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On November 17, 1911 in Kiel Harbor two U-boats were working in concert a series of diving tests, U-1 on the surface and the U-3 beneath the waves. On board the U-3 something went wrong, some reports indicate there was an open ventilator but, whatever the problem she was in trouble. Soon a telephone buoy broke the The commander of the U-3 reported that his boat was flooding and that there was a chlorine gas build up before the line was broken and further communication with the U-3 was impossible. The crew of the U-1 went into action sending a signal to Fleet HQ asking for assistance. Shortly after this the U-3 unexpectedly surfaced, at least her bows did, the crew had blown a forward ballast tank. Two men from the U-1 boarded the U-3 and began tapping out a message to the crew to open the bow caps, this would allow the crew to escape through the torpedo tubes. The message however went unanswered. During this drama that was playing out in the harbor a nearby floating crane came to the scene and attached a cable to keep the U-3 from sinking again. The message was again tapped out on the casing and this time an answer came from within, there were survivors after all. The bow caps began to open and soon the first of the survivors came up through the tube to safety. Twenty eight men were recovered from the U-3, many in an awful state from the poisoned air, apparently more than one died shortly after rescue. However it soon became apparent that three men were missing, the commander and two officers. It was learned they were trapped in the conning tower, which was still underwater. The decision was made to wait for the salvage vessel Vulkan before a rescue attempt was made. This was a tragic mistake for those trapped in the U-3. The Vulkan was a catamaran type vessel which could only lift the boat if she were directly above her, so the boat was allowed to sink and then Vulkan moved into position. The rescue operation did not go well and it took over eighteen hours to raise the boat. However when the boat broke the surface the periscope was moved as a signal to those outside that someone was still alive. Further delays in getting the hatch open aggravated the situation and when it was finally opened two were dead, the third died at the hospital in Kiel. The U-3 was raised and repaired and served as a training boat in World War 1 never making a war patrol or sinking an enemy vessel. She sank again en route to surrender on Dec. 1, 1918. While the U-3 never sank an enemy ship one of the men on board her did. One of the survivors was Otto Weddigen who would later become the commander of the U-9. On Sept. 22, 1914 Weddigen and his U-9 sank three British cruisers, all within thirty minuets. The HMS Cressy, HMS Hogue and HMS Aboukir were all torpedoed in short order taking the lives of over 1,400 British sailors. Less than a month later he sank the HMS Hawke claiming another 524. For sinking four British cruisers he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany 's highest decoration. He was also awarded the Bavarian Max Josef Order, the first non-Bavarian to have been so decorated in World War 1. He left the U-9 in January 1915 and in February he took over the command of the U-29. On the first patrol of the U-29 he sank four more ships, all merchant vessels, three British and one French, no more warships fell to his torpedoes. This patrol ended on March 18,1915 when the HMS Dreadnought rammed and sank the U-29 in the Pentland Firth, Weddigen and his thirty one man crew were all killed. |
© 2006 Michael W. Pocock MaritimeQuest.com |
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