In May 1941, the Axis conquest of the Balkans culminated in Operation ‘Merkur’, the successful invasion of Crete. The German Luftwaffe established air supremacy over this part of the Mediterranean Sea and the Allied navies were either sunk or driven away. ZG3 Hermes (Ex-Greek Vasilevs Georgios ) Under the then-powerful umbrella of numerous aircraft, the Axis forces conquered the Aegean Islands quickly. It was equally helpful that large parts of the Dodecanese were under Italian administration due to arrangements made after World War One. The moment the attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, started, the eastern Mediterranean became a third-class theater of operation for the Germans. Front-line aircraft, modern radar sets and many other resources were diverted to more important regions. The Allies, too, had problems elsewhere, so that both sides struggled with limited resources. The German garrisons in that area now had to be supplied only by sea. Many requisitioned and captured caiques (sailing vessels with auxiliary motors, less than 100 tons, 5 to 10 damage points, 6 to 8 kts) and small steamers (less than 1000 tons, 15 to 25 damage points, 8 to 10 kts) were used. Later in the war more and more Siebelfähren (SF) and Marinefähr-prähme (MFP), German mass-produced landing craft which were called ferries by the Kriegsmarine, replaced the losses caused by Allied attacks. The main threat to the local sea lanes were occasional Allied submarines. Their employment was hampered by very shallow and transparent waters, numerous islands with coastal batteries and their small numbers. To counter this threat, the Kriegsmarine planned to establish an escort group in this area: the 21. UJ-Flottille. The escort groups of the Kriegsmarine were called UJ-Flottille (exact translation: Submarine chasers flotilla). UJ-Flottillen consisted mainly of small auxiliaries taken from fishing fleets and small coastal steamers. These vessels did not have names, not even permanent numbers like U-boats or minesweepers. The numbers on the hulls were made up of three elements: First there were one or two letters which defined the type of the flotilla. For example UJ for escorts or submarine chasers, V for patrol vessels or KS for coast protection. Then there followed one or two numbers which defined the flotilla and the last two numbers were the tactical number in that flotilla. For example, UJ 2105 is the tactical number 5 of the 21st escort (UJ) flotilla. The tactical numbers were not in sequence, but once a vessel had a number it did not change during its assignment to this flotilla. On the other hand, if a vessel changed its flotilla, it changed the number. To add confusion, larger ships like torpedo boats, destroyers or auxiliaries kept their names, even if attached to a flotilla and therefore did not get a number. Usually a flotilla had 6 to 12 vessels of similar types and some addi-tional auxiliaries. As this number decreased for larger ships like destroyers or torpedo boats during the war, the opposite happened to escort and coast defense groups. Every ship the flotilla commanders could lay their hands on was pressed into service, often with only improvised armament. On January 3rd, 1942 under the command of Korvettenkapitän d.R. Dr. Günther Brandt the 21. UJ-Flottille was created out of captured, raised and requisitioned ships. Yachts, trawlers, minesweepers, minelayers and even a former Russian icebreaker were equipped to hunt submarines. One of the few conditions was a speed greater than 10 knots. Many of the sometimes only temporarily-used escorts were trawlers of some 400 tons (15dp) armed with one old French 7.5cm gun, up to two 20mm AA guns, 2 depth charge rails (4 DC each) carrying some 25 depth charges and no sonar. For attacks on submerged submarines these vessels depended on information given to them by the sonar-equipped ships. Some caiques were converted to submarine traps (Q-ships) and got new equipment to correspond to these prerequisites. Due to the makeshift nature of the fitting out of