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German Minesweeper M 6
Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:52 pm
by jan-olof
Hi,
On October 23rd, 1941 the M 6 was mined and sunk off Lorient, more specifically in MQ BF 6179. Two days earlier the British minelayers HMS Manxman and HMS Welshman had laid minefield HG somewhere in the vicinity. I'm wondering if that minefield might be the agent which led to the loss of the M 6.
Best regards,
Jan-Olof
Re: German Minesweeper M 6
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:04 am
by Platon Alexiades
Hi Jan-Olof,
Minefield "HG" could well have accounted for the loss of M 6. It was laid by Manxman and Welshman at 2300/21 October in a triangle between:
1. 47°40' N, 03°40' W
2. 47°20' N, 03°35' W
3. 47°32' N, 04°05' W
The centre of M 6's Quadrat position is slightly outside the triangle but in these days precision in navigation did not match those by GPS today.
Best regards,
Platon
Re: German Minesweeper M 6
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:47 am
by Urs Heßling
hi,
Gröner's "Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945", Vol. 2, p. 175, gives the loss position as 47°18' N, 04°20' E (!) where the eastern longitude is an obvious error.
The position 47°18' N, 04°20' W would be, however, outside of the triangle given by Platon (I presume from "British Mining Operations 1939-1945, Vol. 1).
greetings, Urs
Re: German Minesweeper M 6
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:39 am
by jan-olof
Hello Platon and Urs,
many thanks for your replies.
I got the position information from DEFE 3/33 page 354, which states:
T O I 1057/23/10/41
From: V 225
M 6 has hit a mine. Boat is sinking. Square BF 6179.
As for BF 6179 we have (according to
http://www.navalgrid.com):
Square BF6179
Coordinates:
Center
47°27'00"N, 003°35'00"W
Top left
47°30'00"N, 003°40'00"W
Top right
47°30'00"N, 003°30'00"W
Bottom left
47°24'00"N, 003°40'00"W
Bottom right
47°24'00"N, 003°30'00"W
Looks like a match to me although with mines you can never be 100 percent certain.
Best regards,
Jan-Olof