Monsun U-Boat Video

monsun uboat in the indian ocean

Shown above is an official propaganda movie, probably shown during the " Die Deutsche Wochenschau " which was the news programme of that time , in the cinemas (the news were updated only once a week in those days). The captain's name is definitely misspelled, there is no Cpt Musee. Names that could fit are: Cpt GYSAE - or Cpt MUSENBERG. Both operated in the Indian Ocean. Also note the periscope scene which could only be arranged with professional movie maker's help. Another interesting point would be the sinking ship (at the end of the clip) RADAMES, is actually an allied egyptian transport ship, that was sunk by U-103 , Cpt. Viktor Shutze, on 25/05/1941 off coast of Liberia in The Mid-Atlantic Ocean. -- Reviewed by Axel Dörrenbach

Japanese submarine I-8 ,that visited German Occupied France, June 1943

Japanese submarine I-8 ,that visited German Occupied Europe

The Japanese submarine I-8 was a World War II Junsen Type J-3 Imperial Japanese Navy submarine, famous for completing a technology exchange mission to German-occupied France and back to Japan in 1943. Its mission took place under the Axis Powers' Tripartite Pact to provide for an exchange of strategic materials and manufactured goods between Germany, Italy, and Japan. Initially, cargo ships made the exchanges, but when that was no longer possible, submarines were used.The series (I-7 and I-8), based on the KD (Kaidai) type, were the largest Japanese submarines to be completed before World War II

Commanded by Shinji Uchino, I-8 departed Kure harbor on 1 June 1943, together with I-10 and the submarine tender Hie Maru. Their cargo included two of the famed Type 95 oxygen-propelled torpedoes, torpedo tubes, drawings of an automatic trim system, and a new naval reconnaissance plane, the Yokosuka E14Y. A supplementary crew of 48 men, commanded by Sadatoshi Norita, was also packed into the submarine, with the objective of manning a German U-Boat submarine (U-1224, a Type IXC/40 U-boat) and bringing it back to Japan for reverse engineering. On arriving in Singapore nine days later, I-8 also took onboard quinine, tin, and raw rubber before heading for the Japanese base at Penang.

On July 21, I-8 entered the Atlantic, where she encountered fierce storms, but was able to continue to German-occupied France. Getting closer to Europe, on August 20, I-8 rendezvoused with German submarine U-161, commanded by Captain Albrecht Achille. Two German radio technicians were transferred onboard, as well as a FuMB 1 "Metox" 600A radar detector which was installed on the bridge of I-8. As I-8 entered the Bay of Biscay on 29 August, the Germans sent Ju-88s to provide air cover all the way to Brest, France, where she arrived two days later.
The Japanese submarine was welcomed warmly by the Germans. German news agencies announced that "now even Japanese submarines are operating in the Atlantic." Over a period of about a month, parties and visits to Paris and Berlin were organized for the crew.

I-8 left Brest on October 5, with a cargo of German equipment: machine guns, bomb sights, a Daimler-Benz torpedo boat engine, marine chronometers, radars, sonar equipment, anti-aircraft gunsights, electric torpedoes, and penicillin. The submarine also transported Rear Admiral Yokoi, naval attaché to Berlin since 1940; Captain Hosoya, naval attaché to France since December 1939; three German officers; and four radar and hydrophone technicians.

In the South Atlantic, I-8 radioed its position to the Germans, but the message was intercepted by the Allies, prompting an attack by anti-submarine aircraft, which failed. I-8 arrived in Singapore on 5 December, and finally returned to Kure, Japan on 21 December, after a voyage of 30,000 nautical miles (56,000 km).n late 1944, I-8 was converted to carry Kaiten suicide torpedoes. She was lost off Okinawa on 31 March 1945, in an encounter with the American destroyers USS Morrison and USS Stockton.-- Information extracted from Wikipedia

WW2 German Auxiliary Cruiser - Thor

WW2 German auxiliary cruiser Thor

The Thor was one of the few German auxiliary cruisers that did two operations. It began its first combat cruise on June 6th, 1940, under the command of Captain Otto Kaehler. Thor spent 328 days at sea, and sank or captured 12 ships, for a combined tonnage of 96,547, and ending its first operation in Hamburg on 30.04.1941. During this operation, the Thor engaged three British auxiliary cruisers, destroying one of them (Voltaire ) while the other two (Carnarvon Castle and Alcantara ) were badly damaged.

Thor next operational area was the Indian Ocean, and set out on its second cruise on Nov 30th, 1941, under the command of Captain Günther Gumprich. It sank or captured 10 ships during her second cruise, for a total of 58,644 tons, during 328 days of operation.

Thor arrived in Yokohama on 9th October 1942, where she commenced refitting in preparation for a third voyage. However on November 30th, a series of explosions on the supply ship Uckermark destroyed her superstructure, sending a large amount of burning debris onto Thor, which was moored alongside. Both ships were rapidly set ablaze, along with the Nankin/Leuthen and the Japanese freighter Unkai Maru. All four ships were destroyed in the fire, and 12 of Thor's crew were killed. Thor was wrecked beyond repair, and was abandoned. Her captain, KzS Gumprich, later commanded the raider Michel on her second raiding voyage, from which he did not return.