View source for Operation Wikinger

{{short description|German naval operation during WWII}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox operational plan
| name         = Operation Viking / {{lang|de|Unternehmen Wikinger}}
| partof       = the [[Phoney War]] of the [[Second World War]]
| image        = Leberecht Maass2.jpg
| image_upright = 1.23
| caption      = The German destroyer ''Leberecht Maass'', {{circa| 1 January 1938}}
| scope        = 
| location     = [[North Sea]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|54|43|N|2|46|E|type:waterbody_source:dewiki|display=title}}
| planned      =
| planned_by   = {{navy|Nazi Germany}}
| commanded_by = [[Fritz Berger (officer)|Fritz Berger]]<br />[[Alfred Saalwächter]]<br />[[Hans Geisler]]
| objective   = Attack British fishing trawlers at the [[Dogger Bank]]
| executed    = 19 February 1940
| executed_by = 6 destroyers<br />4 Staffel, II./KG 26
| outcome     = German [[friendly fire|friendly-fire]] incident
| casualties  = 606 German sailors killed<br />60 survivors{{sfn|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|2005|p=15}}<br />2 destroyers sunk<br />1 destroyer slightly damaged
}}
{{Campaignbox North Sea naval operations 1939–1945}}
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War II)}}

'''Operation Viking''' (German: '''''Unternehmen Wikinger''''') was a German naval [[sortie]] into the [[North Sea]] by six destroyers of the {{lang|de|[[Kriegsmarine]]}} on 22 February 1940 during the [[Second World War]]. Poor inter-service communication and co-operation between the {{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}} and the {{lang|de|[[Luftwaffe]]}} resulted in the loss of two German warships through [[friendly fire]] bombing and German or British [[Naval mine|mines]]. Only sixty survivors were rescued and the operation was called off.

{{lang|de|[[Fliegerkorps X]]}} had sent several signals to the naval {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} with information about air operations over the North Sea but had not been informed about the naval operation. A request by {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} for air support on 23 February led {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} to ask if destroyers were at sea but the reply came too late; a [[Kampfgeschwader 26]] bomber attacked the destroyers.

An inquiry exonerated the bomber crew because they had received no warning and no recognition flares had been fired from the ships. Reports of submarines, indiscriminate firing and general excitement on the destroyers caused uncertainty but the committee ruled that the destroyer [[German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass|''Leberecht Maass'']] was bombed and that around {{nowrap|7:56 p.m.}} there was a big explosion amidships. At {{nowrap|8:04 p.m.}} there was a bigger explosion on the destroyer [[German destroyer Z3 Max Schultz|''Max Schultz'']], which broke up and sank.

==Background==

===OKW===

{{main|Oberkommando der Wehrmacht}}

{{lang|de|Oberkommando der Wehrmacht}}, the supreme command of the German armed forces, had issued standing orders for {{lang|de|Luftwaffe–Kriegsmarine}} co-operation in naval operations. {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} was obliged to inform {{lang|de|[[10th Air Corps|Fliegerkorps X]]}} of naval sorties and {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} was required to tell {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} of air operations. Sufficient notice was necessary to ensure that operations by one service did not interfere with those of the other. Air attacks east of the {{lang|de|Westwall}} minefield were prohibited unless at the request of {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} unless it was certain that the ship was hostile. West of the minefield, apart from attacks on submarines, which were notoriously difficult to identify, the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} was allowed to attack on sight, even when {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} had ships in the area, provided that this was reported.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=68–69}}

