This study of the Kriegsmarines Sicherungsstreitkräfte, their
security forces, fills a glaring gap in the study of the
German navy in World War Two. This wide array of
vessels included patrol boats, minesweepers, submarine
hunters, barrage breakers, landing craft, minelayers and
even the riverine flotilla that patrolled the Danube as it
snaked towards the Black Sea. These vessels may not have
provided the glamour associated with capital ships and Uboats,
but they were crucial to the survival of the
Kriegsmarine at every stage of hostilities.
As naval construction was unable to keep pace with the likely demand for security vessels, Grossadmiral Erich Raeder turned to the conversion of merchant vessels. For example, trawlers were requisitioned as patrol boats (Vorpostenboote) and minesweepers (Minensucher), while freighters, designated Sperrbrecher, were filled with buoyant
materials and sent to clear minefields. Submarine hunters
(U-Boot Jäger) were requisitioned fishing vessels. More than
120 flotillas operated in wildly different conditions, from
the Arctic to the Mediterranean, and 81 men were to be
awarded the Knights Cross; some were still operating
after the cessation of hostilities clearing German
minefields. The author deals with whole subject at every
level, documenting organisational changes, describing the
vessels, and recounting individual actions of ships at sea,
while extensive appendices round off this major new work.