Schnellboot S 57; motor torpedo boat, class S 30, 87 GRT; German Navy
Built: Luerssen-Vegesack, Germany
Sunk: 19th August 1944 (Battle with British motor torpedo boats.)
Dimensions: l=30 m, w=3.5 m, h=1.5 m
Coordinates: 42.85100° N, 17.50511° E
Location: About 3 nm SE of the Lirica lighthouse on Pelješac, 50 m from the shore.
Access: 2/5 access possible solely by boat (the location is close to the inaccessible coast)
Visibility: 5/5 mostly clear and good visibility
Current: 4/5 mostly no current, but the wreck is about 100 metres from the shore, so the waves make anchoring problematic.
Flora and fauna: 5/5 varied life on and around the wreck, occasionally specimens of large fish


HISTORY:

For the first three war years the S 57 served in the navy in the North Sea. During 1943 the S 57 operated in the German “S” flotilla (“S” – Schnellboote = motor torpedo boat) in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and at the beginning of 1944 it was transferred to the Adriatic. The flotilla’s base was located in Rijeka Dubrovačka. At that time British motor torpedo boats and motor gunboats also began to operate in the Adriatic from a base in Komiža on the island of Vis, which attacked German convoys. Operating from Dubrovnik, the S 57 participated in many German convoy security operations in the Southern Adriatic and during this it clashed with British light naval forces on many occasions from which it escaped without major damage.

During the night of 19th August 1944 the S 57 torpedo boat sailed out on its last mission. The previous night the British boats had attacked a German convoy of six ships which had sailed from Korčula to Dubrovnik. Five German ships were sunk whilst the sixth managed to haul itself back to Korčula. The German Naval commander of Southern Dalmatia ordered a group of assault boats (the so-called “I” Boote) under the protection of five torpedo boats to search the battle scene the during the night of 18th-19th August to rescue any survivors.

At dusk on the 18th August the boats S 57, S 58, S 60, S 30 and S 33 sailed out of Rijeka Dubrovačka and headed towards the Mljet Channel. On the 19th August the boats ran into the British boats’ ambush. The British opened fire from at the German unit. Soon after the S 57 was hit, and a fierce fire broke out on it. The boat stopped, and the crew desperately tried to put out the fire. After the ten minute battle both sides ceased firing, the other German boats approached the damaged S 57 so as to help put out the fire. They couldn’t manage it, and so they tried to tow it to beach it on the shore. However the coast of Pelješac at that spot was steep, with no shallows, and as towing it back to the base was not an option, it was decided to destroy the boat. In the interior of the hull near the keel an explosive charge was placed which exploded and ruptured the bottom and at 0432 hrs. the boat sank. In the battle ensign Fritz Hundt and engineer Josef Gunkel were killed, and nine members of the crew were injured.


WRECK CONDITION AND DIVING:

The position of a sunken motor torpedo boat had been known for many years however it was only my historical research halfway through the 1990’s that showed that it was the boat S 57. The boast was sunk along the southern coast of Pelješac, about 2 nm east of the Lirica lighthouse, in front of a little forested cove. Diving on it is a real experience for all lovers of sunken ships. The remains of the boat lie on a steep sandy slope, with the stern turned towards the shore. The top of the stern is at a depth of 26 metres, and from it is usually tied a signal rope with a buoy. The almost always clear sea means that from the bow the whole of the boat’s length can be seen.

The whole of the boat resembles one great grid of evenly placed steel profiles which retain the distinctive slender line of the boat’s high sides and high superstructure, so typical of this German type of torpedo boat. It is known that the lifetime of wood under water is very short, and so all the wooden panelling has almost completely rotted away. But this is precisely why this boat offers divers a unique opportunity because it is possible to view of all the boat’s internal spaces from outside without entering its narrow interior.

Due to the very good level of preservation, today the S 57 is protected by law and diving on it is only allowed with organised leaders of authorised diving centres. This is understandable, since this is one of the only preserved wrecks of this class of torpedo boat.


The description and illustrations are a courtesy of Danijel Frka and Jasen Mesić. Buy the whole book here: shop.naklada-val.hr/product_info.php?products_id=561