Marineartillerieleichter - MAL 6
Sunken military history
Author:
ZORAN DELIBAŠIĆ
Underwater photography:
GORAN BUTAJLA
Illustrations:
KOLMAN
With the completion of the occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Greece by the Axis Powers in April 1941, the eastern side of the Adriatic came under the responsibility of the Italian Navy (Regia Marina).
Germany's Naval Ambitions and Challenges
Thus, along with the western side of the Adriatic, the entire Ionian Sea and the western side of the Greek coast with the Peloponnese, Italian supremacy in that part of the Mediterranean is completely rounded off. The German forces, helping the Italians in their battles with the Greeks and the British, occupied the Aegean with the involvement of large military forces and with relatively large losses. Therefore, they were not going to lightly hand over control of the entire Aegean Sea to their unreliable allies the Italians, so it was decided that German troops would control the eastern part of the Aegean Sea with the islands. There were several reasons for this, the most important of which was the proximity of the Eastern Mediterranean in terms of the key logistical route from the Asian colonies to the threatened Great Britain. This particularly referred to the possibility of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) operating from air bases on the island of Crete following British convoys to or from Suez and Egypt loaded with necessary raw materials for the war industry. Since at that moment the German forces in the Mediterranean had no warships at all, and there was a considerable need to connect and strengthen a large number of garrisons scattered across the Aegean islands, it was agreed that the initial need for such ships would be bridged by borrowing warships from their allies - the Italians, Bulgaria and Romania. Until the Italian capitulation, there were almost no ships of the German Navy in the Adriatic, except for a small number of landing ships (most often of the Siebel Ferry/SF class) that could be transported in parts by rail from Germany to the Trieste shipyard. There they were assembled as a
whole and additionally equipped with weapons and sent across the Adriatic for the needs of the German engagement in the Aegean. The exception was the limited number of ships of the German merchant navy that were found in the Mediterranean at the beginning of the war, in which mostly chrome ore and other strategic raw materials were transported from neutral Turkey to the port of Trieste for the needs of the war industry in Germany. Therefore, it can be said that the Adriatic Sea for the Germans until September 1943 represented exclusively a transit waterway from Trieste to the Aegean Sea and Turkey and back. The Adriatic Sea, in general, was a secondary naval battlefield with relative peace until September 1943. With the capitulation of Italy, German forces were tasked with taking over the Italian occupation zones on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, including Albania and the western coast of Greece, and disarming Italian troops (operation codenamed "Fall Axis"). Given that there were almost no ships and navy in that region, the occupation of the eastern coast of the Adriatic was carried out by land forces with the support of aviation under the command of the 2nd Armored Army (2nd OA). As the forces of the land army broke out on the coastal belt, the forces of defenders from the ranks of the partisans, and in some places also Italians, retreated to the islands or to the mountain massifs in the interior. The formation of naval units and institutions on the coastal belt required ships, time and trained personnel. Therefore, in the formation of the navy, it primarily relied on ships captured in Italian ports and shipyards on both sides of the Adriatic.
