Kriegsmarine Rare KM "Island" Intelligence manual

[Hinrik]

Guys,

I am glad to say Christmas came early for me this year with a great gift from a great fellow U-boat collector. This is a very detailed Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine intelligence manual, "Geheim" and "Berlin 1943" marked, covering just about every major harbor, bay, towns and airfields on Iceland.

The German war machine knew so much about the country and the military encampment there, that me and my friends are amazed. Does any one else have a similar manual? If you have one marked "Ireland" please let me know!

[Hinrik]

Photo 2

[Hinrik]

About 2/3 of the books are maps like this one, but many of them are much bigger, including one of the whole country.

[Hinrik]

Information about Reykjavik and more towns, useful for an invasion!

[Bob Hunter]

Merry Christmas, Hinrik! What a remarkable find! Congratulations!

[Guest Rick Research]

It would be amazing to compare this, there on the ground, to see

a) how really accurate it was (or taken from pre-war maps and tourist booklets)

and

b) how up to date for military installations--

it would have been extremely difficult to infilitrate spies into there, I would have thought-- which would mean if there WAS current real time information going back, there must have been local Nazi agents!

Congratulations on great early Christmas present!

[Hinrik]

Rick,

There were some German spies in the country, before and during the war. At least 3 U-boat?s dropped of spies, 4 of the men being Icelandic! 2 of them are still alive and I am in contact with them.

Also there were many Germans in the country when the British invaded us (always called a friendly take over) 10th may 1940. The British Army rounded up all the Germans in the country and arrested them.

I have a 9mm Radom pistol that comes from a German family that lived in a small fishing villige. They were in the NSDAP party. The Pistol is 1940 model, with German Waffenampt markings. They were also arrested. I doubt very much they could obtain a waffenamt marked gun in 1940, with out any connection to the German warmachine, so this gun is always called the "Spy pistol" by me and my friends. Here is a photo of it with the original holster and extra magazine.

I am working with one of the Icelandic U-boat spies from U-252, that turned himself to the Britst and was made a Double agent. He was involved in many historic events like the sinking of convoy PQ-17 and enticing of Battelship Scharnhorst out of Norway, so it could be sunk. He burried his pistol where he landed, in a remote penisula in 1942. He is now making me a map were the gun is burried! He burried it in the leather holster, wrapped in oil cloth and a shirt. I need to go there next spring with a metal detector, tent and GPS

My friend thinks that this manual is made up from aerial recon photos, and we will compere them to the photos, which are partially available back home.

Thanks for nice comments

Hinrik

Edited November 28, 2005 by Hinrik

[Guest Rick Research]

Ah! I thought Iceland was beyond Luftwaffe reach, so aerial photographs didn't occur to me-- was Iceland ever bombed during the war?

[Hinrik]

Rick,

Yes, but only a few times. Some lighthouses where shoot with cannon fire, and I think I know of atleast 3 ocasions where they actually dropped bombs. They managed to sink the coal steamer "El Grillo" which had been place in the east fjords as a supply ship. One 12 year old Icelandic boy lost his leg from a bomb that landed far off target. I have some 20mm rounds that came from the Rl Grillo wreck.

The Luftwaffe planes flying Recon over Iceland, were mostly Fw-200, Ju-88 and Heinkel He-111. The twin engine Ju-88?s and He-111 had to have extra fuel to make the trip. The Ju-88 had one of its 2 bomb bays fitted with a drop fuel tank, and I have heard that it was so bad on the He-111, that they had to carry 55 gal fuel drums inside the fuselage, and crew had to swap between them. Here is a photo of the Iron Cross 1st class and Flare gun, from He-111 serial number 03900, which was the first German aircraft the crashed in Iceland, 22 may 1941. The EK1 is from the pilot, Durrfeld. It was found at the crash site.

I have heard that the 4 engine Fw-200 would have range to make it to the coast of USA, but without bomb load and back to Norway, were all of the "Iceland Recon" planes were based. I have parts / items from 5 out of 7 German aircrafts shoot down in over Iceland in the war. This will possibly soon change to 7-7

Regards

Hinrik

[joe campbell]

having owned several radoms many years ago,

i can tell you this is one of those in perhaps the

nicest condition i've ever seen!

and i admire your pursuit of your icelandic history as well!

well done!

joe

[Simon Orchard]

As Rick suggests it would be great fun to see how accurate it is. I've done it myself with a British intelligence estimate for a possible invasion of Norway 'operation Jupiter' very interesting to see what forces the British thought were in NorwayFinland.