The sinking of the DIAMANTIS by U-35
on 03 October 1939, and subsequent related events.
from Freetown (West Africa) to Barrow-in-Furness. U-35 surfaced in bad weather and warned those aboard that their ship was about to be sunk. As the sea was rough
and unsuitable for normal lifeboat operations, the crew of 28 men were taken aboard
U-35.
On October 3rd 1939, U-35 sighted the DIAMANTIS 40 miles west of Scillies off Lands End. DIAMANTIS was a Greek steamer of 4990t carrying 7700t of manganese
Rescue of the DIAMANTIS crew; painting by Heinz Pfeifer.
In the late afternoon of October 4th, after 30 to 35 hours on board, the Greeks were landed in Dingle Bay, in neutral Ireland, on a beach lined by
local people. U-35 crew member Walter Kalabuch rowed the Greeks, several at a time, from the U-boat to the shore (He was awarded the Iron
Cross, second class, for this on 12 October 1939). When all were ashore
U-35
left slowly on the surface, watched by onlookers until it disappeared into the fog.
According to Panagos Pateras, master of the Diamantis [80]:
"When we were about 40 miles off Land’s End on Tuesday the U-boat came to the surface about 1.30 p.m. The commander hailed us and we stopped. He then told us that he was going to sink the Diamantis. He did not ask for our papers. |
An American gum trading card from 1939, number 91 of the "War News Pictures" series, depicting the event:
U-Boat Lands Shipwrecked Crew in Ireland |
A number of local people witnessed the event, including Jimmy Fenton, Bearnard Ó Lubhaing (Bernard Long), Tadhg Ó Cíobháin (Timothy Kavanagh), and
Eoghan Ó Cléirigh (Owen Cleary).
In London, some of the crew of the Diamantis, including Master Panagos Pateras. [80]
DIAMANTIS crew list:
Panagos Pateras (Πανάγος
Πατέρας), Master.
Zannis Lemos (Ζαννής
Λεμός), Chief Officer.
Petros Pontikos
(Πέτρος Ποντικός), Second Officer.
Damianos Tsigaris
(Δαμιανός Τσίγαρης), Deck Cadet
Constantinos Valasis
(Κωνσταντίνος Βαλάσης), Radio Officer
Constantinos Monselas
(Κωνσταντίνος Μονσελάς), Chief Engineer
Nicolaos Galinos
(Νικόλαος Γαληνός), Third Engineer
Diamantis Pontikos
(Διαμαντής Ποντικός), Boatswain / Bosun.
Panagiotis Syrichis
(Παναγιώτης Συρίκ), Steward
Georgios Pontikos
(Γεώργιος
Ποντικός), Cook.
Antonios Spyrou
(Αντώνιος Σπύρου), Donkey / Dockman
Themistoklis Tsarnas
(Θεμιστοκλής Τσαρνάς), Able Seaman.
Pantelis Kypreos
(Παντελής Κυπραίος), Able Seaman
Nicolaos Karvelis
(Νικόλαος Καρβέλης), Able Seaman
Ioannis Zagorianos
(Ιωάννης Ζαγοριανός), Able Seaman
Dimitrios Dimopoulos
(Δημήτριος Δημόπουλος), Able Seaman
Michail Loizos
(Μιχαήλ Λοΐζος), Able Seaman
Michail Fotinos
(Μιχαήλ Φωτεινός), Deck Boy
Theodoros Matrozos
(Θεόδωρος Ματρόζος), Fireman
Nicolaos Karagiozis
(Νικόλαος Καραγκιόζης), Fireman
Georgios Koutsouras
(Γεώργιος Κουτσουράς), Fireman
Georgios Markakis
(Γιώργος Μαρκάκης), Fireman
Ioannis Stamboulis
(Ιωάννης Σταμπουλής), Fireman.
Nicolaos Goumanis
(Νικόλαος Γουμάνης), Collier
Michail Rompoglou
(Μιχαήλ Ρομπόγλου), Collier
[not Romspoglou/Ρομσπόγλου]
Dimitrios Kapiris (Δημήτριος Καπίρης), Collier.
Petros Pontikos
(Πέτρος Ποντικός), Second Engineer.
Nicolaos Psarelis
(Νικόλαος Ψαρέλης), Third Engineer.
This incident was reported in the British newspaper The
Evening News on Thursday,
October 5th, 1939 (click to view) [83], the Irish Newspaper The Kerryman on
U-35 was featured on the cover of the American magazine LIFE on 16 October 1939, and the Diamantis incident is mentioned. [81] Upper left is Obersteuermann Walter Arnaschus.
Saturday, 07 October 1939, and the British periodical The War Illustrated, October 28th, 1939 (click to view) [80].
"LIFE'S COVER: The German submarine U-35, shown on the cover, distinguished itself last week by bagging a Greek steamer and bringing the survivors to the Irish shore. It is a 500-tonner built three years ago at Krupp's Germania yards at Kiel and flies the Nazi war flag with a red field. It is painted gray on the sides to blend with the sky and black on top to blend with the water when submerged. The rows of round holes are the intakes for induction valve. You are looking forward from about midships." [81]
The incident is described in the books In Time of War by Robert Fisk (click to view excerpt) [50] and in Ventry One by witness to the event Bernard Long (click to
view excerpt),
who passed away on 12 August 2001. [82].
For this show of compassion, Werner Lott, the commander of
U-35, was later rebuked by the U-Boat command for putting his U-Boat and crew in danger. [4,5,23,25,38,42]
In 1977, Lord Mountbatten wrote to Werner Lott:
"I should like to take the belated opportunity of congratulating you on your magnanimous behaviour when you landed the crew of the Greek ship, DIAMANTIS, in a remote bay In Ireland about the 4th October 1939, at considerable risk. Those were the days when the two navies behaved particularly well to each other and to others at sea during the war." |
Sean Cleary with Werner Lott in 1984 at Cleary's farmhouse in Ballymore, Ventry, Ireland, where the Greek crew found refuge after the DIAMANTIS was sunk. [34]
Jimmy Fenton with Werner Lott in 1984, at the point where U-35 landed the 28 Greek sailors at Ventry harbor, Ireland in October 1939. As a young boy, Jimmy Fenton witnessed this event. (Jimmy Fenton passed away on 02 March 2001.)
Werner Lott's visit to Ireland, and the Diamantis incident, were highlighted in two articles in The Kerryman (one article in 1984 (click to view)
[34], and
another article
in 1999 (click to view)
[41]), and in a 1999 article in the Irish Examiner
(click to view
)
[84].
In Ventry on October 17th 2009, a plaque commemorating the event was unveiled by
the German ambassador to Ireland, Dr. Busso von Alvensleben:
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/town-to-honour-wwii-uboat-crew-for-saving-28-sailors-lives-1890213.html
If you are related to crewmembers of the DIAMANTIS, please contact me:
Seeking any additional information and
pictures related to U-35
2021-02-22
URL: HTTP://WWW.U-35.COM
© 1999-2021
(relative of U-35 Chief Engineer Gerhard Stamer)