The origin and development of the Marineartillerieleichter/MAL class ships
In preparation for the German attack on Stalingrad and the oil region at the foot of the Caucasus in 1942, the capture of the city of Makhachkala on the shores of the Caspian Lake was also planned. Therefore, the
development of an artillery ship with a shallow draft that could be used in lake conditions on this important battlefield was requested by the navy. Its projected primary purpose should have been to carry out artillery attacks on Soviet oil transports between Baku and Astrakhan in good weather, and the secondary transport of vehicles and soldiers. The use of conventional landing tank carriers MFP (Marinefährprähme) as well as other larger categories of landing craft in that role on the Caspian Lake could not be counted on because there was no possibility of transporting them there either by water or land due to their size. Therefore, according to the requirements of the German Army, the designed solution of a new type of vessel had to meet the following characteristics: the possibility of rail and road transport of all parts of the ship, the possibility of assembling on the open coast without the use of a shipyard, light weight and shallow draft, applicability in sea conditions 3, armament of two 88 mm cannons and two anti-aircraft cannons, the possibility of transporting all types of military vehicles and reaching a traveling speed of at least 8 knots. The result of the response of the constructors and the war program of the Krupp industry to the request of the German army was a new type of landing craft that had the working name Artilleriemotorleichter (AML), and on September 30, 1942, according to the construction contract, an order was issued for the construction of the first 12 units (AML 1 until 12). On March 30, 1943, the first examples of this series were delivered, and on that occasion, this class of landing craft received the final designation of Marineartillerieleichter (abbreviated MAL), i.e. naval artillery gunship. Those first 12 units, also referred to as Type I, were built from a total of ten segments, of which nine segments were watertight pontoons measuring 10 m in length; 2.5 m wide and 2 m high that formed the ship's hull, while the tenth section was the wheelhouse on the deck with the crew room. These ship segments were transported on railway wagons →
→ or special truck trailers with a capacity of up to 18 tons. Only 13 railway wagons were needed to transport the complete MAL. The pontoons were connected with simple traction couplings, and after joining them into a whole, they were filled with concrete. The assembly of the MALs took place with the help of a 20 t crane, and the assembly of the hull on the water took only six hours. The installation of the superstructure segment on the deck and armament took another one to two days. For propulsion, diesel engines of the same type as those used on the MFP landing tank carriers were used, except that the MALs had two and the MFPs had three such engines. For the construction of one MAL, the total consumption of iron was 122 t, and wood 26.4 m³. The MAL crew consisted of 21 members. In its secondary purpose - the transport of military vehicles (without the two 88 mm cannons that were dismantled on that occasion) the transport capacity was 60 t of cargo on a deck area of 180 m², which is equal to the cargo of 200 fully equipped soldiers or six loaded trucks. However, tests have proven that the MAL can transport as many as 300 soldiers over short distances, i.e. that in this case the maximum load is 80 t. The loading and unloading of vehicles transported on this type of vessel was simple because the MAL did not have a movable ramp on the bow like, for example, the landing tank carrier MFP, so for that purpose it had to dock along the lower coast of the sea or lake.
Armament and Specifics of the MAL
The armament of the MAL was specific. In addition to two Oerlikon 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, they were also armed with two 88 mm naval deck guns (or 8.8 cm according to the German nomenclature for caliber designation). This type of cannon was created as a result of the development of the research department of the Kriegsmarine and was primarily designed for use on submarines. The official name of such a gun is Schiffskanone C/35 8.8 cm in Unterseebootslafette
(abbreviated as S.K. C/35 8.8 cm in Ubts. L. C/35). This gun has no similarities with the most famous German heavy anti-aircraft gun Flak 18/36/37 apart from the caliber itself, so even the ammunition for the two types of guns was different. While the Flak 18/36/37 could be successfully used in both anti-aircraft and anti-armor combat, the purpose of this naval gun was exclusively anti-ship combat, because due to the small vertical elevation of the gun (only 30 degrees), anti-aircraft use was not possible.
Use and Development of the MA
