At the island of Suomenlinna off Helsinki, Finland, you can still visit Vesikko. Recommended if you're in town anyway. There is also a small army museum on site.
I visited the sub a few years ago. A unique feature is three bow torpedo tubes in a triangular arrangement. The engines were made by MAN, though I'd think that would risk blowing the cover. The sprawling 18th-century fortress complex was originally built by the Swedes and is also called Sveaborg in Swedish, and spans about six islands. The fortress has several still-mounted coast defense guns up to 12-inch caliber. They were made by Russia in the 1880s, when Finland was part of Russia, and the Russians modernized part of the fortress.
All for nothing really. The US was building Liberty ships faster than the Kriegsmarine could sink them. It was a war of attrition that the German navy was losing.
But offset by reliability & technical issues with German torpedoes. Had this issue been identified pre-war, German successes with U-boats in 1939-40 - particularly in the Norwegian campaign - would have been far greater.
@@robertdickson9319 They calibrated their magnetic pistols to the Baltic sea, thatswhy they had a lot of premature detonations in Norway. The iron ore caused a divergence in local magnetic field.
My mother was a nursing student in St John New Brunswick Canada in 1943. I well recall her story about given for a dance for the men of the scheduled to ship out a few days later. The news came that the shipped had been torpedoed. All 600 hands lost.
One part of the Battle of the Atlantic that is often missed, is that early on Italian submarines sometimes outnumbered German boats. As Mark points out, the Kriegsmarine was short on ocean-going types. So the Regia Marina pitched in.
At the start of the war, on Sept 3, 1939, Italy, France, and Britain all had more submarines than did the Kriegsmarine. The Italian Navy operated a submarine base at Bordeaux ("Betasom") during 1940 - 1943, and contributed to the "Battle of the Atlantic". Some even operated in the Indian Ocean. Of course, most Italian subs operated in the Mediterranean. An interesting book is "Betasom", by Marek Sobski
When World War II ended in 1945, a German Type XXI submarine appeared near the Swedish coast. It was the latest model Germany had. It had technical problems And the German crew chose to sink it themselves, then the Swedish navy came and raised it to the surface, and took it to the naval base in Karlskrona, ⚓where they dismantled the submarine and began to study German submarine technology, thanks to these studies, Sweden was able to build the best submarines in the world. 🇸🇪
@@Spartan902 one of the innovations was a snorkel allowing operation almost submerged with diesels running, another, anti sonar rubber tiles, a few years later a British sub fitted with a snorkel was lost because the snorkel ruptured virtually instantly flooding the sub, also smooth 'modern' shape with no deck guns visible.
"Hm hm hm. I'm sorry. I can't divulge information about our secret, illegal, U-boat program...Oh crap, I shouldn't have said we have a U-boat program...Oh crap! I shouldn't have said it was a secret...OH CRAP! I certainly shouldn't have said it was illegal! Ah, it's too hot today."
Excellent video, as always. As a kid in Chicago years ago, I relished every trip to the Museum of Science and Industry so I could wander into U-505 and imagine what it must have been like to be aboard her during her missions in WWII.
Great stuff. The calm before the storm. Not too many people knew that Germany started building its military so early before the war. You gave them the information Mark.
As the current commander of U266 ( type V11C ) I have to thank you for the history lesson. We put great faith in our Donitz to lead us well, but I always figured Canaris for a wrong'un. Must dash, I'm being depthcharged.....
Boy Mark, you certainly out did yourself with this research buddy. Amazing detailed info. All of your videos are well researched but this one is a cut above. How do you do it !
I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that if Dönitz had had 300 U-boats ready (presumably ocean going, at the start of the war), he would've won the Battle of the Atlantic. Also, he had problems persuading Hitler to divert resources into building more, as he had no clue about warfare at sea.
The second part of your statement is flat out false. He knew very well how important the u boat arm was from the get-go. He made sure u boats were prioritized over building up the surface fleet.
@@EOJ111 Not true. In general, pre-war Hitler (knowing he was out of his element) gave Raeder relative free reign in matters of the navy - and Raeder was a surface ship proponent. In 1938, after hounding by Donitz and other "pro Uboat" Admirals, Raeder presented Hitler with 2 choices for the Z-Plan - a surface ship focused one & a Uboat focused one; Hitler chose the surface ship one. Prioritization of Uboat construction only took place after the start of the war when Raeder realized that the Z-Plan was no longer feasible since materials and manpower were going to the army & air force.
