German patrol boatPA 1
History | |
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Name | PA 1 |
Builder | Chantiers de la Loire |
Launched | 22 November 1940 |
Commissioned | 15 April 1944 |
Fate | Bombed and sunk by Royal Air Force aircraft atLe Havreon 15 June 1944. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Flower-class corvette |
Armament |
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TheGerman patrol boatPA 1(intended French nameArquebuse) was a captured French vessel in service with theKriegsmarinein the15 Vorpostenflotilleas aChannelconvoy escort throughout the latter half ofWorld War II.
History[edit]
PA 1was a French builtFlower-class corvetteof British specifications in the shipyard ofChantiers de la LoireinSt. Nazaire-Penhoet.She was originally intended to be namedArquebusein a series of four Flower-class corvettes:Hallebarde,Sabre,andPoignard.However, the shipyard fell into German hands after thefall of Francein 1940 before the four ships could be finished, causing the unfinished corvette to be requisitioned into the Kriegsmarine and finished to unique specifications by her new German owners. She was designated thePatroullienboot Ausland 1,shortened toPA 1,and was outfitted to serve a role as a Channel convoy escort that the other, lighter armed, vessels of the15 Vorpotenflotillecould not. The otherVorpostenbooteof the flotilla lacked naval guns larger than 3.7 centimeters, making them inefficient in protecting merchant vessels from Britishmotor gun boatandmotor torpedo boatattacks at night.[1][2]
PA 1was the third vessel in the series to be commissioned, afterPA 2andPA 3,withPA 4never being completed.PA 1was commissioned to active duty on 15 April 1944 but never saw direct action. She was severely damaged in a heavy bombing raid ofLe Havreand was decommissioned on 24 August 1944, likely because it was not deemed worth the cost to repair the ship.[1][2]
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Gröner, Erich (1993).Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Ujäger, Vorpostenboote, Hilfsminensucher, Küstenschutzverbände(in German). Vol. VIII/1. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe.ISBN3-7637-4807-5.
- Naims, Günther (2003).Seekrieg im Ärmelkanal: Vorpostenboote an vorderster Front(in German). Hamburg: Mittler.ISBN3-8132-0810-9.OCLC53376422.
1 Vorpostenflotille | |
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2 Vorpostenflotille |
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3 Vorpostenflotille | |
4 Vorpostenflotille |
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5 Vorpostengruppe | |
6 Vorpostengruppe | |
6 Vorpostenflotille | |
7 Vorpostenflotille |
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8 Vorpostenflotille |
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9 Vorpostenflotille | |
10 Vorpostenflotille |
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11 Vorpostenflotille |
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12 Vorpostenflotille |
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13 Vorpostenflotille |
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14 Vorpostenflotille |
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15 Vorpostenflotille |
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16 Vorpostengruppe | |
16 Vorpostenflotille |
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17 Vorpostenflotille | |
18 Vorpostengruppe | |
18 Vorpostenflotille | |
19 Vorpostenflotille |
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20 Vorpostenflotille |
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51 Vorpostenflotille |
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53 Vorpostenflotille |
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55 Vorpostenflotille |
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57 Vorpostenflotille |
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59 Vorpostenflotille |
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61 Vorpostenflotille |
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63 Vorpostenflotille |
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64 Vorpostenflotille |
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65 Vorpostenflotille |
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66 Vorpostenflotille | |
67 Vorpostenflotille | |
68 Vorpostenflotille | |
7 & 13 Sicherungsflotille |
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Vessels are listed under their first designation within eachVorpostenflotille.Subsequent changes in pennant numbers not shown. |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1944 | |
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Shipwrecks |
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Other incidents |
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