Since these vessels never arrived in the planned area of application (the Caspian Lake), due to the development of the war situation, their use on other battlefields was considered. Therefore, it was decided that four vessels would be used in the Mediterranean area, and the other eight vessels were assigned to serve in the 3rd Artillery Support Flotilla (3. Artillerieträgerflottille) in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, where valuable practical and combat experience was to be gathered with this a new type of ship. On January 22, 1943, an improved version of the MAL was ordered, which was called MAL Type Ia, and this series of ships was numbered from MAL 13 to 24. The next series ordered, dated April 12, 1943, also numbered 12 vessels, and these were ships with serial numbers from MAL 25 to 36. Unlike the previous model, this new type of MAL had a crew of 28 members, and the wheelhouse was additionally reinforced with armor. A total of 12 units of Type Ia MALs (MAL 13 to 24) were assigned to the 4th Artillery Support Flotilla in the Baltic (4. Artillerieträgerflottille) to be deployed in the Leningrad Region, four for service in the Netherlands, while four were sent to Finland, where they later became Russian war booty. Units numbered MAL 27 to 30 were planned to be converted into Danube River Monitors and for this purpose were to be additionally armored with iron
plates. The next stage in the development of this vessel was the MAL Type II, which was a joint project of the army and navy. It was based on the Type la, but taking into account the experience gained from the field, several subtypes of vessels were developed. It was characteristic of him that a shorter or longer vessel could be assembled from the existing segments of the vessel, depending on the need on the battlefield, as well as a 21-segment pontoon bridge. The order to build the next batch of MAL 37 to 48 was issued on July 4, 1943, but the batch was only partially completed. It was originally intended for delivery to service in the Aegean Sea, but most of the ships from that series ended up serving in the Black Sea in the 3rd Transport Flotilla (3rd Transport Flotilla). Parts of the MAL 39 and MAL 40 were still used to build the pioneer engineering boats Type 43 / I and 43 / II. On June 5, 1943, an order was issued for the construction of the series from MAL 49 to 72, and the order for the series MAL 73 to 120 followed on March 3, 1944. The planned construction of units from these series continued, and the entire series of MALs was to be be completed for delivery by July 1945. However, as early as January 31, 1945, further construction was suspended, including the MAL 61 unit. It was planned that 30 to 40 units from the last two series would be sent to serve in the 10th Landing Flotilla (10th Landungs Flottille) on the Adriatic, and the remaining for flotillas in Norway and the Baltic Sea. MAL was also planned in the version of a minelayer with a capacity of 35 anchor mines and a version of the MAL for breaking through obstacles on the water and demining waterways in rivers and lakes. These versions of MALs were never implemented in practice.
MAL 6 in the Mediterranean
The war path of the naval gunner MAL 6 is linked to the fate of the twin ship MAL 7. As the fortunes of war changed direction, MALs from the first series →
→ (Type I) were sent to different battlefields, and MAL 5, 6, 7 and 12 were sent by rail to the Mediterranean battlefield. After they were transported by rail to Trieste and then assembled, they were put into the service of the German Navy on May 11, 1943. On May 14, 1943, the landing craft MAL 6 and MAL 7 were officially taken over by the German Navy and were assigned in Pula to formation 2 . Landungs Flottille, i.e. the 2nd landing flotilla, while the other two arriving units were sent to the Aegean Sea. From June 16, 1943 until the end of July 1943, their combat engagement lasted as part of the 1st group (detachment) of the 2nd landing flotilla in the area of the Strait of Messina in the withdrawal of German forces from Sicily. For their contribution and brave behavior in the execution of these tasks, the crews of the ships received special praise from the commander of the German Maritime Transport in Italy. On the basis of his order, they were sent to Naples, where they arrived on July 29, 1943, due to the strengthening of the wheelhouse and the crew area with armor plates and the installation of shields to protect the personnel on the artillery pieces. On October 27, 1943, they were assigned to strengthen the coastal defense of the island of Elba and were anchored in the bay near the town of Portoferraio and act as floating battleships. They were deployed in that position until January 1, 1944, when they officially returned under the auspices of the 2nd Landing Flotilla. On January 12, 1944, an order was received to move to the Adriatic battlefield, and to dismantle the naval gunboats MAL 6 and MAL 7 in Genoa and transfer them by rail to the Adriatic to the shipyard in Trieste, where they arrived on February 7, 1944. After assembly and overhaul it was planned that in the first half of 1944, MAL 6 and MAL 7 would be engaged as part of the protection flotilla of the Western coast of the Adriatic. At the beginning of May 1944, the naval gunners MAL 6 and MAL 7 were handed over to the Navy for reuse, this time for service in the 10th Landing Flotilla. This flotilla was formed in May 1943 in Trieste partly by reorganization from part of
the 2nd landing flotilla, and partly by the construction and delivery of new naval units. The flotilla was subordinated to the chief of maritime traffic in Italy, or later to the chief of maritime traffic in the Adriatic, and from December 1944 to the commander of the 11th security division.
