Diving on site
The KFK „Gunboat" wreck lies close to the port in Hel, It rests at the foot of an underwater hill that begins at the tip of Hel peninsula. On the surface of the water you can usually spot a downline leading 30m down to the wreck where it is tied to the base of an anti-aircraft cannon. The cannon has been taken off the ship and lies 4m from the bow on the port side of the vessel. From that point to the gunboat you can usually find a jumpline leading to the wreck proper. The ship stands on the keel and has been divided into 3 parts thanks to an underwater explosion.
The bow part is the biggest and takes about ¾ of the wreck's area. The shallowest depth in this area is 28m and about 30m near the sea floor. On the deck you can spot, beginning with the bow: a stem towering over the wreck with a windlass right behind it. Swimming along towards the stern we will spot two trawl floats that look like giant cigars and cleats decorating the side edges. Coming towards the stern the ship's silhouette suddenly is cut off - this part of the vessel is a fragmented deck and a mess of bundled together wooden and steel elements of the outer coat of the ship. Further alongside the gently sloping seafloor, along the wreck, approximately 5 meters behind the bow, on 30-33 meters we reach two piles made from parts of the stern. This spot marks the end of the wreck that remains after the explosions. There are no nets on the wreck but occasionally you can experience strong currents. You also have to remember that the shotline and the guideline that leads to the wreck sometimes can be damaged.
Story
The wreck is a unit of the KFK (Kriegsfischkutter) class, most likely it is UJ 301 that was bombarded by Russian planes on April 8 1945 while stationed in the port in Hel. As a result of the bombardment there was a fire outburst on the deck which risked an explosion of the munitions that were kept on the ship. The burning KFK was hauled outside the port entrance and with help of salvo fired by R 71 auxiliary tugboat it was sent to the bottom of the sea to protect other vessels docked at the port. The above identification was provided by Mariusz Makara on „Nurkowa Polska" web page in the articles „KFK UJ 301 wreck, called the gunboat” parts 1 and 2 (articles in Polish).
The second theory by Michał Ogłaza published on the page „Underwater Heritage – Baltic Wrecks from a Historical Perspective." in his article „Vs 165, or the wreck of the Gunboat near Hel” (article available in English). Inside it he tries to convince the readers that the gunboat is the KFK that hit the U1193 submarine on December 21 1944 at 18:00 which resulted in the unit sinking. If this theory is true then according to german reports intercepted and decrypted by english intelligence it is the KFK 324 wreck (rather than KFK 165)
This theory, despite strong evidence of the intercepted correspondence, raises some doubts concerning the position and depth found in the report. The description speaks of a position 0.5 Nm away from where the gunboat lies and depth of 22 meters more.
The fact is that it definitely is the German KFK class vessel, Kriegsfischkutter, meaning military fishing cutter which formed an important and very flexible cog in the war machinery of the Kriegsmarine. It’s possible that in time there will be new evidence that will help identify the name and number of the vessel. As of now it remains a mystery,
More information about the versatility of the KFK ships can be found in the article about “Ścigacz OP” which I strongly recommend reading.
Technical specifications
Length: 24 m
Width: 6,25-6,4 m
Engine: 4 or 5 cylinder Diesel engine
Armaments (Modified according to the needs): 2-4 anti-aircraft cannons 2 or 3,7 cm, machine guns, 6 depth charges (Sometimes carrying more)
Equipment: radio station, RDF receiver, electric power generators supplying the trawl, Submarine locating devices,
Crew: 15-18 Sailors
Interesting facts about the wreck
The “Gunboat” wreck was blown out by Navy divers form the Miner/ diver group no. 13, Minesweeper division who were responsible for removing the danger in form of 5 depth charges that were part of the ships munitions. As a result of the explosion the stern which housed the explosives was destroyed. The wreck lost ¼ of it’s lenght and the bow was blown out by the explosion. The result of this action is the image of the wreck with the destoryed stern which we can see while diving ore on the 3D model by Marcin Stempniewicz.
Text by: Kamil Stankiewicz
Translation: Szymon Rydzewski
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