De tyske miniubåtene som ble produsert under krigen hadde nok ikke den store suksessen som sine større brødre som type VII eller IX som opererte i Atlanteren. De må vel heller ses på som et desperat forsøk på å få tilbake initiativet i ubåtkrigen til tyskernes side. Den første typen som ble av produsert av disse var Molch. Mer en manuell torpedo enn en ubåt, hadde Molch store problemer med manøvrering under kamp og ble raskt tatt ut av krigstjeneste.  De ble deretter brukt som treningsfartøy for de senere og mer stabile mini- ubåtene typene Biber og Seehund. Tyskerne brukte Molch i Italia, Danmark, Holland og Norge. Skjebnen til en av disse Molch`ene ble dumping utenfor Gandsfjorden etter krigen. I 1997 blir en av disse mini-ubåtene funnet av dykkere fra Stavanger fortsatt lastet med torpedoer i munningen av Hafrsfjord på grunt vann. Året etter blir dykkere fra den Norske Marine sendt ned til vraket og desarmerer de skarpe torpdoene. Vraket av denne Molch befinner seg den dag i dag på en dybde av atten meter i relativt god stand, med unntak av akterseksjonen som er helt ødelagt. For å komme ut til vrakstedet trenger man en båt...

The German midget submarines which were produced during the war did`nt quite have the same successes as its own bigger and better brothers such as type VII and IX which operated in the Atlantic ocean. They must rather be looked  upon as an desperate effort to regain the initiative in the submarine war over to the German side. The first type to be produced was Molch. More a manuell torpedo rather than a submarine, the Molch great problems with maneuvering under battle and were soon withdrawn from war service. They were thereafter used as training vessels for the later and more stabile midget submarines of the type Biber and Seehund. The Germans used Molch in Italy, Denmark, Holland and Norway during the war. The destiny of one of these Molche`s was to be dumped in the Gandsfjord after the war. In 1997 one of these mini-submarines are found by divers from Stavanger found still loaded with torpedoes in the entrance of Hafrsfjord in shallow waters. The year after divers from the Norwegian Navy is sent down to the wreck and disarms the loaded torpedoes. The wreck of this Molch is located today on a depth of eighteen meters in a relatively good condition, with exception of the stern section which is completely destroyed. To get out to the wrecksite you need a boat...

 

Name:
Former names:
 Material:
Dimensions:
Molch
  
Steel
10,8x 1,8x ? m.
       
Brt \ Nrt: Built: Homeport: Cargo:
11 \ Lübeck ( D ) 1944 Stavanger ( N )  

 

 

History provided by German Kriegsmarine Encyclopedia;

The History of the German mini-submarines ( Kleinkampfmittel ) is the one of another desperate attempt to prevent the final outcome of the war. While other nations like Britain and Italy used such vessels in successful in special operations, their German counterparts were unable to archive similar results. Used between early summer of 1944 and the end of the war, those small vessels were a kind of last line of defense at the shorelines and had to operate against advanced allied anti-submarine forces at the French invasion coast. While the early developments even were unable to dive, the last developments showed some quite advanced boats, but caused by the very short development times, none of them was flawless. Only with the appearance of the Seehund, the first really operational vessel was designed, but at this time (spring of 1945) their use was against all odds. The Molch was the first mini-submarine of the Kriegsmarine. Based on torpedo technology, it was basically build as a big manned torpedo for a crew of one, carrying two standard torpedoes. The first of the 363 build Molche was delivered on 12.06.1944 and it soon got clear that its complicated system of trim and diving tanks made it very difficult to control during combat operations. A first Molch flotilla (60 vehicles) was used in autumn 1944 in Italy, a second was send to Holland in December 1944, a third and fourth planed to used in Holland and Norway were not realized anymore. Since the Molch was not successful in combat operations, it was then used as a training vessel for the more advanced mini-submarines.

Edited 29.06.2007