MAL 6 in the Southern Adriatic Sea
At the end of February 1944, three groups (detachments) of ships were formed from the assigned ships, each of which consisted of 5 Siebel Ferry /SF landing rafts, 6 infantry landing I-boats and one workshop ship. The schedule of their basing and zone of operation was for the first group the area of Zadar, the second group the area of Split and the third group the area of Dubrovnik. Those three groups had a changing composition, which was a consequence of losses as well as the gradual introduction of newly built ships into the flotilla structure. The fourth group of the 10th amphibious flotilla, equipped with amphibious assault tanks type MFP, was based in Rijeka and Trieste. On July 21, 1944, the commanders of the MALs were ordered to leave Pula together with the infantry landing craft I-46 for Split. On August 4, 1944, the vessels MAL 6 and MAL 7 were engaged in the area of Split. Based on the order of the Naval Commander of Southern Dalmatia, from the end of August, they were assigned to the third group of ships of the same flotilla, which had a zone of responsibility for transport in the southern Adriatic. That zone was also the most dangerous because it was the most exposed to the action of the Allied light naval forces. The allocation of ships of this type represented a belated attempt to strengthen the endangered supply shipping line of the German garrisons in the southern Adriatic. It was expected that their 88 mm guns would at least somewhat ensure equality in combat with the Allied fleet. From an organizational point of view, those two MAL naval artillery pennies formed a kind of separate subgroup (subdetachment) of the third
group of the 10th amphibious flotilla, and its commander was the lieutenant of the frigate Muller. In less than two months of their combat engagement in the third group of landing ships in the southern Adriatic, both ships carried out several successful escorts of supply convoys from Ploče or Makarska to the south and back, as well as night ambushes prepared for ships of the Allied light naval forces. The end of activity and the sinking of MAL 6 are related to the struggle for the liberation of Dubrovnik and its surroundings.
The sinking of MAL 6 in front of Slano
For the Germans, Dubrovnik was a very important military and naval stronghold which, through the communication between Herceg Novi - Dubrovnik - Ploče - Mostar, enabled the connection of German garrisons and defense systems in the area of Boka and Dalmatia. In this, the port of Gruž played a significant role as a stage port on the way between the middle Adriatic towards Greece and Albania, as well as in the reverse direction. That is why the Germans, as soon as they captured Dubrovnik, began to fortify the city itself and its wider area, trying to prepare it as well as possible for defense. The significance of the area of the southern Adriatic as a whole, including the wider region of Dubrovnik, became especially important for the Germans at the end of September 1944, when the Red Army liberated Romania and Bulgaria and broke out on the eastern border of Yugoslavia. In that situation, the German High Command decided at the beginning of October to leave Greece, southern Albania and southern Macedonia and organize defense on the line Skadar - Skopje - Donji Milanovac. Immediately afterwards, due to the shortening of the front and the withdrawal of the forces needed to fight against the Red Army, the main line of defense was moved from the coast to the interior. The command of the German 2nd Panzer Army was ordered to abandon the eastern defense of the Adriatic and organize the defense on the line Rijeka - Knin - Gacko - Skadar. The new line was given the name "Grün", and →
→ the Germans designated the withdrawal maneuver from the Adriatic coast with the code "Herbstgewitter".After the capture of Bileća and Trebinje, on October 10, 1944, the headquarters of the 29th Partisan Division received an order from the Peoples Liberation Army of Yugolsavia Supreme Command to liberate Dubrovnik in cooperation with the 2nd Dalmatian Brigade from the Primorska Operative Group. At the same time, the 26th Partisan Division, which by then had liberated most of Pelješac, was ordered to occupy Ston with two brigades and cut off the communication between Dubrovnik and Metković and prevent German forces from intervening towards Dubrovnik from Metković. The personnel and assets of the German naval institutions and units from Boka Kotorska and the Montenegrin coast were to retreat across Konaval towards Dubrovnik and further along the Neretva valley towards Mostar. The penetration of strong partisan forces from southern Herzegovina into Konavle and the capture of Cavtat on October 17, 1944 completely prevented the further withdrawal of German units from Boka Kotorska towards Dubrovnik. The defense of Dubrovnik was commanded by the German commander of the city, Colonel Strammer, who represented the commander of the 369th regiment, Colonel Fisher, who had gone to Metković for a consultation a few days before and could not return because partisan forces had cut the Dubrovnik-Metković road near Neum and Vukovo Klanc. The German defense command of Dubrovnik had the task of persistently defending the city. However, since in the plans for the German withdrawal Dubrovnik was already outside the planned defense line, October 20 was determined as the day for the withdrawal of all German forces. However, since in the plans for the German withdrawal Dubrovnik was already outside the planned defense line, October 20 was determined as the day for the withdrawal of all German forces. But under the combat pressure of partisan units from the
direction of Konavalo, Herzegovina and Pelješac on the entire area around Dubrovnik, it was decided that all units with mobile equipment and means and weapons would move towards Metković in retreat on October 18, 1944, that is, two days earlier than planned because there was a real danger of being completely surrounded by partisan forces. In such circumstances, the MAL subgroup commander received an order from the Naval Commander of Southern Dalmatia to take over the defense of the motorized column with the MAL naval artillery guns during their passage through the Dubrovnik River. That long, narrow road came under fire from advancing partisan units, which opened fire from the surrounding hills above the road. After several hours of resistance from all available weapons, the MAL naval artillery guns took over the German protectorate in the port of Gruž at 8:00 p.m., boarding each ship with 350 soldiers.