Great as always, alot of design workers done by a dummy firm in the Netherlands, named Koch and Kintzel sounds like a german vaudeville team , they were Krupp engineers and worked in the Netherlands for years interfacing with the Dutch navy , luckily they never got ahold of the schnokle prewar that is , Again thanks Dr. Felton
What interests me is what military technologies Germany DIDN'T do significant work on in secret between the wars. For example, Germany had no significant plans in place to create naval guns exceeding 283mm in caliber in 1935 when formally liberated from the naval restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. Krupp basically had to rush development of 380mm weaponry to arm the Bismarck class five years later. Why didn't the German Navy have more drafting done on battleship weaponry when they knew there would be a day they'd be making battleships again? That is the sort of question that needs more exploration I think.
That would be an excellent topic. Even Germanys Nebelwerfer systems were developed during the inter-war years... and were labeled as "Smoke Mortars" (Nebelwerfers)as a way to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles.
They didn’t Plan on Building battleships in the foreseeable future. So they lacked 20 years of research, as is obvious in Bismarck‘s design compared to contemporary designs elsewhere.
I had never considered the question before? I guess I just assumed that Krupp's had a standing catalogue of big guns of all sorts ready to go, up to and including the Paris Gun? They were certainly quick to produce the large railway guns used in the Dover gun battles. Mark from Melbourne Australia
It may also have had to do with Hitler's hope from 1933-1939(and even beyond) that Britain would eventually be compelled to support him against the Soviets. Why invest in capital ships when the Royal Navy will eventually be your ally and your main enemy is a land power?
Germany shouldn’t have built any BBs at all. The steel, other materiel and manpower should all have gone into more subs and tanks instead. But thank God they didn’t make more subs.
Germany was like - declares a ship "torpedo boat" - looks inside - a destroyer - declares an armored tracked vehicle "tractors" - looks inside - a tank
It just astounds me that the German people were up for another war so soon after losing the previous one. Thank goodness I live in Australia far away from the middle east and Russian madness! I am so glad my parents migrated to Australia in 1966! Cheers Mark for another great post.🍻🇦🇺
@@bungee7503 Actually, not so much. A lot has been made about how the Treaty "pushed" the Germans into WWII (presumably by causing economic woes that doomed the Weimar government to dissolution) but in fact rather *too* much has been made of it. What this video is about is in fact what a lot of people miss or forget: that the German military was already planning for the next war, regardless of what government was in place--and was doing so before WWI was even officially over. Military officers like Hans Von Seeckt were already planning the logistics of workarounds to the Treaty, and an agreement had been made before the Armistice that the incoming Weimar government would not prosecute or hinder the German military for the war. Basically, the militarists in Germany did not see themselves as having been defeated, but instead bought into the idea that this was just a pause before Germany would rise again to conquer. (Or, at worst, they believed in the "stab in the back" myth that Germany had only lost WWI because defeatists, communists, and believers in democracy had stabbed the military in the back by agreeing to end the war prematurely. And of course the Nazis added the Jewish people to the list of "back stabbers"). In point of fact, some of the most punishing aspects of the Treaty (economically speaking) had been curtailed a bit and Germany had begun recovery in the mid 20s. It was the advent of the Great Depression that actually caused the economy to crash even harder, and caused people to turn against Weimar. The Nazis pretty much invented the myth of the Treaty being the cause of their indignation, as it gave them the ability to blame the Allies for the war that the Nazis were planning and which the military had already started a buildup for, even before Hitler was in office.
Another interesting story. Especially since I can drive 30 minutes from my home and walk through U 505 preserved in Chicagos Museum of Science and Industry.
It's also important to mention how the U-boat technology advanced throughout the war, ending with the type XXI, which was practically stealth. Thanks for the video on this fascinating topic!
Great video. Germany was rearming and nobody paid attention, just like China spending billions on their military and nobody seems to be paying attention. They have already said they are going to take Taiwan back.
Agreed. Also, the western nations were prepared to look the other way as Germany rearmed in the 1930s. Stalin's USSR was seen as the greater threat. Germany was regarded as a future ally. If the Soviets invaded Europe (a real threat in the 1930s) they couldn't reach France without coming through Germany. A bit like the western powers reconstructing and rearming West Germany from the 1950s onwards.
Thanks for another infinitely interesting video! The lengths Germany went to skirt the Treaty of Versailles is fascinating. Until recently, I wasn't aware of the extent of interwar agreements between Germany and the Soviet Union to develop and test tanks and aircraft.
Knew most of this already (I have an abiding interest in U-Boats and submarines in general, having served on one). Excellent presentation of the material - concise, correct, and to the point. NOTE: as of my posting this, there were 60 people who disliked this video. So far, I've not see comment one from any of them. Bots?
