U19 German U-boat in Tralee Bay - Roger Casement

[Sinabhfuil]

Roger Casement, Robert Monteith and Dan Daly were landed from a U-19 U-boat at Banna Strand near Tralee in 1916. Is the history of the submarine, its captain and crew, and its name, known?

[pierssc]

Its name was U-19.

 

Have a look at

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-19_(Germany)

 

https://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/?boat=19

[Sinabhfuil]

I got the impression from that Wiki that U-19 was a class of boat rather than an individual boat?

[pierssc]

If you have a dig around the uboat.net site, you'll find that U-19 was the first of a class of four boats of the same type, U-19 to U-22.  So it gave its name to the class.

 

https://www.uboat.net/wwi/types/?type=U+19

[Sinabhfuil]

Oh, wait, I'm wrong. Thanks!

[pierssc]

No worries, happy researching!  My interest in u-boats is mainly from the point of view of those hunting for or being hunted by them so I'm afraid I can't really help further, but I'm sure someone else will know more.  Some of the references on Wiki may be worth following up.

[Michael Lowrey]

U 19 was a significant boat, being the first German submarine fitted with diesel engines. The boat's commander on the patrol to drop off Casemate was Kplt. Raimund Weisbach, who was captured when his next command, U 81, was torpedoed and sunk on May 1, 1917. Weisbach was the top scoring U-boat commander in either war to earn no decoration above the Iron Cross First Class.

[Hyacinth1326]

Judging from Grant in 'U-boat Intelligence' p 129the mission was holed by incontinent communications between Washington and Berlin

[Sinabhfuil]

2 hours ago, Michael Lowrey said:

Weisbach was the top scoring U-boat commander in either war to earn no decoration above the Iron Cross First Class

 

Strange! Why so?

[Michael Lowrey]

A couple of reasons why:

 

1. For U-boat officers, the bar was actually a little lower for the top awards (Knight's Cross, German Cross in Gold) in WWII as compared to the top award in World War I (Pour Le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern.)

 

2. Unlike in WWII, the Germany navy in WWI didn't do posthumous or after capture awards or promotions. And while the Iron Cross was handed out after WWI for service during the war, that wasn't true for the higher awards.

 

3. Weisbach would likely have received the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern some time in late spring or summer of 1917 had he not been captured.

[Guest]

An interesting description of these events can be found in 

 

• The Sea and the Easter Rising. John De Courcy Ireland – 1996 (first version), ISBN 0000002585/ISBN 9780000002587