German Mine Sweeping Administration

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German Mine Sweeping Administration
Deutscher Minenräumdienst
The signal pennant "8" was used as a identification flag on GMSA vessels
The signal pennant "8" was used as a identification flag on GMSA vessels
Active21 June 1945 – 31 December 1947
Country Allied-occupied Germany
RoleMinesweeping
Size27,000 men
300 vessels

The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) was an organisation formed by the Allies from former crews and vessels of the

Second World War, predominantly in the North Sea and Baltic Sea
, which existed from June 1945 to January 1948.

History

The GMSA was formed on 21 June 1945 under Allied supervision, specifically that of the

naval mines in the North Sea and Baltic. It was made up of 27,000 former members of the Kriegsmarine on nearly 300 vessels.[3]

The Allied command was well aware of the problem caused for commercial shipping by the over 600,000 naval mines laid in the seas of Western, Northern and Eastern Europe and had asked that the German mine sweeping formations not be dismissed after the surrender in May 1945. For this reason, Vice Admiral Sir

British Admiralty preferred to risk German sailors rather than their own to do the dangerous work.[4] The GMSA was originally under the command of Commodore H. T. England; below him, as the highest ranking German officer, was Konteradmiral Fritz Krauss, who had been in charge of mine sweeping operations during the war.[5][6]

The German sailors initially served in their Second World War uniforms, with the

esprit de corps
led to increasing uneasiness about the GMSA, especially in the Soviet Union.

The service was sub-divided into six mine sweeping divisions (German: Räumbootdivisionen). The German headquarters of the service were located in Glückstadt.

On 25 May 1946, the GMSA was equipped with new blue work uniforms and special rank insignia, worn on the sleeve.

The headquarters of the GMSA were moved to

First World War to preserve a talent pool of officers and the Royal Navy wanted to avoid a repetition of this experience.[5]

The "German mine sweeping formation Cuxhaven", a civilian organisation, replaced the GMSA, still under British control and using equipment and personnel of the previous organisation.

In 1956 the

Bundesmarine
formed on the basis of the former organisations, just as the Soviet Union had predicted.

One of the few large surface ships of the Kriegsmarine to survive the war, the light cruiser Leipzig, in a fairly bad condition, served as an accommodation hulk for the GMSA.[8]

Divisions

The GMSA was sub-divided into six regional divisions of varying strength:[6]

  • 1st Division: Schleswig Holstein
  • 2nd Division: West Germany (Cuxhaven)
  • 3rd Division: Denmark
  • 4th Division: Norway
  • 5th Division: Netherlands
  • 6th Division: Bremen (US division)

Statistics

  • Area cleared:
    • North Sea: 5,628 square nautical miles (19,300 km2)
    • Baltic Sea: 450 square nautical miles (1,500 km2)
  • Naval Mines cleared: 2,721
  • Losses:
    • Vessels lost: 10
    • Crew killed: 348

Ships

As of early 1947, the service consisted of the following ships and vessels:[6]

  • 84 × M-class Minehunting boats (German: Minensuch-Boote), Type 35, Type 40, Type 43
  • 63 ×
    Voith-Schneider
    propulsion systems
  • 62 × Naval trawlers (German: Kriegsfischkutter)
  • 6 × Mine barrage breakers (German: Sperrbrecher)
  • 5 × Auxiliary minesweepers (former fishing trawlers)
  • 110 × Auxiliary ships

Similar formations

  • The 4th Mine Sweeping Group (German: 4. Minensuchgruppe) in Lorient, France, was made up from crews of French sailors and German POWs.
  • Deutscher Minenräumverband Cuxhaven (German mine sweeping formation Cuxhaven), based in
    British Customs
    , replaced the GMSA, active from January 1948 to June 1951
  • Bundesmarine
     after that.

References

Citations
  1. ISBN 978-1-84176-327-9
    . Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Weekly information bulletin". February 1947. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  3. ^ "German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA)" (in German). Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  4. ^ Madsen (1998), p.127
  5. ^ a b Madsen (1998), p.128
  6. ^ a b c Schelling, Manfred (2008). "German Minesweeping Administration (GM/SA)". Minesweeper: Sweeping for mines after the Second World War. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  7. S2CID 145163739. Archived from the original
    on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
  8. ISBN 978-1-84176-503-7
    . Retrieved 16 May 2015.

Bibliography

External links
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