Cruel Seas: German Siebel Ferry (2)

Dubbed the Kleine fähre (small ferry) the Siebel ferry would prove it's self a highly useful and adaptable vessel.

Aircraft designer Fritz Siebel (A commissioned a colonel in the Luftwaffe) had been assigned his own Sonderkommando (special command) for improvising Luftwaffe invasion craft for Operation Sea Lion.

Colonel Siebel's ferry used flat-bottomed pontoons that were squared off in front. In combination with the vessel’s wide cargo deck, this made for an exceptionally stable gun platform, capable of surviving even Force 6 waves.

In fact, the Luftwaffe mounted various-sized flak pieces on the ferries finding the 8.8 cm guns, in particular, well-adapted for this role.

The Luftwaffe continue producing Siebel ferries under its own Special Ferry Command (Fähre-Sonderkommando). Configured to serve a variety of special purposes, from minelaying to convoy escort, most would see action transporting troops, vehicles and supplies.