PETER HANSEN (251-LIFE-1987) spent time working for the ABWEHR (the German Secret Service) during World War II and he has information that is known to a mere handful of people. He gives this secret information exclusively to SHARKHUNTERS. Here he tells us:

U-BOAT INVOLVEMENT IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

(Operation URSULA)

Between November of 1936 and March of 1937, the Royal Navy and news reporters registered a total of 108 attacks by 'unknown' submarines against either merchant ships or warships. At least three warships and eleven merchant ships were definitely sunk and at least another five merchant ships were damaged by torpedo attacks or possibly mines laid by submarines

It was assumed that most of these attacks were made by either Italian subs or Spanish Republican subs with Spanish or Russian crews. British sources also suspected German boats were connected with some of those incidents but couldn't prove it.

However, the first case of such submarine attacks that was solved and where evidence could be collected to establish the 'culprit' took place on November 22, 1936 when the Spanish Republican cruiser MIGUEL de CERVANTES was hit by two torpedoes even though the British destroyer ACASTA was very close by on Control Commission patrol. It turned out that the Italian submarine TORRICELLI was responsible for that particular attack. TORRICELLI

It is difficult, in fact impossible, to establish whose brainchild and idea Operation URSULA actually was. Probably several people cooked up the scheme with contributions from most of them. The majority of the files, documents and papers were purposely destroyed, though some survived in OKM archives and were eventually grabbed by the Russians in 1945 when they occupied Berlin and its environs. Only about a few years ago were some of these mosaic pieces permitted to be read and studied, after the ex-DDR finally collapsed and East Berlin was again accessible to historians.

Certainly Erich Raeder was informed of all steps and passed on the various suggestions stopping some of them entirely. Karl Dönitz surely was in the picture, despite the fact that he claimed the two Boats, U-33 and U-34 involved in Operation URSULA were simply removed from his command and their mission was handled directly by the OKM. Considering that his only daughter and his favorite child by all accounts was named Ursula, it would indeed be peculiar, if that name for this operation did not originate with him and with his knowledge.

HARRY'S NOTE - This would be URSULA HESSLER (1339-1990)

When questioned about this matter several years later, while Karl Dönitz was still BdU in charge of U-Boat Command, he said: "It was his understanding these two U-Boats had been selected for a special trip to gain long distance operational experience, but that is was more of an entertainment voyage than an educational one."

Yes, this is right - entertainment was used for such a good will journey but no other details were furnished or mentioned, and when this was followed up, the answer was that the details were kept from him and he just could not remember anything more about this action.

EBERHARD GODT (344-+-1987), who had been briefly in command of U-25 including while this U-Boat operated in Spanish waters, recalled that the first two U-Boats directed to operate in Spanish waters were on some sort of BLACK or secret, mission but that no details were ever passed out on specifics, results, successes or intentions even. Virtually everybody else simply claimed hazy memories and just could not recall any details at all or had heard only some vague rumors about the matter & really knew nothing definite at all. later on and also again in 1962, Karl Dönitz was questioned further regarding

German U-Boat operations in Spanish waters and declared that all U-Boats that were dispatched into waters around the Iberian Peninsula were completely removed by the OKM from his command and that he neither had influence nor information what transpired while this was the case. That Erich Raeder and/or his Chief of Staff and the Fleet Commander in charge were entirely responsible for the orders and instructions given to such U-Boats. Perhaps here started already the tension that existed between these two men during the war! When pressed for more details, Karl Dönitz finally stated categorically that according to the best of his knowledge:

"No ships whatsoever were attacked, much less sunk, because these voyages were strictly relaxation and health recovery cruises for the U-Boat crews involved."

Only the first patrol into Spanish waters by U-33 and U-34 was covered by the orders for Operation URSULA. None of the later voyages of these U-Boats or any other U-Boats for that matter, regardless if these were for official patrols as set up thru the International Control Commission Board - or clandestine, covert trips with painted out numbers and identities and utilizing neutral flags or flags of convenience for camouflage.

U-33 had been launched on June 11, 1936 and commissioned on July 25, 1936 at the Germania Yard in Kiel and had been placed under the command of Otto Heinrich Junker; Class of 1924.

HARRY'S NOTE - I know there are several of our S.E.I.G. agents reading this as well as some U-Bootfahrer who have actual knowledge of these operations into Spanish waters I hope we hear from them with their personal memories.

U-34 had been launched on July 17, 1936 and commissioned on September 9, 1936 at the Germania Yard in Kiel and was assigned Ernst Sobe as Captain. Both boats were still in the training and technical trial and exercise stages and neither U-Boat had past all trials as yet.

Suddenly in the middle of November 1936, by direct orders from OKM in Berlin, both U-Boats were reassigned for a special exercise mission and equipped for an extended patrol, taking on each eleven torpedoes with warheads & 80 active shells for the 8.8cm deck gun. At the same time new commanders were assigned and the two officers who had commissioned these boats were removed from command.

U-33 was taken over by Kurt Freiwald, Class of 1925 and U-34 by Harald Grosse because it was evidently believed only the most experienced captain should proceed with such an operation, especially as the boats were not entirely ready for overseas operations. These new captains had received submarine training and instructions in Finland and Spain with the submarines built there after plans and with financing from BLACK Reichmarine funds after construction plans from an engineering cover firm in Holland financed by the OKM and German shipyard jointly and secretly. The still surviving U-Boat captains from World War One were considered too senior and too old for such an assignment.

There is a lot of intrigue and secret stuff in the next pages from PETER HANSEN. More light will be shed on secret operations prior to the outbreak of World War II. (continued in KTB #116)

More Peter's Page: Ursula

German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#111)
German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#112)
German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#113)
German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#114)
German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#115)
German Subs in Spanish Civil War (#116)