Final Phase of the Operation in Slano
However, since in the plans for the German withdrawal Dubrovnik was already outside the planned line of defense, MAL 6 sailed from Gruž for Slano at around 10:00 p.m. to the area of gathering forces, and during the drive a failure was found on the left engine, which allowed it to drive at a speed of only 2.5 knots. The first cannon could no longer be used due to a burst tube. The commander of the third group (detachment) of the 10th landing flotilla, lieutenant of the frigate Ritter with three infantry landing I-boats and a naval gunboat MAL 7 set sail from Gruž for Slano two hours later. The entire crew of the protectorate managed to withdraw from Dubrovnik with minor losses. On the night of October 19, around 2:00 a.m., infantry landing boats with MALs arrived in Slano and the disembarkation of personnel began. Since the MALs could not sail into the port due to the laid mine obstacle, 7 infantry landing boats were engaged to disembark the people and equipment that had to remain in front of the port.
When all the soldiers were transferred to the coast at dawn, the commander of the subgroup of MALs, lieutenant of the frigate Muller, received an order from the Naval Commander of Southern Dalmatia to sink MAL 6 with explosives, and to remain in the port of Slano with three infantry landing I boats in order to carry out the transport of some transport to the port of Doli. The lieutenant of the frigate Ritter was ordered to camouflage himself along the coast with the naval gunner MAL 7 and seven operational infantry landing boats, and to set sail around 5:00 p.m. in order to penetrate north towards Istria through the open sea and the waters that at that moment controlled by their enemies. On the basis of the received order, on October 19, 1944, around 7:00 a.m., by activating explosive charges, MAL 6 was sunk in front of the port of Slano and thereby deleted from the fleet list of the 10th landing flotilla. According to the issued order, the lieutenant of the frigate Muller remained with three infantry landing I-boats (I-15, I-46 and I-68) in the port of Slano. In the afternoon of the same day, he received a sudden order to sink all three infantry landing boats with explosives, and for the crews of their boats to board one of the trucks of the retreating column. The boats were then sunk one after the other, two of them inside the Slano bay, and one in front of the bay. Since it was not possible to get the crews of all the landing boats onto the truck, part of the naval personnel joined the fleet under the command of frigate lieutenant Ritter. Then, from the night of October 19 to 20, they settled in the post of operational command in the village of Rudine, where the entire retreating squad was gathered and the "Battle Group Becker" was formed, named after Major Becker, who led the breakthrough of the German units during the battle in direction Duži - Neum - Vukov klanac - Metković. A naval rifle battalion was formed from the remaining total personnel of the 10th Landing Flotilla, which belonged to the rear guard of the retreating →
→ column. The breakthrough began on October 20 around 8:00 p.m. and ended around 10:00 a.m. on October 23, 1944 in Metković, with great material and human losses.
