Lorient Submarine Base
47°43′39″N 3°22′03″W / 47.72750°N 3.36750°W
Lorient Submarine Base | |
---|---|
Lorient, France | |
Coordinates | 47°43′45″N 3°22′13″W / 47.72917°N 3.37028°W |
Type | Submarine base |
Site information | |
Owner | Nazi Germany (1941-1945)
France (1945-Present) |
Site history | |
Built | 1941-43 |
Built by | Nazi Germany |
Lorient Submarine Base was a submarine naval base located in Lorient, France. It was built in 1941 by the German Kriegsmarine, and was continued to be enlarged until 1943. After the German defeat it was used by the French Navy. It was decommissioned in 1995 and converted to civilian use.
Lorient U-boat base
After the
The first area put into use as a U-boat dock was the
However the trawler dock was in the open, and offered no protection from air raids, so work commenced on a series of enclosed pens protected by bomb-proof concrete roofs on the banks of the
As work progressed on the Scorff pens, it became apparent the site was prone to silting, and would require constant dredging, while the soft ground was unable to take the weight of the structures, so plans were advanced for a new set of pens on the rocky Keroman peninsula, where the Etang de Kermeloe branches from the main estuary.[7]
The first installation, designated K1, comprised a boat lift and rails to deliver the U-boats to one of 5 enclosed bays. Work commenced in February 1941 and was completed in September that year. A second set of protected bays, K2, were built opposite K1, completing in December 1941. While these were suitable for boats needing an extended stay the access was too complicated for boats needing a fast turnaround, and a third installation, K3, was built at sea level. This comprised 7 double side wet pens that U-boats could simply sail in and out of. All these structures had a substantial bomb-proof roof, though the rails delivering boats to K1 and K2 were left exposed. However Allied bombing strategy gave a low priority to these installations and they were not seriously attacked during the first 2 years of operation.[8] Royal Canadian Air Force records show 427 Squadron conducted raids from base in Croft, directly attacking the harbor.[9]
In the summer of 1943 work began on a fourth phase of construction, a set of 6 pens (designated KIVb) alongside K1 another six (KIVa) by K2. However little more than the foundations were completed.
The last part of the Lorient U-boat base was across the inlet at Kernevel, in Larmor-Plage. This was the Villa Kerlilon, which was used by Donitz and his staff as a headquarters for the Atlantic campaign. The villa was equipped with a bomb-proof bunker in the grounds as protection from air-raids.[10][11]
The base was capable of sheltering thirty submarines under cover. Although Lorient was heavily damaged by
Since they could not destroy the base and its submarine pens, the Allies had decided to flatten the city and port of Lorient to cut the supply lines to the U-boat bases. Without resupply of fuel, weapons (e.g. torpedoes), and provisions, it became impossible for those U-boats to return to war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean. Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, Allied aircraft dropped as many as 500
Following the Normandy landings in June 1944, and subsequent breakout, Lorient was surrounded by the Allies on 12 August 1944. The remaining U-boats were evacuated, the last, U-853, escaping for Norway on 27 August.[12][13] Lorient was held until May 1945 by the
Engineer Stosskopf submarine base
Following the German surrender the installations were taken over by the French Navy for use as a submarine base. In July 1946 it was named by the French as Base Ingénieur Général Stosskopf commemorating
The base was in use until 1997, serving up to 10 submarines, and 2000 personnel. The base was also used for training, with the building of a 15 metre
Keroman submarine museum
After 1997 the site became available for civilian use, with the conversion of the pens into industrial units. One of the first companies to move in was Plastimo(fr), which manufactures marine instruments. It is also the site of the Keroman submarine museum, which is open to the public. The museum features the preserved submarine
See also
References
- ^ Blair (1996) p.172
- ^ Blair (1996) p172
- ^ U-30: 6th patrol at uboat.net
- ^ Blair (1996) pp.172, 176
- ^ Showell pp.101-102
- ^ Showell p.103
- ^ Showell p.99
- ^ Showell pp.103-106
- ^ 427 SQUADRON WARTIME LOG - JANUARY 1943
- ^ Showell p.101
- ^ The Villas Larmor-Plage official website
- ^ U-853: 2nd patrol at uboat.net
- ^ Blair (1998) pp.624, 756
- ^ Tourist office of Pays de Lorient Leaflet
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-304-35260-8
- Clay Blair (1998) Hitler’s U-boat War : Vol II Cassell ISBN 0-304-35261-6
- Jak Mallmann Showell (2007) Hitler’s U-boat Bases ISBN 978-0-7509-4555-4
External links
- "Nazi Mega Weapons (S01E02): U-Boat Base" (PBS), YouTube
- Flore submarine museum
- (in French) The base on patrimoine.region-bretagne.fr
- Base Mérimée: Base sous-marine de Keroman, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- Lorient U-boat base at uboat.net