UFA German Newsreel footage from 31st January 1940
“Again and again foreign newspapers report upon the success of the German U-Boots. In the last weeks at least 90,000 tons of shipping has been sunk. Here a successful submarine has returned to the Homeland.
Admiral Dönitz, the commander of the U-Boot fleet, awards some of the brave sailors with the Iron Cross.”
Earlier in the war: British minelaying in the North Sea
Later in the war: Soviet aircraft bomb Sortavala
At the crash site, a big part of the forrest was cut, it almost looked like a huge razor had cut through the trees. It look like there had been a huge explosion, since there were only small parts left from the bomber and there was a big hole in the ground. Since there were only small parts left, I could not recognise the bomber.
The first force was unable to locate the cruiser, but part of the second force, which consisted of 52 aircraft, including 27 torpedo-carrying Beauforts, carried out an attack. Two possible hits with torpedoes are claimed. Considerable enemy fighter opposition was encountered and nine of our aircraft failed to return.
I ordered the vans of group D to be camouflaged as house trailers by putting one set of window shutters on each side of the small van and two on each side of the large vans, such as one often sees on farm houses in the country. The vans became so well known, that not only the authorities but also the civilian population called the van “death van”, as soon as one of these vehicles appeared.
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