laststandonzombieisland

It happened 80 years ago this week. Wesermünde (Bremerhaven), Germany. 11 June 1945.

Official caption: “Two members of the USN security guard aboard [redacted] inspect the surrounding harbor together with two members of the party directing the re-fitting.”

Photographer: Pvt. Gedge, 3908 Bremen. SC 364338 Photo Source: U.S. National Archives. Digitized by Signal Corps Archive.

(L-R) Leslie Graber, Momm 2/CL, Canton, Ohio; Jack Beach, MM 1/CL, Flint, Mich.; Grover Bradford, MM3 3/CL, Newman, Ill., and Ollin Donohue, Momm 1/CL, Wichita Falls, Tex.

The men are likely on the seized 49,000-ton Norddeutsche Lloyd liner SS Europa, which survived the war largely intact. Commissioned as USS Europa (AP-177), she was used as a U.S. Navy troop transport until May 1946, when she was handed over to France in compensation for the loss of the SS Normandie during the war, and became the CGT liner SS Liberté.

The dazzle-camouflaged German passenger liner, SS Europa, moves out of drydock at Bremerhaven, Germany, 18 July 1945, while being reactivated. She soon became USS Europa (AP-177) and made two Southampton to New York troop-carrying voyages under U.S. control. Note U-boat hull sections on shore at left. SC 209687

As agreed by the Allied governments in February 1945, immediately following the German surrender in May 1945, the U.S. Navy assumed command of and took part in mine-clearing operations at the wrecked ports of Bremen and Wesermünde (now Bremerhaven) to clear the vital harbors for use. As such, the USAAF and RAF leveled 79 percent of the surrounding town but spared most of the port infrastructure itself.

Sending in roadborne recon teams on 29 May, the “Bremen Enclave,” under RADM Arthur Granville Robinson (USNA 1913), remained under U.S. Navy control through June 1946 before they were turned over to local authorities, albeit with American oversight. The Army sent in the 487th Port Bn and the 330th Harbor Craft Co for support, and it soon became the major German port complex used to support the Western Allies’ occupation. The curious part of this was that this USN-run enclave was inside the British zone of occupation.

U.S. Navy in Germany, 1945. Members of the U.S. Navy advance reconnaissance patrol keep a wary eye out for Nazi snipers as they rumble through the debris-lined streets of Bremen, en-route to the dock area. Photograph release May 29, 1945. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. Navy. 80-G-49286

Note the extensive presence of side arms and knives. U.S. Navy in Germany, 1945. Transported 400 miles across Europe by the U.S. Army, a force of Naval Officers and men took over the administration of the port activities of Bremen, Germany. Damaged but readily repairable facilities are inspected by the command staff of the U.S. Navy. Captain V.H. Coufrey points out salient features of Europe Hafen Docks to Rear Admiral Arthur G. Robinson. Photograph released May 29, 1945. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. Navy. 80-G-49281

The first American ships to unload in the harbor, post-war, were the freighters SS St. Thomas and SS Black Warrior on 22 June, with 22,000 tons of cargo discharged at the port by the end of the month.

By July 1945, this rose to 162,000 tons.