My great uncle was on a u boat with kreigsmarine. When he died I researched a bit of what he was in and tge kreigsmarine hold details of service personnel and can help with details. If you need ir anyone may find they could help in a search if their own I have full contact details and can pass them on. Another brilliant video, thanks
I toured the Visikko submarine in Finland in 2019. Beautifully maintained exhibit and a fascinating look into a “coastal” size U-Boat. It’s pretty much a one “room” submarine!
Thank you. It's important that we recognize that a lot of the Weimar German government's preparation for the next war happened quite early, when the Nazis were a minor party that a lot of Germans had barely heard of, or didn't even know existed.
Astonishing how blind and deaf the British, French, Belgians, U.S. and Canadians were to the German interwar years U-Boat program, training and building. Why-oh-why did the British and French Navy not sail into the Baltic and shell the U-boat docks and schools?!? It was a very bad violation of the Versailles Treaty.
Versailles treaty: "Germany, you can't develop submarines!" Germany [phones incognito its homeboys in the Netherlands and Finland]: "Wanna develop some submarines?"
The finns or the dutch did not develop U-boats, they just provided the cover. It was the IvS = german navy all the way. (And as finns being Germany`s home boys between the wars: Germany`s hostile, pro-sovjet neutrality during theWinter war tells all one needs to know. )
It is funny there was a newspaper article here in Baltimore a few years ago about an visisting German inter-war U-Boat visiting and the positive reception the crew got from the large German community here.
That was a special U-Boot Type to drive to USA. They add a special section and built a longer boot for all that food and more fuel to operate on the cost and in rivers. That german U-Boot guys are helldogs and have steel balls. Germans built special U-Boots called Milchkühe milk cows they bring food, torpedos and fuel in the atlantik. Here in germany Laboe you can visit a U-Boot Type XII
Mark, I am a former British Soldier and love the History of WW2 that you post. I was wondering if you could do a post on the Ground Gunners of the RAF in WW2. Especially their Special Forces. My Grandfather, told me stories of when he served in WW2, about the ship he was on that hit a sea mine in the Mediterranean when they were heading to North Africa, the RN vessel that rescued them, sank two weeks later from a German U boat attack. He served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Yugoslavia and then part of the occupation forces in Austria. He was shot in the leg by a German sniper in Italy. At the wars end they were preparing to do a night raid on an Island off Yugoslavia but it was cancelled. He and a colleague smuggled Austrian girls through Russian lines to allied lines as the Russians were doing bad stuff. If you could do a video on the RAFVR Ground Gunners and their role in WW2, that would be Brilliant. When I try and search RAF etc it always most times comes up with the fighter pilots or bomber crews. Cheers in advance
Another sneaky action that was undertaken was to build a sailing vessel, The Eagle, with the same engines as a U-boat. After the war The Eagle was taken as a war prize and has been crewed by cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut ever since. In the museum at the academy they have the original golden eagle clutching a swastika that was once on the bow of the ship. Each summer the freshman class leaves New London on The Eagle and acts as its crew while underway. I know they've been to the UK at least a few times over those summer journeys. Mark, I hope you get a chance to see her if you haven't already.
The part regarding the fifth submarine delivered to Finland is grossly misleading. The boat, CV 707, was not ordered by Finland, but rather by IvS, as a prototype for commercial exports (or rather, as a prototype for class II submarines). The boat's construction was allowed on the terms that it could only be sold to a nation belonging to the League of Nations, with Finland having the primary rights of purchase. Finnish navy took over the boat in 1934, but the purchase was not approved by the parliament until 1936. So it was not a boat ordered by Finland, the delivery of which was delayed by Germans under passive support by Finland. Rather it was a bot ordered by Germany, tested by those who ordered it, and subsequently purchased by Finland.
Dr. Felton, could you do a video on how the Germans developed the equipment such as optics, range finder, Enigma machine, torpedoes and life support system for their submarines. I think these will be a fascinating story for many here.
In 1921 the German company Carl Zeiss started a factory of high precision optics (submarine periscopes) in Venlo (the Netherlands) This was al done to bypass the rules from the Treaty of Versailles. This company still exists and is called Nedinsco (Nederlandse Instrumenten Compagnie)
Good material from very little known events. Would be nice to see episode over cooperation and beginnings of new undercover III Reich Luftwaffe in Soviet Russia.
The pronounciation of German names is tricky sometimes. Slevogt is stressed on the first syllable and the "e" is a long one. Plus the "S" is spoken as if it was a "Sch..." (sh). The word once described a wandering salesman who brought goods and daily needs to the remote villages.
