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Posted by seanG03 (U9345730) on Thursday, 14th August 2008
How was neutral shipping and trade affected by the u boat war in the atlantic? Ie Spain, Ireland, Latin America, Switzerland, Sweden etc Did they suffer losses? Was shipping reduced considerably due to the war? Did the Wolfpack or Allies respect flags? Or could some trade for the enemy carried by flags of convenience by third parties? Also were the neutral ships sought after by escaped POWs or enemy soldiers on the run?
There was no Swiss shipping in the Atlantic. Not then, not now.
Hi WhiteCamry,
I too have always thought that being landlocked, combined with the twin diversions of cuckoo clocks and toblerone, meant the Swiss never got out of their lakes.
How wromg I was...
Cheers,
RF
Well, I learn something new every day.
As did I today - one other thing being that I can't spell the word "wrong"...
The puzzling part of it is, during the war, how did they transfer the supplies overland to Switzerland once they reached mainland Europe?
, in reply to message 5.
Posted by Bashfulsmudger (U11287440) on Thursday, 14th August 2008
RainbowFfolly,
If my geography still serves me well, barges direct up the RHINE to Switzerland.
As Switzerland was Neutral, she could trade where she liked and as Germany had quite a lot of trade with Switzerland, travelling up the Rhine would not be a problem.
As for other nations who were nuetral and plying the open seas with normal cargoes (not military stores or equipment), they risked being stopped by all the waring sides and their cargo manifest checked against their actual cargo.
If it was classed as contraband the ship was arrested and taken to the nearest harbour, belonging to or occupied by that nation.
Not quite sure of the judicial side, but the least that could be expected I guess was the 'Contraband cargo' being offloaded and confiscated.
I am sure that other readers will have more knowledge on the subject.
Tom
A couple of incidents involving Irish ships.
The "Irish Oak" was torpedoed and sunk by U-607;
The photo shows what a neutral ship should look like,with it's country's name and national flag painted on the hull. At night they were to run under lights.Neutral ships would sail independently,any ship in convoy would be regarded as fair game by the U-boats.
MV Kerlogue was involved in rescuing British merchant seamen from a stricken ship and later rescued Germans from the destroyer Z-27 and two torpedo boats.On another occassion, Kerlogue was strafed by two RAF Mosquitoes.
Hi Bashfulsmudger,
Thanks for the info - it makes a bit more sense now.
Cheers,
RF
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:40 GMT, in reply to Triceratops in message 7
In January 1942 U-123 (Kptlt Hardegen) sank the merchantman Pan Norway. Shortly before engaging the Norwegian vessel the U-boat had spotted the neutral ship Mount Aetna, Greek but under a Swiss charter. Having finished off Pan Norway, Hardegen gave chase, stopped the Mount Aetna and returned with her to the scene, between them picking up 41 survivors, which the neutral vessel then transported to Lisbon.
The same year U-126 picked up an American merchant seaman from a vessel the boat had just sunk. After a few days they encountered a neutral vessel, stopped it with a shot across the bows, and transferred their prisoner to it.
A-N,
German raiders like Atlantis would diguise themselves as neutrals,and sometimes as Allied ships on their forays;
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