The crew of the German U-1206 had real bad luck. There was a toilet failure on board during the first combat voyage. Nervous manipulations with the valves caused seawater to burst in and flood the ship ... you know what. The only salvation was to emerge. The problem is, on the surface…
Service on a German submarine during World War II was a real pain. Ubiquitous moisture, huge confinement that does not allow you to stretch your arms, stench and lack of access to fresh air, food covered with mold. Plus, many weeks of combat voyages during which the sailors rarely saw the sun.
All these inconveniences were still bearable in the first phase of the war, when the U-boats were on the offensive, they won all the seas and drowned the Allied ships by the dozen. However, later the card turned around. The Allies began an effective offensive, and U-boats from "hunters" turned into "game" , chased at every turn and 24 hours a day.
The British not only broke the Enigma codes and more and more efficiently detected German ships. They also used other modern technological achievements, incl. radar, radio geolocation (so called Huff-Duff) and sonar (called ASDIC by the English). U-boats hunting for U-boats was equipped with specialized weapons, such as the Hedgehog-type salvo launcher, which allowed for the throwing of dozens of depth charges at the enemy.
From 1943, when the scales of victory at sea began to tip to the Allied side, commanders of German submarines knew that the best way to survive was to stay underwater as long as possible, preferably at great depth.
Hedgehog launcher on HMS Westcott, 1945
However, the then U-Boats were not submarines in the full sense of the word yet . Although they could submerge and even swim (at a low speed) under water, they had to surface every few or several hours - mainly to charge the batteries and ventilate the ship (modern submarines can stay under water for many months - editor's note). ). Going to the surface was a real celebration for the crew. You could then, for example, smoke a cigarette, pipe or just get some fresh air. The latter was especially important because - it cannot be hidden - it smelled terribly on the ship.
Underwater and above-water toilets
In the middle of the metal pipe, which in fact was a submarine, floated the mixed smells of the sweaty bodies of several dozen sailors, the smell of oil, oil, grease and exhaust gases, the smell of perishable food and often the stench of chlorine from the faulty batteries. There was also a "toilet" smell to it.
There were only two tiny toilets on the U-boat, and one of them - the one in the stern - was usually out of use because it was used as a storehouse for… food (yuck). Only in the middle of the voyage, when the food was scarce, the toilet was cleared of rubble and it could be used by the sailors.
So for most of the voyage, the crew of around 50 seamen had only one outhouse at their disposal. This, of course, could not be enough, so buckets were used as "handy" toilets, and they were placed in all compartments. The sailors made sure that their contents did not spill out, but such cases also happened. Hans-Rudolf Rosing of FdU West recalled:
G dy air threat (Allied planes - editor's note) did not look serious, you could at least go out on the pier and do your own overboard - some of them dealt with standing, and others even used specially prepared seats on the kiosk's crown! While submerged, we were forbidden to use the toilets deeper than 25 meters, because the external pressure was greater than that of the toilet pump and the contents of the toilet, instead of leaving it - it could return - and with great force . So there were buckets left after dipping.
In turn, Max Scheley of the U-861 U-boat described:"When the watch had taken its positions and confirmed that the ship was not in any immediate danger, two 'lords' reported with a bucket at the foot of the ladder to the platform, asked for permission to go up and poured "honey" overboard.
U-1206 goes to sea!
The U-1206, which went on its first combat patrol on April 6, 1945, certainly didn't stink. Only three months earlier, in January 1945, the crew under the command of Captain Karl-Adolf Schlitt had completed their training and the new ship was sent from the Baltic Sea to Kiel and then to Horten, arriving on March 30, 1945.
The U-1206, belonging to the Type VIIc units, was a modernized version of the popular Type VII U-Boat, known as "Hitler's workhorse" . Several technical innovations were introduced on the ship. One of them were snorkels, i.e. a pipe lifted to a vertical position with a valve, which allowed submerged swimming on an internal combustion engine, with only the end of the inspiratory pipe protruding above the water surface.
Another novelty was the ultra-modern, high-pressure toilet - the pinnacle of German technology. Thanks to it, once the need was met, it was possible to remove impurities overboard with compressed air, even at great depth. As it was a very technologically advanced device, a specially trained seaman was appointed to operate it. The crews immediately gave him the unpleasant nickname "Scheisse-Mann" . It was this ultra-modern toilet that caused the destruction of U-1206.
On April 14, 1945 (i.e. in the last days of the war), the ship was submerged at a depth of 60 meters. He was then about 15 kilometers off the coast of Scotland, where he was supposed to hunt English ships. The U-Boat had technical problems and the crew struggled with faults, but it was so safe and peaceful underwater.
Surrendering U-1023, Type VIIC / 41, at Plymouth Harbor in May 1945
Under these circumstances, Captain Schlitt decided to use the toilet. However, did not call on "Scheisse-Mann" for help, because he thought he could handle flushing the toilet by himself on - after all - his ship. It turned out he was wrong. Probably, after settling the "case", he opened the valves in the wrong order and seawater broke into the ship, along with the toilet contents, of course. At this point, however, that was not the most important thing.
Water and chlorine
It turned out that salt water flooded the battery bank located near the toilet. There was a chemical reaction that began to release poisonous chlorine. The captain was forced to order the ascent because the crew was in danger of fatal gas poisoning.
But there was an enemy on the surface! The emerging ship was spotted by RAF planes patrolling the coastal waters . They immediately attacked the U-boat, firing on it with on-board weapons and throwing bombs at it. After several hits, the ship was unable to submerge and gas was constantly leaking inside. The unlucky Captain Schlitt ordered the crew to disembark and sink the ship. 46 sailors on lifeboats reached the shore, where they were taken prisoner. Three men died as a result of their injuries (Karl Koren, Hans Berkhauer and Emil Kupper).
Captain Schlitt was also saved. He died on April 7, 2009 at the age of 90. The matter of the loss of the ship in such unusual circumstances probably weighs heavily on him, because for the rest of his life he maintained that during the toilet failure he was in the engine compartment, helping to repair the malfunction, and had nothing to do with manipulating the toilet valves.
Another version of the events is also given which puts the captain in a better light, which says that Schlitt did indeed tamper with the valves but eventually called on "Scheisse-Mann" for help . The one, upset and perhaps embarrassed by the presence of the commander, opened the wrong valve, sucking water in instead of shooting the captain's "two" overboard . How was the reality? We will probably never find out, but it is certain that Schlitt's ship sank ... a toilet.
U-1206 did not achieve any combat successes. The shipwreck was found in the 1970s during the construction of an offshore oil pipeline for BP, and was rediscovered in 2012 when divers descended into it. It rests at a depth of 70 meters. The very story of sucking in sea water through the toilet and sinking the vessel is not so unusual and rare again. To this day, it sometimes happens to novice sailors and sailors who did not pay attention to theoretical classes on land.
Bibliography:
- Paterson, U-boot. Everyday life on a German submarine during World War II , Carta Blanca Publishing House.
- Blair, Hitler's U-boat war. The wanted 1942-1945 , Magnum Publishing House.
- Perepeczko, WWII U-boats , Erica Publishing Institute.