Emil Weingaertner
- Contributed by听
- stow-hist
- People in story:听
- Harold Williams and Emil Weingaertner
- Location of story:听
- On the HIgh Seas
- Article ID:听
- A3243638
- Contributed on:听
- 08 November 2004
June 1st 1941
Emil joined Kreigsmarine at Schienerm眉nde naval base, Ostsee near Hamburg, before he moved on to Breda in Holland for three months training with five hundred other men.
September 1941
Emil, now aged nineteen, transferred to 32nd Minensuch Flotille (Minesweepers) at Le Havre, France.
October 1942
Harold joined up for the Navy as soon as he was eighteen and was sent to Skegness to join H.M.S. Royal Arthur (Butlins) for five weeks basic training after which he went to H.M.S Victory at Portsmouth shore base until December 1942.
January 1943
Harold was then sent from Portsmouth to join a transport liner 鈥淓mpress of Japan鈥 with RAF aircrew trainees en-route to America and Canada. Harold spent the next five weeks at Asbury Park, New Jersey, at the Hotel Monterray before having a three day journey to New Orleans.
March 1943
Harold joined LST 63 a tank landing ship built in America by the Jefferson Boat and Machine Company of Indiana. It had a capacity to hold thirty-five tanks plus all their crews and support transport. Harold came home via Virginia, New York, Boston and Newfoundland in an eight knot convoy through the North Atlantic route which took approximately fifteen days.
April 1943
By this time Emil was at St. Malo where his flotille, which consisted of five boats each with a crew of thirty-two, was based. His boat鈥檚 number was also thirty-two and was a converted Dutch fishing trawler. During this period Emil鈥檚 flotille was involved with assisting in escorting the famous battleships the 鈥 Scharnhorst鈥 and the 鈥淧rince Eugen鈥 from Brest to St. Malo.
Emil was credited with shooting down a Spitfire and awarded the Iron Cross (although not a gunner, he was nearest to the gun when the need arose). He was also attacked by a torpedo boat and aircraft fire and was wounded for which he was awarded the Minesweeper medal. He also spent a short while in a French Hospital suffering from jaundice.
June 1943
Harold left Liverpool loaded with a Canadian Tank Unit which consisted of Sherman tanks of the Calgary鈥檚 Own Regiment. After about three weeks at sea they arrived at Syracuse, Sicily.
July 19th 1943
Harold saw the start of the invasion of Italy. He was under fire and bombing attacks for the very first time and admits to finding it very exciting. His LST had six 20mm cannons (Oerlikons) and one 12 pounder for anti-aircraft fire. Harold spent the next few weeks running reinforcements from Tripoli and North African ports. He thought that he might never get to see any action when they heard that the Italians had surrendered, but the German command in Italy had other ideas.
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