these ships, it is very difficult to reconstruct armament and sensors. The best source are photos, which sometimes show weapons not even mentioned in the official reports. On the other hand some of the photos show nothing where some officially installed weapons should be. Even more complicated is the search for equipment not shown in photos, like sonar. Before April 1942 no sonar equipment was available and after this date they were introduced at a slow pace. Attached to the 21. UJ-Flottille were some minelayers. First there was Bulgaria, an old steamer built in 1894 of 1108 grt. From May 1942 to October 8th 1943, when it was sunk by the submarine HMS Unruly, it laid several barriers in the Dodecanese to protect shipping lanes. Then there was Zeus, the former Italian passenger ship Francesco Morosini. It was used as a submarine chaser and was attached to the 21. UJ-Flottille from September 18th 1943 until it was sunk by bombs on October 30th 1944. Most Interesting ASW Ship The most interesting ship was Drache, the former Yugoslavian seaplane carrier Zmaj. At first, it was used as a transport by the Luftwaffe to ferry units of the X. Fliegercorps to Crete. Then, at the end of April 1942, it was transferred to the Kriegsmarine and converted to a combined minelayer/submarine chaser for the 21. UJ-Flottille. In October 1942, another conversion took place and a helicopter deck was added. One or two Flettner Fl 282 helicopters could operate from the ship and were used for antisubmarine patrols. They could operate up to a wind strength of 5-6 (20-25 kts) and were very successful. Due to the experiences with helicopters, the Kriegsmarine planned to build a couple of escorts equipped with helicopters, but shortages of materiel and manpower as well as the bombing of the Flettner factory prevented the realization of this idea. The most powerful ship assigned temporarily to the 21. UJ-Flottille was the destroyer ZG 3 Hermes. This was the former Greek destroyer Vasilevs Georgios. It was build at the British Yarrow dockyard and was nearly identical to the British alphabet destroyer classes. Luckily for the Kriegsmarine the weapons were of German origin. The destroyer was damaged in the stern by German bombs in Salamis. As the original screws were missing some replacements had to be fitted and the maximum speed for ZG 3 Hermes dropped to 32 knots. The task of the 21. UJ-Flottille was to protect the German supply convoys in the Dodecanese and to Crete. Not so popular were occasional escort tasks for Africa convoys. Air Support Air support in this region was performed by the 126 Seeaufklärungs-gruppe (maritime reconnaissance group) (Gr 126) with He 60 and Ar 196 aircraft. There was also the 7. Seenotstaffel (rescue squadron) with He 59 and Do 24 stationed in Greece. The white-painted He 59 with the red cross were used for rescue tasks, whereas the standard camouflaged Do 24 were used sometimes for transport or patrol. Some small liaison and harbor patrol aircraft complemented this group of second-line aircraft. There were no bombers or fighters permanently assigned to the theater of opera-tions, but reinforcements could be received quickly (too quickly according to the perception of the Allies) from other theaters, like the eastern front. First Success The first success of the 21. UJ-Flottille was on November 16th, 1942. ZG 3 Hermes, UJ 2101 and UJ 2102 escorted a convoy of two tankers. The Greek submarine Triton (Lt. Cdr. Kontojannis) attacked with torpedoes at 16:37 hours. All of them missed. ZG 3 Hermes detected the submarine with its sonar and directed UJ 2102 to a depth charge attack. After this initial attack, ZG 3 Hermes and UJ 2101 left with the convoy and UJ 2102 pursued and depth-charged Triton for over seven hours. Then Triton had to surface and an artillery duel began, which was decided in favor of UJ 2102 after it rammed Triton twice. Another Greek submarine, Katsonis (Cdr. Laskos) fell victim to UJ 2101 September 14th, 1943. After taking some caiques as prizes at September 12th and 13th, the submarine was