German patrol boat PA 2

PA 2 was a Flower-class corvette constructed by the French to British specifications. However, since none of the ships were completed by the time that the Germans captured them, they were completed with different modifications using available armaments that fitted the Germans' needs. The ship's main armament was a 10.5 cm C/32 naval gun mounted at the fore of the ship on the deck. The ship also boasted an impressive anti-aircraft arsenal, including two single 2 cm Flak 30 guns on each side of the ship, two quad 2 cm Flak guns on top of the bridge, and a twin 3.7 Flak gun by the engine room. In addition, the ship carried two depth charge throwers on each side as well as minesweeping gear, consisting of measures against acoustic and magnetic mines.^[1][2]

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Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.

Corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun

10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun

The 10.5 cm SK C/32 (SK - Schiffskanone C - Construktionsjahr, was a widely used German naval gun on a variety of Kriegsmarine ships during World War II. Originally designed as a surface weapon, it was used in a number of other roles such as anti-aircraft and coastal defence; wet-mounts were developed for U-boats.

With the fall of France in early 1940, the German Kriegsmarine took control of a number of French shipyards in the process of constructing both civilian and military ships. Among these was Chantiers de la Loire shipyard in St. Nazaire-Penhoet, which was in the process of constructing four Flower-class corvettes to be called Arquebuse, Hallebarde, Sabre, and Poignard, with each in various stages of construction when the Germans took the shipyard. Hallebarde was the closest to completion of the four and was re-designated as PA 2 by the Kriegsmarine. PA stood for Patroullienboot Ausland, which translates to foreign patrol boat, a designation used only for the four captured corvettes. PA 2 was placed in the unit of 15 Vorpostenflotille, a flotilla of German trawlers and whalers that had been converted into Vorpostenboote, escort and flak ships for German shipping in the Atlantic.^[1][2]

The captured corvettes were constructed to fill a deficiency in the escort fleets in the English Channel, which was that the ships protecting merchant shipping were generally only armed with 3.7 cm guns. This armament was incapable of launching flares to coordinate counter-fire against British motor torpedo boat and motor gun boat attacks that took place at night. The corvettes thus filled the dual role of an anti-aircraft vessel and a fire control ship for the escort of merchant ships.^[3]

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Battle of France

Battle of France

The Battle of France, also known as the Western Campaign, the French Campaign and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World War.

Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire

Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire

Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire (ACL) was a French shipbuilding company of the late 19th and early 20th century. The name translates roughly to English as "Workshops and Shipyard of the Loire".

Saint-Nazaire

Saint-Nazaire

Saint-Nazaire is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.

German patrol boat PA 1

German patrol boat PA 1

The German patrol boat PA 1 was a captured French vessel in service with the Kriegsmarine in the 15 Vorpostenflotille as a Channel convoy escort throughout the latter half of World War II.

Vorpostenboot

Vorpostenboot

Vorpostenboot, also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked with – among other things – coastal patrol, ship escort, and naval combat.

English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel, also known as simply the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

3.7 cm Pak 36

3.7 cm Pak 36

The Pak 36 is a 3.7 cm / 37mm caliber German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht Panzerjäger units until 1942. Developed by Rheinmetall in 1933, it was first issued to the German Army in 1936, with 9,120 being available by the beginning of the war in September 1939 and a further 5,339 produced during the war. As the predominant anti-tank gun design in the world during the late 1930s, demand was high for the Pak 36, with another 6,000 examples produced for export and the design being copied by the Soviet Union as the 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K) and by other nations such as Japan.

Motor torpedo boat

Motor torpedo boat

A motor torpedo boat is a fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. The motor in the designation originally referred to their use of petrol engines, typically marinised aircraft engines or their derivatives, which distinguished them from other naval craft of the era, including other torpedo boats, that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines. Later, diesel-powered torpedo boats appeared, in turn or retroactively referred to as "motor torpedo boats" for their internal combustion engines, as distinct from steam powered reciprocating or turbine propulsion.

PA 2 was the first in the series to be commissioned into active duty in September 1943. Its first recorded action was on the night of 26 September, while she was escorting the freighter Maladi alongside the minesweepers M82 and M84, Von Der Groeben and Jungingen, and the Vorpostenboot V 1507 Rau I. The convoy came under attack by Dutch motor torpedo boats and British motor gun boats. The convoy was unable to defend Maladi, which was sunk by torpedoes, and Jungingen was damaged by gunfire.^[1][2]

On 26 February 1944, PA 2 participated in a joint mission with PA 3 and several Vorpostenboote: V 1506 Wal 9, V 1507 Rau I and V 1509 Rau III. The convoy was escorting the tanker Reckum from Cherbourg to Le Havre. That night, the convoy came under attack from British gun and torpedo boats aiming to sink the tanker. PA 2 and PA 3 were able to direct the convoy's fire by firing hundreds of flare shells, allowing the convoy to successfully screen the tanker through the run and also sink a torpedo boat .^[1][2]

PA 3 was ultimately sunk in a massive Allied bombing raid of the port of Le Havre by heavy Lancaster bombers on the night of 14 June, along with six other ships of the flotilla docked there.^[1][2]