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Sandbox 2

Operation Regenbogen (1945)
(Link: Operation Regenbogen (U-boat))

Regenbogen was the code name for the planned mass scuttling of the German U-boat fleet, to avoid surrender, at the end of World War II.

Conclusion
Certainly by 1am on 5 May at least 76 boats had already been wrecked, about half the total. On 5th May, and subsequently, another 89 were wrecked/scuttled, all in North German ports.

Neistle gives the total of U-boats scuttled as 195, of which half were destroyed before, and half after, the Regenbogen order was given. Of the boats destroyed, all but 11/184 were Home-based/non-operational "Home" boats in North German ports. 11 were Front boats, including/and these include those fatally damaged in the May massacre and subsequently scuttled by their crews.

On 8 May 1945 the surviving U-boats were surrendered to the Allied navies, either at sea or at their operational bases in Norway and on the North Sea coast, ending the German navy's war at sea.

Tables
U-Boats scuttled in May 1945

Operation Regenbogen (1942)
(Link: Operation Regenbogen (Arctic))

Operation Regenbogen (Ger: "Rainbow") was the sortie into the Arctic Ocean by the German warship units of the German navy during World War II.

This operation culminated in the Battle of the Barents Sea

May massacre
As the Allied armies closed in on the submarine/U-boat bases in North Germany, many boats were scuttled to avoid capture; those that were of use/most value?serviceable fled to Norway, resulting in a massacre by Allied Air Forces.

23 boats were sunk in the Baltic, while attempting this journey in the first week in May. while in the same period .. boats were scuttled to avoid capture.

Books

 * Blair p.676
 * Price p.220-221
 * Roskill p.300-301

Table 2
(source: Niestle p.198-199)

List of Q-ships
This is a list of Q-ships operated by the Royal Navy during World War I.

Inverlyon
(from HM Armed Smack Inverlyon: reference samples)

...Inverlyon's crew | ship name + apostrophe

...were to be sunk, |(old style), to (new style)

...the crewmen of Inverlyon split the submarine bounty paid by the Admiralty.

...Jehan, in addition to his DSC, was subsequently specially promoted to lieutenant on 4 January 1916 for his war service; he retired from the Royal Navy on 29 October 1920. |Gazette

Notes

References

Bibliography