==={{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}}===

{{main|Kriegsmarine}}

From 17 October 1939 to 10 February 1940, the Germans had conducted eleven mining operations, planting 1,800 mines off estuaries and ports on the east coast of Britain, which sank 66 ships (238,467 [[gross register ton]]s [GRT]), three destroyers and a trawler.{{sfn|Stegemann|2015|p=169}} [[Grand admiral]] ({{lang|de|Großadmiral}}) [[Erich Raeder]], the head of the {{lang|de|[[Seekriegsleitung]]}} (Maritime Warfare Command) of the {{lang|de|[[Kriegsmarine]]}} (War Navy) sought to disrupt the activities of British [[fishing trawler|trawlers]] around the [[Dogger Bank]], which were suspected of spying, possibly to find the swept channels in the {{lang|de|Westwall}} minefield belt.{{sfnm|1a1=Koop|1a2=Schmolke|1y=2014|1p=67|2a1=Haarr|2y=2013|2p=293}} {{lang|de|[[Organization of the Kriegsmarine#Navy Group Commands|Marinegruppe West]]}} ([[General admiral#List|Generaladmiral]] [[Alfred Saalwächter]]) planned to intercept the British vessels with the six destroyers of the {{lang|de|[[Surface flotillas of the Kriegsmarine#Destroyer flotillas|1. Zerstörer-Flottille]]}} (1st Destroyer Flotilla, {{lang|de|Kapitän zur See}} [[Fritz Berger (officer)|Fritz Berger]]), which embarked prize crews. The flotilla comprised the destroyers [[German destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt|''Friedrich Eckoldt'']] (flotilla leader), [[German destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen|''Richard Beitzen'']], [[German destroyer Z13 Erich Koellner|''Erich Koellner'']], [[German destroyer Z6 Theodor Riedel|''Theodor Riedel'']], [[German destroyer Z3 Max Schultz|''Max Schultz'']] and [[German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass|''Leberecht Maass'']].{{sfn|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|2005|p=15}}

==={{lang|de|Luftwaffe}}===

{{main|Luftwaffe}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-647-5211-33, Flugzeug Heinkel He 111.jpg|thumb|{{center|Example of a Heinkel He 111 bomber}}]]
On 21 February, 4 {{lang|de|Staffel}}, [[Kampfgeschwader 26|II./KG 26]], equipped with [[Heinkel He 111]] bombers and based at [[Neumünster]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]] as part of {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} ([[General der Flieger]] [[Hans Geisler]]), was briefed to fly an anti-shipping raid between the [[Thames Estuary]] and the [[Humber Estuary]].{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=67}}{{efn|For maritime operations a separate staff was formed within {{lang|de|[[2nd Air Corps (Germany)|Fliegerkorps II]]}} which after expansion was named {{lang|de|Flieger-Division X}} and then {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}}.{{sfn|Stegemann|2015|p=159}}}} The crews were ready by {{nowrap|6:00 a.m.}} on 22 February and began to take off at {{nowrap|4:00 p.m.}} Visibility over the [[North Sea]] was estimated at {{cvt|30|nmi}} with a full moon to the south-east.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=67}} The first bomber airborne was 1H+IM, flown by Feldwebel Jäger who headed north, then used the south end of [[Sylt]] as a route marker and flew on a bearing of 241° towards the Humber at {{cvt|1000|m|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}}

==Prelude==
{{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} reported the air operation to {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} as usual but an admiral failed to pass on the information, leaving the 1st Destroyer Flotilla ignorant of  the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} operation. The mistake should have been uncovered when {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} asked {{lang|de|[[Jagdfliegerführer Deutsche Bucht]]}} (Fighter Leader German Bight) during the afternoon of 22 February for air support to cover the destroyers as they returned to port on 23 February but this was not forwarded to {{nowrap|KG 26.}}{{sfn|Haarr|2013|p=295}} At about {{nowrap|6:00 p.m.}} on 22 February, a telephone call was made on behalf of Admiral [[Otto Ciliax]], the chief of staff of {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}}, with a request that aircraft already in the air be limited to attacks off the English coast; this was impossible because {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} did not have the codes. Both headquarters insisted that the other contact their forces by wireless to warn them but neither did.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=68–69}}

==Operation Viking/{{lang|de|Unternehmen Wikinger}}==

===Sortie===
[[File:North Sea map-en.png|thumb|{{center|Map of the North Sea showing the [[Dogger Bank]]}}]]
Operation Viking ({{lang|de|Unternehmen Wikinger}}) began at 19:00 on 22 February 1940. The flotilla, operating from their [[Anchorage (maritime)|anchorage]] near [[Wilhelmshaven]] off [[Schillig]], was proceeding quickly towards {{lang|de|Weg 1}}, a {{cvt|6|nmi}}-wide swept channel of the {{lang|de|Westwall}}, a defensive minefield protecting the German Bight.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}} The ships were sailing on a bearing of 300°, when they were attacked from the air. At about {{nowrap|7:00 p.m.}} {{lang|de|[[Feldwebel#Reichswehr and Wehrmacht|Feldwebel]]}} Döring the gunner of Heinkel 1H+IM, flying towards the English coast, had seen the [[Wake (physics)|wake]] of a ship to port and reported it to the pilot, {{lang|de|Feldwebel}} Jäger. The pilot saw a ship moving fast towards the north-west. On the sea, lookouts on ''Friedrich Eckoldt'' saw an aircraft pass overhead at an estimated {{cvt|500|–|800|m|order=flip}}, not showing appropriate recognition signals, which return soon after. At {{nowrap|7:45p.m.,}} the pilot and the observer, {{lang|de|Feldwebel}} Schräpler, were certain that the ship was a merchant vessel, which also failed to show recognition signals.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}}