This is similar to their "tractors" that so happened to look like half tracks and like incomplete tanks. Also, the luftwaffe had some bases in the Soviet Union and Finland but operated mostly transport planes
I know British subs operated in covert missions of Cockleshell Heroes and Operation Mincemeat fame but I would be very interested to hear more of their operational history during the war. Doesn't get mentioned much.
Read up on Rear Admiral Anthony Meirs, RN. He was allegedly responsible for two war crime incidents, while commanding submarine HMS Torbay, including the shooting of seven Germans in a life raft.
Thanks for the concise and highly informative video on U-boats Mark. Today's difficult threat to any navy are drones, and then it was the submarine. Das Boot!
Excellent video 📹 This video 📹 illustrates that the British Empire 🇬🇧 could not negotiate a peace in 1940 because, at the rate of Germany, rearmament. The British 🇬🇧 would have been subservient to Germany 🇩🇪 by 1945. A defacto situation. Keep calm and carry on. 👑
Thank you for this awesome video. I am surprised that the Allies did not try to keep better tabs on the Germans in order to ensure continued compliance to the Treaty of Versailles.
It’s always something that puzzles me. After WWI, the allies had a huge amount of German U Boats, which they studied in great depth…and then proceeded to completely ignore everything they gained from these experiences.
Home from work in a nice, warm house, a wonderful lunch, and a new Mark Felton video... Life is good!
And to that, playing silent hunter 3
@@jhnshep I can’t bring myself to play SH3 or SH5. Playing on the side of those Hun bastards.
What was for lunch that made it so wonderful?
Mark from Melbourne Australia
@@jhnshep I can’t bring myself to play SH3 or SH5. Playing for the Hun? Forget it.
'Life is good'
Meanwhile, WW3 is closing in.
But hey, stay bliss
At the island of Suomenlinna off Helsinki, Finland, you can still visit Vesikko. Recommended if you're in town anyway. There is also a small army museum on site.
@laetiziacoronet243 and in tallinn on the others shore, you can see a similar submarine made by England.
And in the museum you will find Simo Häyhä’s uniform.
I visited the sub a few years ago. A unique feature is three bow torpedo tubes in a triangular arrangement. The engines were made by MAN, though I'd think that would risk blowing the cover. The sprawling 18th-century fortress complex was originally built by the Swedes and is also called Sveaborg in Swedish, and spans about six islands. The fortress has several still-mounted coast defense guns up to 12-inch caliber. They were made by Russia in the 1880s, when Finland was part of Russia, and the Russians modernized part of the fortress.
I hope future generations appreciate the painstaking research you took on these videos and learn the lessons of war...
Over 1000 U-boats built in 10 years! Amazing. Great video.
All for nothing really. The US was building Liberty ships faster than the Kriegsmarine could sink them. It was a war of attrition that the German navy was losing.
Imagine if Germany had started the war with just 25% of that?
Allies' neglect of torpedo development in the interwar period proved debilitating.
Very true!
But offset by reliability & technical issues with German torpedoes. Had this issue been identified pre-war, German successes with U-boats in 1939-40 - particularly in the Norwegian campaign - would have been far greater.
@@robertdickson9319 They calibrated their magnetic pistols to the Baltic sea, thatswhy they had a lot of premature detonations in Norway. The iron ore caused a divergence in local magnetic field.
British not though. I never heard British ones had any issues, and given it was used well into the 1980s, I guess they did something right
@@robertdickson9319ironic that both US and German silent service had more or less same trouble; torpedoes and obstructed bureaucracy
As always, Dr. Felton delivers an informative and mesmerizing presentation.
I enjoyed this video! It shows that in 1922, even before Hitler, the Germany navy was preparing for WWII! The Luftwaffe and the
Like a treasure hunter..
Mark digging up more gems from a time never to be forgotten..
This channel is my night time routine at this point. Thankful for it
Brilliant presentation Dr. Felton!
My mother was a nursing student in St John New Brunswick Canada in 1943. I well recall her story about given for a dance for the men of the scheduled to ship out a few days later. The news came that the shipped had been torpedoed. All 600 hands lost.
What ship was that?
How awful!
What a way to start the New Year: a story from Mark Felton.
One part of the Battle of the Atlantic that is often missed, is that early on Italian submarines sometimes outnumbered German boats. As Mark points out, the Kriegsmarine was short on ocean-going types. So the Regia Marina pitched in.
It would be interesting if Dr Felton did an episode on Italian submarines; I haven't heard or read much about them at all.
@@ukulelemikeleii Some were based in Bordeaux.
@ That would be a great idea!
