U-boot Molch

Historical information

The Molch (German language: "newt" or "salamander") was an unsuccessful, one-man series of German midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of the Kriegsmarine, but was not successful in combat operations and suffered heavy losses.

The Molch were first used in the Mediterranean against the Allied "Operation Dragoon" in 1944. The submarines were a part of the K-Verband 411 flotilla. On the night of September 25 they attacked Allied battleships, with the loss of ten out of the twelve Molch submarines in the flotilla. Shortly after, the remaining two were sunk by Allied warship bombardment off the Sanremo coast.

Other Molch flotillas were sent to the Netherlands in December 1944, but were also unsuccessful. From January to April 1945, Molch and Biber submarines went out on 102 sorties, losing seventy of their own and sunk only seven small ships. Due to the ineffectiveness of the Molch in combat operations, it was later used as a training vessel for more advanced midget submarines.