===Air attack===
While hesitating to attack, the Heinkel was fired on with {{nowrap|20 mm}} anti-aircraft guns by ''Richard Beitzen'' and ''Erich Koellner'', whose officers thought that they had identified a British aircraft.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}} {{lang|de|Feldwebel}} Döring returned fire with the ventral machine-gun at once. The lookouts on ''Max Schultz'' saw German markings on the aircraft at the last moment but their wireless message on the common frequency went unheeded. {{lang|de|[[Oberleutnant zur See]]}} Günther Hosemann claimed that he saw the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} markings in the light of the gun flashes but others doubted him. At {{nowrap|7:43 p.m.}} Men on ''Max Schultz'' saw the aircraft come out of a cloud bank with the moon astern of it and transmitted "{{lang|de|Flugzeug ist gesichtet worden in der schwarzen Wolke des Mondes}}" ("Aeroplane has been sighted in the black cloud in front of the moon") as Jäger made a bombing run at {{cvt|1500|m|order=flip}}, convinced by the gunfire from the ship that it was hostile.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}}

The first two bombs and the fourth missed but the third bomb hit ''Leberecht Maass'' [[Glossary of nautical terms (A–L)#amidships|amidships]], between bridge and the first funnel. The ship quickly lost speed, veering to starboard and sending "{{lang|de|Habe Treffer. Brauche Hilfe}}" ("Have been hit. Need assistance."). As the other ships turned to assist the ship, Berger ordered them back into formation, lest they strayed out of the swept channel but reversed course at {{nowrap|7:46 p.m.}}. ''Friedrich Eckoldt'' slowly approached ''Leberecht Maass'', making rescue and towing equipment ready and was {{cvt|500|m|order=flip}} distant when the aircraft returned for a second bombing run and hit ''Leberecht Maass'' with two bombs out of four. A big fireball rose from around the stern funnel and those above deck on ''Friedrich Eckoldt'' saw that ''Leberecht Maass'' had broken in two and was sinking in {{cvt|40|m|order=flip}} as the Heinkel departed to the west.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=144}} The other destroyers manoeuvred towards ''Leberecht Maass'', ''Erich Koellner'' stopping engines to drift towards the survivors in the water between the two halves of the ship, sending "{{lang|de|An alle. Maass sinkt. Boote aussetzen.}}" ("To all. Maass going down. Send boats."). With lifeboats swung out, ready to begin the rescue, ''Erich Koellner'', along with those of ''Friedrich Eckoldt'' and ''Richard Beitzen'' began taking on survivors.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|pp=145–146}}

===Loss of ''Max Schultz''===
At {{nowrap|8:04 p.m.}} there was another big explosion and lookouts on ''Richard Beitzen'' reported another air attack; ''Theodor Riedel'', {{cvt|1000|m|order=flip}} from the explosion, was moving towards it when it obtained a [[hydrophone]] contact to starboard, which caused more confusion. ''Theodor Riedel'' dropped four depth-charges which detonated too close to the destroyer and jammed the rudder, the ship moving in circles until it was freed. The other destroyers continued to rescue survivors but then a lookout on ''Erich Koellner'' reported a submarine. Berger gave orders to stop the rescue until the submarine was sunk, ''Max Schultz'' not replying to the order.{{sfnm|1a1=Paterson|1y=2019|1pp=145–146|2a1=Haarr|2y=2013|2pp=294–295}} ''Erich Koellner'' accelerated to attack the submarine, one of its boats, not yet cast off, being dragged under the stern. The captain tried to ram the submarine but it was probably the bow of ''Leberecht Maass''. ''Max Schultz'', still not replying to wireless calls, had struck one of the 120 mines laid in {{lang|de|Weg 1}} by the British destroyers {{HMS|Ivanhoe|D16|6}} and {{HMS|Intrepid|D10|2}} on the night of 10/11 January.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|pp=145–146}}{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=70–71}}