At the start of the war, on Sept 3, 1939, Italy, France, and Britain all had more submarines than did the Kriegsmarine. The Italian Navy operated a submarine base at Bordeaux ("Betasom") during 1940 - 1943, and contributed to the "Battle of the Atlantic". Some even operated in the Indian Ocean. Of course, most Italian subs operated in the Mediterranean. An interesting book is "Betasom", by Marek Sobski
When World War II ended in 1945, a German Type XXI submarine appeared near the Swedish coast. It was the latest model Germany had. It had technical problems And the German crew chose to sink it themselves, then the Swedish navy came and raised it to the surface, and took it to the naval base in Karlskrona, ⚓where they dismantled the submarine and began to study German submarine technology, thanks to these studies, Sweden was able to build the best submarines in the world. 🇸🇪
I would love to know what they found onboard that Submarine apart from technology.
The allies captured examples of the same submarines!
@pcka12 All new information to me but I am only a war history enthusiast, not an expert. Cheers for the information.
wait until you hear about the rockets
@@Spartan902 one of the innovations was a snorkel allowing operation almost submerged with diesels running, another, anti sonar rubber tiles, a few years later a British sub fitted with a snorkel was lost because the snorkel ruptured virtually instantly flooding the sub, also smooth 'modern' shape with no deck guns visible.
Another high quality informative video, thank you Doctor.
Epic contribution! Thanks Mark. Very much appreciated.
"Hm hm hm. I'm sorry. I can't divulge information about our secret, illegal, U-boat program...Oh crap, I shouldn't have said we have a U-boat program...Oh crap! I shouldn't have said it was a secret...OH CRAP! I certainly shouldn't have said it was illegal! Ah, it's too hot today."
Nice to see Simpsons/Mark Felton fans on here!
D'OH!
Neat Simpson’s quote
This comment takes all😂 Great Simpsons reference!
😂👍🇺🇸
Excellent video, as always. As a kid in Chicago years ago, I relished every trip to the Museum of Science and Industry so I could wander into U-505 and imagine what it must have been like to be aboard her during her missions in WWII.
Great stuff. The calm before the storm. Not too many people knew that Germany started building its military so early before the war. You gave them the information Mark.
Excellent! I've been waiting for a video on u boats and I appreciate the mention of Canaris.
As the current commander of U266 ( type V11C ) I have to thank you for the history lesson. We put great faith in our Donitz to lead us well, but I always figured Canaris for a wrong'un. Must dash, I'm being depthcharged.....
Canards was a bonifide freedom fighter.
Boy Mark, you certainly out did yourself with this research buddy. Amazing detailed info. All of your videos are well researched but this one is a cut above. How do you do it !
Another Felton classic
I love the sound filtering, modulations, and the ambience . So you sound like a 1920's radio host
Sound filtering? Modulation? That's just how the Limey larynx vibrates.
@ManDuderGuy as a limey, to you I say: Nahhhhh! On that.
I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that if Dönitz had had 300 U-boats ready (presumably ocean going, at the start of the war), he would've won the Battle of the Atlantic. Also, he had problems persuading Hitler to divert resources into building more, as he had no clue about warfare at sea.
But do WE want that scenario* in 2025?
*NAZI-win? Getting softer by the decades, mayhaps!??...BUT REALLY😞
The second part of your statement is flat out false. He knew very well how important the u boat arm was from the get-go. He made sure u boats were prioritized over building up the surface fleet.
Hitler wanted battleships because they looked more badass.
@@EOJ111 No, it isn't false. Have you read The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich by William L. Shirer?
@@EOJ111 Not true. In general, pre-war Hitler (knowing he was out of his element) gave Raeder relative free reign in matters of the navy - and Raeder was a surface ship proponent. In 1938, after hounding by Donitz and other "pro Uboat" Admirals, Raeder presented Hitler with 2 choices for the Z-Plan - a surface ship focused one & a Uboat focused one; Hitler chose the surface ship one. Prioritization of Uboat construction only took place after the start of the war when Raeder realized that the Z-Plan was no longer feasible since materials and manpower were going to the army & air force.
Great stuff as always
Great as always, alot of design workers done by a dummy firm in the Netherlands, named Koch and Kintzel sounds like a german vaudeville team , they were Krupp engineers and worked in the Netherlands for years interfacing with the Dutch navy , luckily they never got ahold of the schnokle prewar that is , Again thanks Dr. Felton
K&K designed AFV's. IvS designed submarines. You need to re-read Manchester's book.
As always.... amazing!
A wonderfully detailed video.