surprised near the coast by the escort. Forced to surface because of a depth charge attack, Katsosis was rammed and sunk after the exchange of a few shots. The most successful Q-ship was GA 45. On October 15th 1943 the British HMS Trooper (Lt. Wraith) found out that caiques can carry a hidden 8.8cm gun. HMS Trooper was on a successful patrol and had sunk a transport, a tanker and at least two landing craft (called ferries by the Germans). It was hit hard by the first shots of GA 45, dived, but was forced back to the surface by some depth charges. There the submarine was finally sunk by the gun of the Q-ship. On October 31st 1943 off Amorgos the submarine HMS Unsparing surfaced near GA 45 in an obvious attempt to capture the caique. After receiving several hits, HMS Unsparing dived and escaped. At nearly the same location the British destroyers HMS Penn and HMS Pathfinder sank GA 45 on November 7th 1943. Occasional Allied destroyer sweeps took their toll from the 21. UJ-Flottille, but due to fast reinforcements of bombers and Stukas from the eastern front the Allies were driven away. There were additional losses on the Allied side due to mines too, because the main protection for the convoy routes in the Dodecanese were mine barriers, often strengthened by coastal artillery. For example, the island of Aegina in the Dodecanese had a battery of 4 Italian 30.5cm guns. The view of the Kriegsmarine that minefields, coastal artillery and escorts were to be used as a combined arms team led to the assignment of minelayers to the 21. UJ-Flottille. After Italian Capitulation After the Italian capitulation, Allied forces tried to establish a hold in the Aegean Sea. The British 8th destroyer flotilla started an offensive from its base in Alexandria. On September 17th 1943 HMS Echo and HMS Intrepid sank UJ 2104 off Stampalia. On September 18th HMS Faulknor, HMS Eclipse and the Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga attacked a convoy and damaged two ships and on September 23rd HMS Eclipse heavily damaged the German torpedo boat TA 10 (former French La Pomone), which was scuttled at September 27th, and sank the steamer Donizetti near Rhodes. The German counterattack was made by Ju 88s from Lehrgeschwader 1 (L.G.1). In the harbor of Leros HMS Intrepid and Vasilissa Olga were sunk on September 26th. The Italian Euro was also sunk there on October 1st. On October 3rd the 21. UJ-Flottille escorted an invasion fleet to the island of Kos. The British and Italian garrisons were overwhelmed. Due to low fuel HMS Aldenham and the Greek destroyers Pindos and Themistokles were unable to intervene. On October 7th the British submarine HMS Unruly detected a supply convoy heading to Kos. It consisted of the steamer Olympos (5216 grt) and 7 Marinefährprähme (MFP), escorted by UJ 2111. A British force of the cruisers HMS Sirius, HMS Penelope and the destroyers HMS Faulknor and HMS Fury intercepted the convoy south of Levitha. Only one MFP escaped destruction. The retiring British force was caught in the Scarpanto-Strait by Ju 87 from II./St.G.3 and Ju 88 from L.G.1 and II./K.G.51. Only HMS Penelope was damaged by bomb hits. On October 8th HMS Unruly (Lt. Fyfe) torpedoed and sank the German auxiliary minelayer Bulgaria; further torpedoes missed Drache. On October 9th the Royal Navy started another operation against German convoys. The cruiser HMS Carlisle and the destroyers HMS Panther and HMS Rockwood were sent to the area south of Piraeus. Fortunately for the German convoys they were caught by Ju 87s from II./St.G.3 in the Scarpanto Strait. HMS Panther was sunk and HMS Carlisle was heavily damaged and had to be towed back to Alexandria by HMS Rockwood. The cruiser was never repaired. On October 15th and 16th the cruiser HMS Phoebe and the destroyers HMS Belvoir, HMS Beaufort, HMS Faulknor and HMS Fury had to give up their attempt to intercept another convoy to Kos in face of heavy Luftwaffe attacks. The submarine HMS Torbay was successful on October 16th. Attacking of a convoy of two ships, Kari (1925 grt) and