What does the greatest value of the fascist submarines look like, for the capture of which entire military operations were developed?
Probably, many of you have watched the famous Hollywood crazy cranberry about brave American submariners defeating the German U-571.
Or the cult Soviet “Secret Fairway”. Or the Russian “Caravan PQ-17” about the most difficult confrontation between the Soviet fleet and German submarine aces.
In fact, at the beginning of the war, the situation in the North Atlantic, the Baltic and the northern seas was very difficult for the Soviet and Allied fleets due to the complete domination of German submarines.
You’ve probably heard of the “wolf packs” that ruthlessly tormented Allied caravans and torpedoed hundreds of Allied and Red Army transport and warships, which were incredibly difficult to deal with.
The Germans came up with a cunning tactic in which several U-boats attacked from different sides at once, and where each played its own clear game according to strategy, as if on a chessboard. They suddenly appeared, destroyed the convoy and escort warships, and disappeared without a trace into the depths of the sea.
Of course, such naval group battles are impossible without constant coordination. But for a long time, neither the Allies nor the Soviet sailors could decipher the radio traffic and the information that the German submariners sent to each other when they went on another hunt. That’s how well the messages were encrypted.
And the key to all these ciphers was the famous Enigma cipher typewriter – the pinnacle of engineering of that time, which could not be solved by the best minds in the field of cryptography either in the USSR or in England.
And it was this small object that was the most important and necessary trophy for hunters and German submariners during the war years. There was nothing more valuable in a German submarine than the Enigma. And all Allied naval commands were tasked with capturing the cipher machine at any cost.
And the Germans, accordingly, in the event of an accident, the risk of capturing their submarine in battle or being captured, were obliged to destroy the Enigma and the keys to the ciphers in the first place. Most often, it was simply thrown into the sea, because it was simply impossible to find and lift the car.
And now you will be surprised, but one such drowned Enigma, which, apparently, was thrown overboard by the captain of the boat so that it would not fall into the hands of Soviet sailors, was found quite accidentally at the bottom of the Baltic Bay a few years ago.
This real found Enigma can be seen in the Old Lunette Museum in Baltiysk.
Of course, it is not in working order, and over the years, salt water has destroyed the hull and mechanisms quite badly. Nevertheless, the find is very valuable and unique in its own way.
In the photo you can see what the machine looked like in working condition and how it looks after being at the bottom of the sea for more than 70 years.
Returning to Enigma, in 1941 the British sailors managed to capture one copy of the typewriter along with the codes, and the British cryptographers managed to create a decryption device and for a time they managed to read German radiograms.
But in February 1942, the German Navy began to use more advanced four-rotor machines instead of three-rotor machines, and the Allied fleet was “blinded” for a long time, losing a huge number of ships and people at sea from attacks by Nazi submariners.
And it was then that entire naval operations were equipped, the purpose of which was to capture the Enigma. And it was about that period that the Americans filmed their U-571 cranberry, which is simply impossible to watch without tears for those who understand military history…
Well, at the end of 1942, the improved Enigma was captured again by the British (and not the Americans, as in the film), they again managed to read the radiograms of German submariners and this is what helped to defeat the “wolf packs”, which could no longer suddenly appear, because their movements were known, and the sailors were ready for their appearance, immediately opening fire to kill…
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