Treaty of Versailles: you can't bulid or operate U-Boa- Germany: *Nope, I don't think I will*
What interests me is what military technologies Germany DIDN'T do significant work on in secret between the wars. For example, Germany had no significant plans in place to create naval guns exceeding 283mm in caliber in 1935 when formally liberated from the naval restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. Krupp basically had to rush development of 380mm weaponry to arm the Bismarck class five years later. Why didn't the German Navy have more drafting done on battleship weaponry when they knew there would be a day they'd be making battleships again? That is the sort of question that needs more exploration I think.
That would be an excellent topic. Even Germanys Nebelwerfer systems were developed during the inter-war years... and were labeled as "Smoke Mortars" (Nebelwerfers)as a way to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles.
They didn’t Plan on Building battleships in the foreseeable future. So they lacked 20 years of research, as is obvious in Bismarck‘s design compared to contemporary designs elsewhere.
I had never considered the question before? I guess I just assumed that Krupp's had a standing catalogue of big guns of all sorts ready to go, up to and including the Paris Gun?
They were certainly quick to produce the large railway guns used in the Dover gun battles.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
It may also have had to do with Hitler's hope from 1933-1939(and even beyond) that Britain would eventually be compelled to support him against the Soviets. Why invest in capital ships when the Royal Navy will eventually be your ally and your main enemy is a land power?
Germany shouldn’t have built any BBs at all. The steel, other materiel and manpower should all have gone into more subs and tanks instead.
But thank God they didn’t make more subs.
Germany was like
- declares a ship "torpedo boat"
- looks inside
- a destroyer
- declares an armored tracked vehicle "tractors"
- looks inside
- a tank
Excellent video Dr Felton! Thank you verry much!
Excellent post, thank you.
It just astounds me that the German people were up for another war so soon after losing the previous one. Thank goodness I live in Australia far away from the middle east and Russian madness! I am so glad my parents migrated to Australia in 1966! Cheers Mark for another great post.🍻🇦🇺
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were a big cause.
@bungee7503 I know all about that but it still astounds me.
@@bungee7503 Actually, not so much. A lot has been made about how the Treaty "pushed" the Germans into WWII (presumably by causing economic woes that doomed the Weimar government to dissolution) but in fact rather *too* much has been made of it.
What this video is about is in fact what a lot of people miss or forget: that the German military was already planning for the next war, regardless of what government was in place--and was doing so before WWI was even officially over. Military officers like Hans Von Seeckt were already planning the logistics of workarounds to the Treaty, and an agreement had been made before the Armistice that the incoming Weimar government would not prosecute or hinder the German military for the war. Basically, the militarists in Germany did not see themselves as having been defeated, but instead bought into the idea that this was just a pause before Germany would rise again to conquer. (Or, at worst, they believed in the "stab in the back" myth that Germany had only lost WWI because defeatists, communists, and believers in democracy had stabbed the military in the back by agreeing to end the war prematurely. And of course the Nazis added the Jewish people to the list of "back stabbers").
In point of fact, some of the most punishing aspects of the Treaty (economically speaking) had been curtailed a bit and Germany had begun recovery in the mid 20s. It was the advent of the Great Depression that actually caused the economy to crash even harder, and caused people to turn against Weimar.
The Nazis pretty much invented the myth of the Treaty being the cause of their indignation, as it gave them the ability to blame the Allies for the war that the Nazis were planning and which the military had already started a buildup for, even before Hitler was in office.
well payed jobs
@ lack of hope and famine has that effect, I guess.
I knew the # of U Boats was High, but not that many. Thx Dr Mark!!
Awesome, as always!
Thank you Sir.
Another Classic, Great job Doc
Thanks for the History, love it!!
Another masterpiece great video
Another interesting story. Especially since I can drive 30 minutes from my home and walk through U 505 preserved in Chicagos Museum of Science and Industry.
It's also important to mention how the U-boat technology advanced throughout the war, ending with the type XXI, which was practically stealth. Thanks for the video on this fascinating topic!
Great job as always...fantastic amount of detail. In a well made Interesting presentation..you are the best .Mark
Your research is amazing. Thanks again
Thank for posting Mark Felton . Apparently all the hard working on making alll these history lessons come to life . Well done to you Sir
Not now babe! Felton has just uploaded
Dude... use your "watch later" playlist. Gotta have those priorities in order -- happy wife, happy life.
@@horusfalcon Dont you get jokes..ffs
@@Wayoutthere I might ask you the same question...
Great video. Germany was rearming and nobody paid attention, just like China spending billions on their military and nobody seems to be paying attention. They have already said they are going to take Taiwan back.
oh well
not my problem
Agreed. Also, the western nations were prepared to look the other way as Germany rearmed in the 1930s.
