Saksalainen sukellusvene U-26 oli laivastonsa ylpeys. Sen pituus oli 64,7 m, leveys 6,3 m ja vetoisuus 670 tonnia. Nopeus pinnalla oli 15 solmua ja sukelluksissa hetkellisesti 9,5 solmua. Suurin sukellussyvyys oli 50 m. Aseistuksena sillä oli neljä 50 cm torpedoputkea ja kuusi torpedoa.
U-26 oli menestyksellisesti upottanut viisi venäläistä alusta: 11.10.1914 panssariristeilijä Pallada, 23.4.1915 rahtilaiva Fråck, 4.6.1915 miinalaiva Jenisei, 25.8.1915 kauppa-alus Petshora ja 30.8.1915 kuljetusalus Zemlja.
Pian sen jälkeen U-26 katosi jälkiä jättämättä, mahdollisesti se tuhoutui venäläisten miinoitteeseen. Aluksen kapteenina oli kapt.ltn. Egewolf von Berckheim. Miehistöä oli yhteensä 30 henkeä.
Helsingin Sanomat 29.5.2014, sivu A 15
Iltasanomat 4.6.2014
Kaleva 29.5.2014
Wikipedia
Helsingin Sanomat
kapt.ltn. Egewolf von Berckheim
U 26 uboat.net-sivustolla
U-.26 www.wrecksite-sivustolla
Sukellusryhmä Badewanne on löytänyt U-26:n hylyn avomereltä, vilkkaalta meriväylältä. Hylyn peräosa on painunut mutaan, keulaosa nousee mudasta ylös.
The discovery of the submarine from the western Gulf of Finland, reported on May 29 was confirmed June 2, 2014 & is the missing U-Boat U-26. The U-26 wreck is probably the world’s best preserved First World War U-boat wreck.
The wreck is very well preserved. U-26 is a Double-hull type boat. Actual pressure in the body is surrounded by a shell and the pressure hull, between the diving tanks and fuel tanks. This outer shell is almost completely intact. Similarly, the command tower of the outer shell is intact.
This German submarine U-26 was introduced in May 1914, a few months before the start of the First World War. U-26 was the pride of the German fleet at the beginning of the First World War sinking five Russian warships. One large minelayer, three merchant vessels & the largest was the Russian armored cruiser Pallada sunk in October 1914 in the Gulf of Finland.
It was 11:10 when Kapitänleutnant von Berckheim issued the order to the torpedoman manning the third tube: ”Rohr drei – Achtung – Los!” The torpedo was so large that the firing of it rocked the 700-tonne submarine.
The torpedo carried a payload of 200 kg of explosives. Capt. von Berckheim was able to watch through the periscope as the bubbling wake of the torpedo approached the cruiser across the surface. The distance to the target at the point of firing was a bare 500 metres.
It is quite certain that those on the deck of the Pallada would have seen that same wake from the incoming torpedo, but by then it was all theatre: there was no way the large armoured cruiser could take evasive action. The Pallada took a direct hit amidships, in the most vulnerable place imaginable, for the ship’s magazine was located here. A monumental explosion followed. The cruiser broke her back and split into two parts, sinking in a matter of minutes. The entire crew went down with her. The largest figure is 611 officers and men, and the smallest 584. It is also a little unclear as to whether anyone did manage to survive.
The commander of the U-26 was Kapitänleutnant Egewolf von Berckheim. He was just 33 years of age and had been given command of the vessel and its crew of thirty only a matter of months earlier. When the submarine returned to its pen in Gdansk after the victory, there was a congratulatory telegram waiting from none other than Kaiser Wilhelm II himself. Capt. von Berckheim – and his entire crew – received the Iron Cross, 2nd Class. This was an exceptional gesture, and the first Iron Cross of the conflict awarded to the German Baltic Fleet.
The video ends with a look at the Pallada…… Julkaistu 13.7.2014.