 LCT Landing Craft, tank
- 4 British-made LCM
- 14 LCU (Landing craft Utility) made in the UK. Load capacity 250 tons
- 2 LCU No. 779 and No. 1174
- 6 tugs
- 1 ferry ferry
- several transportable ferries "Class 100 heavy raft"
Real estate
- Harbor with barracks in Wiesbaden-Schierstein - later with river pioneer company 851
(coordinate: 50 ° 2 ′ 33 ″ N , 8 ° 12 ′ 4 ″ E ) - Port in Mannheim-Sandhofen - later with swimming bridge company 450
(coordinate: 49 ° 32 ′ 13 ″ N , 8 ° 26 ′ 11 ″ E ) - Harbor in Karlsruhe - later with 2nd / Swimming Bridge Battalion 850
(coordinate: 49 ° 2 ′ 54 ″ N , 8 ° 18 ′ 39 ″ E )
.jpg){kind=small}
commitment
It was the task of the Rhine River Patrol to check all ships sailing on the Rhine, which in 1952 again affected over 8,000 vehicles. Changes in the fairways also had to be detected and reported in the event of high or low water.
The necessary ferry service brought additional tasks to a not inconsiderable extent. During the Army and Air Force maneuvers , considerable quantities of material had to be transferred. It affected not only supplies, but also bulldozers, trucks and bridge-building materials. Allied troops were also transported, in one special case a large number of vehicles of the French army crossed over.
During the flood disaster of 1953 in the Netherlands , two “PR” and two “LCU” were sent to Holland to provide assistance. This assignment lasted almost a month.
Changes in the subordination relationship
In 1957, CINCNELM (Commander-in-Chief US Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean) announced the intention to withdraw the US Navy personnel from the Rhine, since the tasks of the "RRP" in the context of the waterway crossing were becoming an integral part of the Plans of the USAREUR and this more or less began to co-opt the "RRP" in this way. For this reason the unit would have to be transferred to the 7th Army (7th Army) . The other option could be to hand over tasks and capacities to the new Bundeswehr . In August 1957, the Chief of Naval Operations announced that CINCNELM would definitely withdraw its Navy personnel by February 1, 1958. The existing 21 patrol boats should then be deleted from the Navy and handed over to the Bundeswehr. It had also been determined that the entire Rhine River Patrol should be dissolved by June 30, 1958 and the ferry material should be transferred to USAREUR if the Department of the Army were to agree.
In September 1957 USAREUR began exploratory talks with the Federal Ministry of Defense to take over the task. Here they had already agreed in principle to do so. The plan was to let the Germans do the patrols from February 1, 1958. The ferry service should follow on July 1, 1958 and full responsibility for the translation activities as soon as it was possible for the Bundeswehr - but by the end of 1959 at the latest.
The planning progressed rapidly and thanks to the good cooperation between USAREUR, 7th Army (7th US Army), CINCNELM, those responsible for the Rhine River Patrol and the German authorities, the USAREUR proposals had meanwhile been approved by the German Defense Minister February 1st, as planned, responsibility will be handed over to the German 791 River Pioneer Company - still under the supervision of the Rhine River Patrol until it was withdrawn on June 30th. After further discussions, however, it turned out that the German pioneers would initially not be able to carry out the ferry service within the scope of what was required by USAREUR. Urgent appeals followed to the Federal Ministry of Defense to settle the matter as soon as possible and to minimize the loss of capacity.
At the same time, a command structure was established and approved by USAREUR and the Department. In peacetime the 791 river pioneer company would belong to the territorial defense and be subordinate to the military area command IV . This should work closely with the US Seventh Army in all matters (maneuvers, alarm exercises and contacts). In the event of war, the 791 River Pioneer Company would be under the direct command of the 7th Army with all personnel and equipment. This was instructed to set up the corresponding connections to WBK IV by June 30, 1958.
By the end of May 1958, the 791 river pioneer company had been brought up to the planned number of crews, even if the full level of training would not have been reached by June 30th. Nonetheless, the company's property, equipment and tasks were transferred to the former Rhine River Patrol on that day .
The British LCM, the two LCTs and the tugs were not taken over, but returned to the US Navy for further use. Likewise, no more sieve ferry appears in the inventory list. It is possible that these are the Rhine ferries that have been in service for years.
The Rhine patrols were discontinued by the Bundeswehr. The patrol boats served as security boats for the river pioneers. By increasing and restructuring several units of river pioneers and floating bridge pioneers emerged from the 791 river pioneer company.
Until the 1980s, the Bundeswehr maintained bases with heavy translation equipment (“Class 100 heavy raft”) on the Upper Rhine (for example near Germersheim ). The crews consisted of uniformed civilians of the Bundeswehr.
See also
literature
- Annual Narrative Report, 1949, HQ EUCOM
- Rhine River Patrol Cruise Book 1954
- STARS & STRIPES, Dec 13, 1954
- Annual Historical Report, 1957-1958, HQ USAREUR
Web links
- USAREUR
- Detailed website for the article accessed on April 14, 2017
Remarks
- ↑ These boats were used by the river engineering companies of the Bundeswehr until September 1989.
- ^ In the Bundeswehr as a Mannheim ferry until the 1980s in service
- ↑ These ships came disassembled from Jacksonville, Florida , and were assembled by the repair team within three weeks
- ↑ the exact number is not known, it could also have been up to three ferries
- ↑ Could be extended indefinitely to create floating bridges