Kategorie: News
Immerse yourself in the history of the German Navy
The Mecklenburg Lake District with over 1000 lakes is home to a variety of interesting and very diverse waters. In addition to flora and fauna, the ambitious diver can also dive areas that have a historical past. One of them is the Tollensesee, located directly in the northern city area of Neubrandenburg.
During the 2nd World War in 1942 the German Navy built an artificial island in the south of the lake. This was to serve as the foundation for the Torpedo Test Establishment (editors note: TVA – Torpedoversuchsanstalt), Neubrandenburg branch, from where torpedoes could be launched above and below water. The purpose of the tests was to improve and further develop the accuracy of the various torpedo models. Due to its dimensions, the Tollensesee, with a length of 11km as well as a width of 2.5km and a maximum depth of just over 30m, was ideally suited for this purpose. The torpedoes were launched without warheads and collected again at the end of the 8km long test track by so-called catch boats. Approximately in the middle of the route there were two target platforms from which the course of the torpedoes was monitored.
Today, two resident diving clubs have permission to conduct dives at the remains of the TVA (the island is a protected nature reserve).
Our cameraman and specialist for cold water dives, Jens-Uwe Lamm, visited the lake in March 2021 together with Matthias Appel from Tauchclub Tollensesee e.V. Neubrandenburg to create film footage of the TVA and platforms. A few weeks later a 2nd filming appointment took place to interview Oliver Zimmermann (book author "On the tracks of the German Navy - The Torpedo Experimental Station Eckernförde - Dept. Neubrandenburg") about the history of the lake and the TVA.
The result is an exciting and very informative 12-minute video documentary about a piece of German wartime history, which we can still experience and comprehend almost up close today.
Many thanks to Oliver Zimmern and Matthias Appel.
More information:
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