===Higher commands===
During the evening, {{lang|de|Fliegerkorps X}} received information from KG 26 that one of its aircraft had attacked a ship, about {{cvt|20|nmi}} north of the {{lang|de|Terschellingerbank}} [[lightvessel]]. The aircraft had received return fire and the crew claimed to have sunk the ship. Wireless messages from the area were passed on to {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} and SKL. The message

{{quotation|The Leberecht Maass sunk in grid square 6954, lower left quadrant. (This spot lies on 'Route 1' more than ten miles from our own nearest minefields in the declared area.){{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=146}}}}

was received at {{nowrap|8:18 p.m.}} and at {{nowrap|8:50 p.m.}}

{{quotation|The Max Schultz also missing. Probably submarine.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=146}}}}

The report was forwarded to {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}}, the commander in chief of the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}}, [[Hermann Göring]] and its chief of staff, [[Hans Jeschonnek]], who asked if this could have anything to do with the sinking of ''Leberecht Maass'' and ''Max Schultz''.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=70–71}} The {{lang|de|Marinegruppe West}} war diary for 22 February 1940 recorded that at {{nowrap|10:55 p.m.,}}

{{quotation|...as FdM West has already mentioned in his War Diary, the mine situation in the approaches to the Heligoland Bight is very serious. The lack of minesweepers makes regular or even infrequent passages impossible.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=71}}}}

The fate of the destroyers came into doubt after Jäger had landed and reported sinking a ship {{cvt|50|km|order=flip}} from {{lang|de|Weg1}} 
{{quotation|KG 26 reported attacks on the British coast and the following incident. "About 2000hrs spotted armed, darkened steamer of {{cvt|3000|to|4,000|T}}, course 300°, near Terschellng Bank. Several attacks were made from {{cvt|1300|m|order=flip}}. One hit was scored on the forecastle, two hits amidships, ship caught fire and sank. No further observations due to darkness. Light anti-aircraft and machine-gun fire from the ship."
[Marginal note] "Is this the sinking of the ''Leberecht Maass'' and ''Max Schultz''?) The attack on a steamer near Terschellng Bank is most regrettable and contravenes the regulations issued to the Luftwaffe for the conduct of war on merchant shipping. Air attacks at sea are permitted only in a strip thirty miles wide along the British coast. Closer investigation has been ordered."{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=146}}}}

===Return to base===
At {{nowrap|8:36 p.m.}} after thirty minutes of confusion, including reports of torpedo tracks and periscopes, Berger ordered the four surviving ships to return to base ("{{lang|de|An alle. Kurs 120 Grad. Fahrt 17 sm}}" ["Course 120. Speed {{cvt|17|kn}}"]) after recovering the lifeboats left when the submarine hunt began. Most of the men in the water had died of hypothermia by the time that the destroyers returned. Sixty survivors were rescued from the 330 men on ''Leberecht Maass'', none of the 308 men on ''Max Schultz'' survived, one man on ''Erich Koellner'' was reported missing.{{sfnm|1a1=Koop|1a2=Schmolke|1y=2014|1p=69|2a1=Paterson|2y=2019|2p=147}} The dispatch of a {{lang|de|[[Vorpostenboot]]}} to search for survivors was cancelled due to thick fog and at {{nowrap|0:32 p.m.}} on 23 February a He 111 flying over the island of [[Borkum]], was shot down by navy anti-aircraft guns.{{sfn|Paterson|2019|p=146}}

==Aftermath==
===Analysis===
In 2014, Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke wrote that the British destroyers ''Ivanhoe'' and ''Intrepid'' had laid 120 tethered mines on the night of 10/11 January, roughly in the area that ''Leberecht Maass'' and ''Max Schultz'' sank. The authors wrote that it was certain that ''Leberecht Maass'' was bombed at {{nowrap|7:45 p.m.}} and they concluded that the second explosion at {{nowrap|8:00 p.m.}} was a mine. When ''Max Schultz'' and the other destroyers turned to render assistance, they strayed outside the swept channel, ''Max Schultz'' hit a mine and sank.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=70–71}}