Stalin's USSR was seen as the greater threat. Germany was regarded as a future ally.
If the Soviets invaded Europe (a real threat in the 1930s) they couldn't reach France without coming through Germany.
A bit like the western powers reconstructing and rearming West Germany from the 1950s onwards.
yeah meaning the soviets were the real threat after all.
But China is not under any treaty restrictions banning them from arming themselves to the teeth.
Awesome video, I learned something new again.
great video thank you
Thanks for another infinitely interesting video! The lengths Germany went to skirt the Treaty of Versailles is fascinating. Until recently, I wasn't aware of the extent of interwar agreements between Germany and the Soviet Union to develop and test tanks and aircraft.
Good information Sir. Thank you.
Knew most of this already (I have an abiding interest in U-Boats and submarines in general, having served on one). Excellent presentation of the material - concise, correct, and to the point.
NOTE: as of my posting this, there were 60 people who disliked this video. So far, I've not see comment one from any of them. Bots?
👍Another very interesting video, thank you.
My great uncle was on a u boat with kreigsmarine. When he died I researched a bit of what he was in and tge kreigsmarine hold details of service personnel and can help with details. If you need ir anyone may find they could help in a search if their own I have full contact details and can pass them on. Another brilliant video, thanks
👍 🇺🇸🤝🇩🇪
Mark felton is the best
With heavy competition this video went to the top of my list for favorite mark Felton videos... thanks Mark🍺⚓️🇺🇸 💪 🇬🇧
I toured the Visikko submarine in Finland in 2019. Beautifully maintained exhibit and a fascinating look into a “coastal” size U-Boat. It’s pretty much a one “room” submarine!
Just the opening music captures the dark times of history.
Please dont change it😊
Will I watch a Mark Felton video on U-boats??? U-betcha!
Great vid as always Mark. Cannot believe that it has had 74 dislikes at this point! What sort of people would do that.
Thank you. It's important that we recognize that a lot of the Weimar German government's preparation for the next war happened quite early, when the Nazis were a minor party that a lot of Germans had barely heard of, or didn't even know existed.
Another informative video. Have you considered a video discussing the Shetland Bus operation?
Last time I was this early, IJN still dominates the Pacific
Would love to see more from you on u-boats.
Cheers from Helsinki 😊
Astonishing how blind and deaf the British, French, Belgians, U.S. and Canadians were to the German interwar years U-Boat program, training and building. Why-oh-why did the British and French Navy not sail into the Baltic and shell the U-boat docks and schools?!? It was a very bad violation of the Versailles Treaty.
Because that would have been a suicide mission. The German Navy was strong enough to blockade the Jylland straits.
Versailles treaty: "Germany, you can't develop submarines!"
Germany [phones incognito its homeboys in the Netherlands and Finland]: "Wanna develop some submarines?"
The finns or the dutch did not develop U-boats, they just provided the cover. It was the IvS = german navy all the way.
(And as finns being Germany`s home boys between the wars: Germany`s hostile, pro-sovjet neutrality during theWinter war tells all one needs to know. )
Very much enjoy watching your informative videos, thx DR.Felton
It is funny there was a newspaper article here in Baltimore a few years ago about an visisting German inter-war U-Boat visiting and the positive reception the crew got from the large German community here.
That was a special U-Boot Type to drive to USA. They add a special section and built a longer boot for all that food and more fuel to operate on the cost and in rivers. That german U-Boot guys are helldogs and have steel balls. Germans built special U-Boots called Milchkühe milk cows they bring food, torpedos and fuel in the atlantik. Here in germany Laboe you can visit a U-Boot Type XII
Mark, I am a former British Soldier and love the History of WW2 that you post.
I was wondering if you could do a post on the Ground Gunners of the RAF in WW2. Especially their Special Forces.
My Grandfather, told me stories of when he served in WW2, about the ship he was on that hit a sea mine in the Mediterranean when they were heading to North Africa, the RN vessel that rescued them, sank two weeks later from a German U boat attack.
He served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Yugoslavia and then part of the occupation forces in Austria. He was shot in the leg by a German sniper in Italy.
At the wars end they were preparing to do a night raid on an Island off Yugoslavia but it was cancelled.
He and a colleague smuggled Austrian girls through Russian lines to allied lines as the Russians were doing bad stuff.
If you could do a video on the RAFVR Ground Gunners and their role in WW2, that would be Brilliant. When I try and search RAF etc it always most times comes up with the fighter pilots or bomber crews.