Trapani (1855 grt), escorted by UJ 2109, it sank Kari. That night (October 16th - 17th ) HMS Hursley and the Greek destroyer Miaoulis sank UJ 2109 and wrecked Trapani. On the following night, HMS Penn and HMS Jervis finally sank the floating wreck, MFP F338 and one caique. The next round (October 22nd -24th) was won by the Germans. In a minefield laid by Drache east of Kalymnos, HMS Hurworth and HMS Eclipse were sunk and the Greek destroyer Adrias lost her bow. HMS Sirius, HMS Aurora and HMS Belvoir were damaged by air attacks. Beginning of the End In the next months the Allied forces started a war of attrition by using submarines, MTB and aircraft from Cyprus. On June 1st 1944, for example, Allied aircraft attacked a convoy headed for Crete. The attack force consisted of 17 Baltimores, 12 Maurauders, 24 Beaufighters, 13 Spitfires and 4 Mustangs. The convoy consisted of the transports Sabine (2252 grt), Gertrud (1960 grt) and Tanais (1545 grt). Escort was provided from the 9.T-Flottile, TA 14 (former Italian Turbine), TA 16 (former Italian Castelefidardo), TA 17 (former Italian San Martino), TA 19 (former Italian Calatafimi), the 21. UJ-Flottille, three R-boats and as combat air patrol one Ar 196 and 6 Ju 88. Sabine, UJ 2101 and UJ 2105 were sunk by bombs. Gertrud, R 211 and TA 16 were severely damaged and reached Iraklion. There, in the harbor, Gertrud blew up and due to this explosion TA 16 was also sunk. On the way back from Crete to Greece the sole surviving German transport Tanais was sunk too. The ship fell victim to torpedoes of the British submarine HMS Vivid (Lt. Varley). After this disaster, Crete was supplied only by small boats. Without convoys, supply vessels had to try their luck on their own. During this operation the submarine HMS Unsparing (Lt. Piper) sank UJ 2106 and SF 284. Another submarine, HMS Vampire (Lt. Taylor) sank three caiques and damaged another three. In September 1944 the Allied forces began to eliminate the German ships in the eastern Mediterranean in earnest. The British Aegean Force was ordered to occupy the Aegean islands and Greece. The force consisted of the escort carriers HMS Hunter, HMS Stalker, HMS Emperor, HMS Attacker, HMS Searcher, HMS Pursuer, HMS Khedive, the cruisers HMS Orion, HMS Ajax, HMS Royalist, HMS Black Prince, HMS Argonaut, HMS Aurora, HMS Colombo, the 24th destroyer Flotilla with HMS Troubridge, HMS Te rmagent, HMS Terpsichore, HMS Teaser, HMS Tuscan, HMS Tumult, the Greek Navarinon and the Polish Garland. Furthermore, there were the Hunt-class destroyer escorts HMS Brecon, HMS Calpe, HMS Catterick, HMS Cleveland, HMS Liddesdale, HMS Zetland and the Greek Themistokles, Kriti, Pindos, Kanaris and Miaoulis. There was also heavy air support from Cyprus. The Allies took no risks, sending in aircraft first and using their numerically and qualitatively superior ships to clean up the rest. The German forces were quickly overwhelmed and on October 31st 1944 the 21. UJ-Flottille ceased to exist. Flotilla designations in the eastern Mediterranean T - torpedo boats S - motor torpedo boats R - motor minesweepers UJ - escorts or submarine chasers V - patrol craft VP - patrol craft KS - coast protection L - landing GA - coast protection Attica GK - coast protection Crete GM - coast protection Macedonia GL - coast protection Lemnos GN - coast protection northern Greece GW - coast protection western Greece GP - coast protection Peleponnes GD - coast protection Dodecanese Comparison of Ranks 1943 Germany USA Generaladmiral (none) Admiral Admiral Vizeadmiral Vice-admiral Konteradmiral Rear-admiral Kapitän zur See Captain Fregattenkapitän (none) Korvettenkapitän Commander Kapitänleutnant Lt-commander Oberleutnant zur See Lieutenant Leutnant zur See Ensign Ed Note: Christoph also included four pages of Annex A listings for the ships described in this excellent article, but there’s no space in this issue. We will run the listings in the October issue. The 21st UJ-Flotille: Part 2 BT Back to The Naval Sitrep #22 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com