Discovery of the wreck
In the spring of 2004, during the club stay of the then ZG-SUB Diving Club from Zagreb in Konavle, through the relatives of our host from Molunt, we learned about the existence of a potentially interesting diving position near Slano. Since we were passing Slano on our way back to Zagreb, we decided to dive there and check what it was really about. The location in question was shown to us by Mr. Ivo Kmetović from Slađenovići near Slano. He drove us to the position in his boat and we dived directly to the find without wasting time. The very position of the ship, seen from the sea surface, is not far from the steep coast, only about 50 meters as the crow flies. Our host warned us that the depth drops off sharply on that part of the coastal strip, and the steep coast suggested the same. This position is known among local fishermen as the "white fish post". We dived "into the blue", directly to the find, more precisely to its very top, which was dominated by two ship's screws and two ship's rudders. This made it clear that we fell on the aft part of the ship which was turned upside down. After visiting the entire wreck, he got an impression of the type of sunken vessel, and the signatory of these lines, consulting the available literature and documents, determined what type of vessel it actually was, as well as the circumstances of its sinking and the end of its war journey. In 2013, the author of the text reported to the head of the Underwater Archeology Department of HRZ, Igor Miholjek, more than a dozen underwater sites, including the wreck of this ship. Upon inspection of the Register of Underwater Sites of the Republic of Croatia, it was established that this institution does not have information about the existence of this find, and on that occasion it was agreed that a joint arrangement would go to see the find when opportunities allow. In April 2016, a favorable opportunity arose to go to the location
near Slano, and then the first official dive was carried out, preliminary photo documentation was made and the GPS position of the find was taken. The difference from our club, first dive and this official dive was mostly reflected in the fact that this time the visibility was significantly worse, which is not unusual considering the spring dive and changing weather. The last dive at this location took place on May 25 this year as the first dive after the improvement of the epidemiological situation in Croatia. This time the dive was organized by Wreck Hunters Adriatic and underwater photographer Goran Butajla.
The condition and protection of the wreck
The shipwreck lies at a depth of 33 to 49 meters and is positioned in the NE - SW direction, following the direction of the sea relief that continues to fall towards the middle of the Koločep channel to a depth of 60 meters. The transparency of the sea inside the Koločep channel is usually poor due to the muddy bottom and exposure to sea currents that raise sediment from the seabed and thereby reduce visibility, unlike, for example, the outside of the island of the Koločep channel. The aft part of the ship is at the highest position, while the entrance ramp of the ship is at the lowest. The ship is positioned on the seabed in an inverted position, like many other flat-bottomed shipwrecks that have been found in the Adriatic so far. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that such ships, built without a hull keel and specific ship stability, due to sinking and disruption of their hydrodynamics turn upside down and end up on the seabed in that inverted position. The inverted position of the wreck reduces the attractiveness of such diving positions, both for tourist divers and underwater archaeologists, because access to the deck rooms and superstructure of the ship is difficult. The segment with the aft superstructure of this wreck, when it hit the bottom of the ship, was crumpled and moved from its position all the way to the port side of the ship. However, this wreck can be partially penetrated by the entrance ramp and the left side, which is not
completely submerged in the silt of the sloping seabed. Under the ship's hull, it is possible to see both deck guns with which the ship was armed. They are still in place, but are submerged in mud so that only their bases and parts of the fire control mechanism are visible. On the upper side of the ship, on its highest part, two ship's rudders and two ship's screws on the shafts are clearly visible. On the uniform bottom of the ship, which faces the surface, you can clearly see the construction segments of this type of ship as well as their joining into a whole. This wreck is also specific in that, at least for now, there are no lost fishing tools on it - nets and long lines, so from that point of view, diving on this wreck is safer. The depth at which the ship's bow is positioned is beyond the limit of the safety curve, so if the intention of future divers is to visit the complete wreck, that part should be skipped or the stay at that depth should be shortened as much as possible if air is used as a breathing medium. During our club dive, objects from the ship's galley could be seen around the wreck, as well as a multitude of marine fauna typical of iron wrecks. However, during our official dive with the HRZ, the disappearance of both those objects and the animal fund was noticed. This tells us that diving visits to this wreck have become more frequent in recent years and that not all of its visitors are benevolent. This is the only wreck, out of two of this type of ship, known so far in the Adriatic (for MAL 7 there is no information yet about the place of sinking or the cause of sinking). The assessment of experts in underwater archeology is that there is no reason to protect this site, and diving on it will be allowed without restrictions in the future. The reason for this is, among other things, that it is clear from the available documents that this case is not a war grave. Since three years ago, with the breaking of the service road from Slađenovići to the waste water drainage collector from Slano, this position became the second one on the Adriatic available for diving from the shore, along with the previously known position of the Krk shipwreck PELTASTIS.
