U-boats in the Bristol Channel

I think it was about 1998 that I did a lot of work on U-boats operating in the Bristol Channel between 1939 and 1941. It all started because of a conversation I had with explosives staff who dealt with mines (not bombs). Because mines were a naval weapon there was a distinction between the army and the navy responsibility for tackling unexploded weapons. The Germans laid mines by U-boat and also dropped the same thing from the air. So both army and naval crews had to deal with the problems created by unexploded mines.

I gave a few talks on the subject and eventually wrote the research up and posted it on my Academia site. You can see the original book here (https://www.academia.edu/84436756/U_Boats_in_the_Bristol_Channel ).

I eventually expanded the work to include the 1944-45 inshore campaign when U-boats returned to the Channel.

Swansea and Cardiff were easy places to drop mines by U-boat and several famous U-boats visited the shipping lanes off Mumbles Head and the Scarweather Sands in October and December 1939.

I’ve written a new book on Swansea and the U-boats which will be out next month.