Arno Weichler, spark on the most successful submarine of all time

[saxcob]

This the medal bar of the spark Arno Weichler, who was active on SM U 35, the most successful submarine of all time under the command of Arnauld de la Periere.

More Information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-35_(Germany)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_von_Arnauld_de_la_Peri%C3%A8re

The latter mentions him in his memoir when he reports an unpleasant encounter with the ship's mascot, the monkey Fips.

The "Iron Crescent" could be have been awarded in reaction to the following episode:

"At the end of October 1915, U 35 took over ten Turkish officers at Bodrum and war material to support the insurgent Senussi who fought in the Libyan desert against the British and Italian colonial powers. As far as the weather permitted, two Turkish schooners were taken in tow. The convoy arrived at the Libyan coastal town of Bardia, where the cargo could be unloaded. On November 5, 1915 the British steamer Tara was sunk in the Gulf of Sollum (Egypt) and a gunboat in the port of Sollum was destroyed. "

The bar was already presented twice in OMM (1993 and 2000).

The reason why I show it here again is that I have discovered Weichler together with de la Periere in a film document (starting at 21:55):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxsjPku8zR4

How often do you find a film document of a lower rank medal bar owner?

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by saxcob

[Stuka f]

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing.

[Ferdinand]

A superb piece of history! Thanks for sharing.

[Deruelle]

Very nice, congrats

[ccj]

I enjoyed the video. I never knew such existed.

[ixhs]

Von wem er das wohl wusste?

[Stuka f]

I am reading "oorlog onder water" (War Beneath the Waves: U-boat Flotilla Flandern 1915-1918

 Tomas Termote) at the moment,Weichler isn't mentioned but his boat and captain are!....

[saxcob]

This is hardly surprising given his low rank. Please keep me informed in case he should turn up anyway. Thanks in advance!

[Stuka f]

Of course! ;-)

[Claudius]

Outstanding!  It is a bit of a collecting outlier for me, but I really like these attributed u-boot medal bars and groups with the research for details.

[ixhs]

I like the piece. The Eiserne Halbmond is in my opinion a piece made by AWS.