===Casualties===
More than 320 crewmen were killed in ''Max Schultz'', along with 286 members of the crew of ''Leberecht Maass''.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=71}} One crewman from ''Erich Koellner'' was missing.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=92}}

===Committee of Inquiry===
The inquiry concluded that reports of submarines, indiscriminate firing of anti-aircraft guns and general excitement contributed to the uncertainty about the timing of events. The committee decided that there had been a bomb attack at {{nowrap|7:21 p.m.}} when three bombs fell {{cvt|400|m|order=flip}} abeam of ''Max Schultz'', at about {{nowrap|7:44 p.m.}} ''Leberecht Maass'' was hit towards the bows and around {{nowrap|7:56 p.m.}} there was a big explosion amidships of ''Leberecht Maass''. At {{nowrap|8:04 p.m.}} ''Max Schultz'' suffered a huge explosion, broke up and sank. The aircrew claimed that they made only two bombing runs at {{nowrap|7:45 p.m.}} and {{nowrap|7:45–8:00 p.m.}} a discrepancy that could not be accounted for. The Heinkel crew was exonerated because they had received no warning and no recognition flare had been fired by the ships.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=70–71}}

===Subsequent events===
Destroyer operations in the North Sea were suspended until [[Operation Weserübung]] (9 April – 10 June 1940) when another ten destroyers were sunk. Of 22 destroyers built before the war bearing names, only ten were left to cover a coast from the north of Norway to the Baltic and the coast of Estonia, followed by the coasts of the [[Low Countries]] and France after 10 June 1940. Three new destroyers joined the fleet in 1940 but the number rose above 22 only in mid-1943.{{sfn|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=70–71}}

==See also==
* [[Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
* [[List of German military equipment of World War II]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Haarr |first=Geirr |title=The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 – April 1940 |year=2013 |publisher=Seaforth (Pen & Sword) |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1-84832-140-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Koop |first1=Gerhard |last2=Schmolke |first2=Klaus-Peter |translator-last=Brooks |translator-first=Geoffrey |title=German Destroyers of World War II |year=2014 |orig-year=2003 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing, Pen & Sword |location=Barnsley |edition=Repr. Eng. trans. |isbn=978-1-84832-193-9}} Translated from ''Die deutschen Zerstörer'' 1939–1945 Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn (1995). Originally published in English by Greenhill books, Lionel Leventhal (2003)
* {{cite book |last1=Maier |first1=Klaus A. |last2=Rohde |first2=Horst |last3=Stegemann |first3=Bernd |last4=Umbreit |first4=Hans |title=[[Germany and the Second World War]]: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe |year=2015 |orig-year=1991 |publisher=Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt [Research Institute for Military History] |editor-last=Falla |editor-first=P. S. |translator-last1=McMurry |translator-first1=Dean S. |translator-last2=Osers |translator-first2=Ewald |edition=trans. pbk. Clarendon Press, Oxford |volume=II |location=Freiburg im Breisgau |isbn=978-0-19-873834-3}}
** {{harvc |last=Stegemann |first=Bernd |c=Part IV the First Phase of the War up to the Spring of 1940. 4. The War in the North Sea and the Arctic in 1940 |year=2015 |in1=Maier |in2=Rohde |in3=Stegemann |in4=Umbreit}}
* {{cite book |last=Paterson |first=Lawrence |title=Eagles over the Sea 1935–1942: A History of Luftwaffe Maritime Operations |year=2019 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing (Pen & Sword)  |location=Barnsley |edition=Epub |isbn=978-1-5267-4003-8}}
* {{cite book |first1=Jürgen |last1=Rohwer |first2=Gerhard |last2=Hümmelchen |title=Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |date=2005 |orig-date=1972 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |location=London |edition=3rd rev. |isbn=1-86176-257-7}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Williamson |first=G. |series=New Vanguard (091) |title=German Destroyers 1939–1945 |year=2003 |publisher=Osprey |location=Oxford |isbn=1-84176-504-X}}

{{World War II}}
{{Portalbar|Germany|History}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wikinger, Operation}}
[[Category:North Sea operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Naval operations of the Kriegsmarine]]
[[Category:Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:February 1940 in Europe]]