VizAdmiral Hellmuth Heye

[dduff442]

Hi All,

Der Spiegel reports that Vizadmiral Helmuth Heye sent out 'Biber' (a one man mini-sub) pilots on a mixture of cocaine, speed and morphine. These were virtual suicide attacks, with the death rate in any single operation normally exceeding 95% during the period in question. Sending the men out on drugs to give them artificial confidence was murder plain and simple.

Apparently Heye was elected to the Bundestag after the war and appointed Ombudsman for the Military (Wehrbeauftragter) from 1961. Personally, I'd have had him shot. He should have gotten in one of those death traps himself and sailed off in line-abreast with Donitz. They understood the risks involved -- the unfortunate kids they murdered did not.

Regards,
dduff[/url]

[Troy Tempest]

Speaking of Bibers, I remember reading something years ago, that the Kriegsmarine used to sow heaps of the perspex dome lids in the water, so each one, when spotted, had to be checked out in case it was a real Biber, thus consuming extra effort by the RN which could have been employed elsewhere. Nuisance value I know, but at a very low cost to the Germans, it would have been very cost effective even if it only stopped a few English ships doing something more valuable.

Troy
11.21 - mon, sydney

[Troy Tempest]

Sorry dduff442, my mistake! They were the domes from the Marders (Martens) that were thrown into the sea to try and confuse the RN, not from Bibers (Beavers). Whilst later missions suffered high casualties and achieved negligible success, it's worth remembering that the very first Biber mission which took place on 20.8.44 resulted in the sinking of a Liberty ship and a landing craft. The concept of the miniature u-boat was in itself not inherently unsound.

Troy
12.01 - mon, sydney