Explosive boat lens
 The explosive device lens
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The Linseed explosive vessel was a light explosive vessel used by the German Navy during the Second World War . It was used by the small combat units of the navy . The design of the lens comes from the head of the construction and testing department of the small combat units shipbuilding engineer Oberleutnant Friedrich-Hans Wendel . In October 1944, 385 boats had been built. By the end of the war there should be 1201 units. The cruising range was 100 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots (cruising speed).
Intended use
The purpose of the lens was that the pilot approached a ship's target head-on at full speed and then jumped off the boat about 300 meters away. A metal frame ran around the bow of the ship, the springs of which , attached at a distance of 15 cm, activated a delay detonator when it hit the target . The igniter was activated from a pressure of 80 kg. The lens itself sank immediately due to its light but rear-heavy construction made of spruce wood . After about three to seven seconds, the main cargo at the stern, which initially consisted of 300 kg and later 480 kg of explosives, detonated under the hull. This should achieve maximum damage to the attacked target. An attack formation usually consisted of three boats, called Rotte , which shot at the target in the shape of an arrow, with the front command boat falling back at a safe distance from the target. The two explosive devices raced past him towards the target. After the target was destroyed, the jumped pilots were taken out of the water by the command boat.
effect
The overall success of the lens has been low. The ship was damaged, but no Allied ships could be sunk. The company Bruno was a spectacular success in September 1944, in which combat swimmers blew up the lock gates of the Antwerp port using lenses . As a result, the port was not used as the Allied logistics hub for months.
Operational area
The Linseed explosive device was mainly used in the defensive battles of the small combat units on the Dutch Scheldt estuary , which raged from mid-1944 to spring 1945 ( Battle of the Scheldt estuary ). There were also missions in the Mediterranean region , on Lake Balaton ( Hungary ) and on Lake Peipus ( Estonia ).
Special accessories
Two fog cans and / or machine gun or bazooka for close-range defense.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lawrence Paterson: Weapons of Despair. German combat swimmers and micro-submarines in World War II. 2nd Edition. Ullstein-Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-548-26887-3 , pp. 58, 68 and 353.
- ↑ Florian Stark: Combat swimmers stopped the Allied advance , WeltN24, September 16, 2014.