CHAPTER VI – “Manfred Lau”
(82 pages, 39 photos)

The chapter about the contemporary witness and author of the book “Schiffssterben vor Algier”, Manfred Lau, with whom we have been friendly since 2003, is a very special one. It is the “chapter without a watch”. Nevertheless, precisely his personal story is of great interest to us, as he is a veteran of the “Lehmann pig group”, who were trained for deployments with two-man torpedoes (SLC and SSB devices) on the island of Le Vignole in the Lagoon of Venice. In impressive and precise detail he describes the difficult journey from Hamburg through a Germany that was, by the autumn of 1944, severely marked by the scars of war, and down to northern Italy, where the secret training centre of the combat swimmers was located. The detailed memories of his training period to become a pilot of the two-man torpedoes (SLC / SSB), almost 70 years ago, and supplemented with historical maps and pictures, take the reader on a journey to the Adriatic coast. There the midshipman ended his time as a sea fighter with a march into captivity, from which he returned to Germany in 1948.

Preview of page 554 – 555:
One of the photos provided by the veteran himself, Manfred Lau, showing him as a young trainee officer in 1943 where he joined the Navy School in Flensburg.

Preview of page 596 – 597:
Manfred Lau describes in detail his training to become a SLC / SSB pilot in the lagoon of Venice, using instruments and tools from Panerai for underwater missions.

Preview of page 608 – 609:
Additional photos and illustrations from various sources, such as the Imperial War Museum London and the Istituto Geografico Militare Firenze, giving the reader an impressive insight of where, when and how SLC / SSB pilots have been exercised.

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