The Boat
Technical information for type IXC
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| sm = submerged, sf = surfaced, ph = pressure hull, oa = overall, hp = horsepower. |
Preparing the ship and crew for active sea duty took almost seven months but in the early weeks of August 1942 the boat was ready to set out on her maiden voyage. Bearing the emblem of a Nordic longboat she left the German stronghold of the Baltic Sea , traveling north past the southern coast of Norway and into the mine laden waters of the North Sea. Forging ever westward north of Scotland and into the vast expanses of the North Atlantic her destination the fogbound expanses of the Grand Banks and the fertile Newfoundland coastal waters that lay beyond. On the 23rd August 1942 the grey ghost of a Viking raider appeared of the east coast of Canada. Her objective was to monitor coastal traffic and attack when possible. For many days she observed and stalked her prey up and down the wild Newfoundland coast. After 77 days at sea the U-513 finally retreated to her safe haven at Lorient in Nazi occupied France.Rolf Rüggeberg was to captain the boat on two more occasions out into the vastness of the Mid Atlantic but never under his command to the Americas. After a traumatic episode approaching Lorient he was transferred to Norway to oversee the 13th Combat Flotilla. A new captain in the form of Kptlt. Friedrich Guggenberger took over command of the U-513, a very different character from it's more quite and cautious former captain.
On the 18th May 1943 the U-513 left Lorient for a long patrol south to the coast of South America . She was sunk on the 19th July of that year by American aircraft off the coast of Brazil. Forty seven of her total crew of 53 perished; her captain was one of only seven to survive. Take a look at the following interesting website from Brazil http://www.U-513.com. Have they really found the resting place of the U-513?
The Captains Pictures
Rolf Rüggeberg left a personal collection of rare coloured 35mm photographs which have remained undisturbed since his death in 1979.These allow us a unique view into his time in the U-boat service; restored photographs which can be linked to this KTB log have been published here for the first time.Restoration is a time consuming process and further additions will be made available as and when possible.
Colour photography was a new concept at this time especially for personal use and film was not easy to acquire. How many coloured pictures have you seen from this era? One possible answer to this question concerns his father who was a senior figure in the huge industrial conglomerate IG Farben. An extremely important company for Nazi Germany it acquired the photochemical business ''Agfa-Gevaert ''who were involved in major advances regarding film production at this time. Maybe this was the source of film for our aspiring photographer?
These pictures are Copyright protected and Rights Managed. Please contact me for further information at: fall1942@hispeed.ch
Track Charts
The above chart superimposed on a view of the earth was reconstructed from 19 photographic plates that were taken of the original track map. The KTB covering this period lists over 378 recorded positions, each of which was converted into a modern navigation coordinate using the best conversion methods available. This information together with other relevant points was entered into Google Earth to make a digital tracking map which when overlaid with the reconstructed chart revealed a almost identical fit.
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| Section of main map showing major operational areas Links
Many different sources have been used to make this work possible. The following list can be highly recommended for their reference content.
http://uboat.net/ Excellent site covering all aspects of the U-boat wars.
http://www.uboatarchive.net/ Another very informative site with a lot of material not found elsewhere.
http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ Very good site covering Kriegsmarine and U-boat history.
BOOKS: 'The Enemy On Our Doorstep'by Steve Neary.Publishers Jesperson Press Ltd 1994. Unfortunately this book is out of print but used copies are still available. A thorough account of what happened during 1942.
The first of two fictional books written about the events surrounding Bell island in 1942......'Dangerous Waters' Jesperson Publishing a novel by Prof. Paul Collins is now out of print but secondhand copies are available.
A new novel for 2010 'In The Mouth of the Dragon' the story of a time when war was not so far away by the aspiring author Marjorie Coakwell.Trafford Publishing.
ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL: Newfoundland and Labrador offers the adventurous traveller many unique experiences whether you want to dive the Bell Island wrecks, watch whales, explore vast wildernesses for all your needs visit the outstanding folks at.....
Much more information about Bell Island and it's historic mines
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