Cheers in advance
Another sneaky action that was undertaken was to build a sailing vessel, The Eagle, with the same engines as a U-boat. After the war The Eagle was taken as a war prize and has been crewed by cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut ever since. In the museum at the academy they have the original golden eagle clutching a swastika that was once on the bow of the ship. Each summer the freshman class leaves New London on The Eagle and acts as its crew while underway. I know they've been to the UK at least a few times over those summer journeys. Mark, I hope you get a chance to see her if you haven't already.
The part regarding the fifth submarine delivered to Finland is grossly misleading. The boat, CV 707, was not ordered by Finland, but rather by IvS, as a prototype for commercial exports (or rather, as a prototype for class II submarines). The boat's construction was allowed on the terms that it could only be sold to a nation belonging to the League of Nations, with Finland having the primary rights of purchase. Finnish navy took over the boat in 1934, but the purchase was not approved by the parliament until 1936.
So it was not a boat ordered by Finland, the delivery of which was delayed by Germans under passive support by Finland. Rather it was a bot ordered by Germany, tested by those who ordered it, and subsequently purchased by Finland.
Dr Felton cannot make an uninteresting video. It's genuinely impossible.
His "Audio Only" videos come pretty close. 😂
Thanks for sharing.
Dr. Felton, could you do a video on how the Germans developed the equipment such as optics, range finder, Enigma machine, torpedoes and life support system for their submarines. I think these will be a fascinating story for many here.
In 1921 the German company Carl Zeiss started a factory of high precision optics (submarine periscopes) in Venlo (the Netherlands) This was al done to bypass the rules from the Treaty of Versailles. This company still exists and is called Nedinsco (Nederlandse Instrumenten Compagnie)
Good material from very little known events. Would be nice to see episode over cooperation and beginnings of new undercover III Reich Luftwaffe in Soviet Russia.
Mark could literally just record him reading the ingredients to a chocolate bar and I would still enjoy it.
Wow, this is really interesting.
Please do the story of the forgot tank duel between the Churchill and the captured firefly?.
One of the great things about this channel is I can learn new things. Or taught again things forgotten.
excellent summary
The pronounciation of German names is tricky sometimes. Slevogt is stressed on the first syllable and the "e" is a long one. Plus the "S" is spoken as if it was a "Sch..." (sh). The word once described a wandering salesman who brought goods and daily needs to the remote villages.
The forbidden Ubussy.
Yes another video.
Great subject...
Gotta love a U-boat video! 😂 Greetings from East Tennessee 🤠
This is similar to their "tractors" that so happened to look like half tracks and like incomplete tanks. Also, the luftwaffe had some bases in the Soviet Union and Finland but operated mostly transport planes
Not only, subs but also tanks, aircraft (motorsports was great cover for military projects) and some newer technology clandestinely
I get so much out of your content! Thank you so much 🫡 🇺🇸 🙏
I think the Fuhrer would approve of Marks videos!!
See, I always thought all this behind the scenes stuff only happened after 1933, but seems the Weimar Republic was also onside
Great video. I wish you would work your magic with an all encompassing analysis of the Type XXI!
Love your content. One note: Slevogt is pronounced 'schlay-fōcht, where the v=f and the g takes on a gutteral sound like in Dutch.
Cheers!
I know British subs operated in covert missions of Cockleshell Heroes and Operation Mincemeat fame but I would be very interested to hear more of their operational history during the war. Doesn't get mentioned much.
That would be a great topic. They really don't get covered.
Read up on Rear Admiral Anthony Meirs, RN.
He was allegedly responsible for two war crime incidents, while commanding submarine HMS Torbay, including the shooting of seven Germans in a life raft.
I was really curious about this part of the war
Thank you Sir.
Old Shoe🇺🇸
Thanks for the concise and highly informative video on U-boats Mark. Today's difficult threat to any navy are drones, and then it was the submarine. Das Boot!
Excellent video 📹
This video 📹 illustrates that the British Empire 🇬🇧 could not negotiate a peace in 1940 because, at the rate of Germany, rearmament.
The British 🇬🇧 would have been subservient to Germany 🇩🇪 by 1945.
A defacto situation.
Keep calm and carry on. 👑
You have it exactly backward. Germany tried to negotiate arms limitation with France and Britain. Neither would agree.
Thank you for this awesome video. I am surprised that the Allies did not try to keep better tabs on the Germans in order to ensure continued compliance to the Treaty of Versailles.
It’s always something that puzzles me. After WWI, the allies had a huge amount of German U Boats, which they studied in great depth…and then proceeded to completely ignore everything they gained from these experiences.
As an ex RN matelot (sensible not to have volunteered for submarines) I always wondered why U-boats weren't deployed during the Dunkirk evacuation.