Arthur

💥A man beneath a transparent dome. A torpedo beneath his feet. One of these tiny German weapons would end a Polish cruiser’s war. In 1944, the Kriegsmarine sent one-man torpedo carriers against Allied shipping off Normandy. The Neger consisted of two torpedo bodies mounted one above the other. The upper one carried the operator in a cramped cockpit. The lower one carried the explosive warhead. Approach the target. Release the torpedo. Find a way home. That last part was never guaranteed. The Neger could not dive. Its dome remained above the surface, and waves washing over it could obscure the pilot’s view. The later Marder added a limited diving capability. The sailor featured in this footage is 23-year-old Walter Gerhold, who received the Knight’s Cross after a July attack against the invasion fleet. German newsreels celebrated him as the man who had sunk an enemy cruiser. On July 8, 1944, the Polish light cruiser ORP Dragon was struck off Normandy by a torpedo fired from a Neger. The attack is generally attributed to another operator, Karl-Heinz Potthast. Thirty-seven members of Dragon’s crew were killed. The cruiser had supported the Allied landings with her guns. Now her damage was so extensive that returning her to combat was judged impractical. On July 20, she was deliberately sunk off Courseulles-sur-Mer to reinforce Gooseberry 4, the breakwater protecting shipping off Juno Beach. For more overlooked WWII stories, follow @Vanguard_WW2