RAdm Bertram J. Rodgers, USN, Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe, accompanied the Secretary from USAREUR headquarters at Wiesbaden1) to the USNRRPAT base at Schierstein where he inspected the base and made a trip aboard a patrol vessel down to the famed Rock of the Lorelei.

Secretary Thomas expressed his pleasure at seeing one sharp, shipshape installation and what is probably one of the Navy's most unusual activities. His host at Schierstein was Capt G. P. Unmacht, USN, commander of the USNRRPAT.

The base is near the north end of the American sector of the Rhine which extends about 120 miles from Lauterbourg2) in the south to Lorch in the north. The French patrol other sectors above and below the US sector. In addition to the headquarters and Unit "S" at Schierstein, the US Navy also has a base, Unit "K," at Karlsruhe near the southern end, and Unit "M" at Sandhofen, near Mannheim. The Schierstein base is completely equipped for repair and overhaul of engines, vessels and equipment.

The patrol is primarily a tactical arm and is responsible for the security of the US Zone of Germany along the Rhine and for the water communications of the US and NATO forces.

It also checks all commercial vessels and logs them as to type and nationality. More than 8,000 were recorded last year.

The patrol is working constantly with the US Army and Air Force, assisting them in their maneuvers and exercises. In recent exercises the patrol ferried more than 13,000 personnel across the Rhine, more than 500 tanks, 133 artillery pieces, and 4,800 miscellaneous vehicles. It has frequently transported the Army's huge 280-mm atomic cannon.

In addition, shore based personnel of the patrol, led by Captain Unmacht and his executive officer, Capt W. R. Gebert, USN, take to the field with the Army in command post exercises. These take place about once every two months.

The Navy also carries amphibious boats with the Army on its maneuvers, ready to take men and supplies across the many rivers of Europe.

Admiral Rodgers, told THE HOURNAL, that it is the Navy's prime function in Germany to assist and work with the Army in every possible way. "It is a welcome duty," he said, "for the US Army in Europe is a finely trained, crack force, ever ready for combat."

In addition to the Rhine River Patrol, Admiral Rodgers also has under his command the Navy's installations and vessels at Bremerhaven. An important activity there is mine sweeping. The US Naval Advanced Base there is commanded by Capt J. G. McLaughry, USN.

Both the Rhine Patrol and the Bremerhaven operations make heavy use of German personnel. Many of these served in the former German units, but an increasing number is being drawn from young Germans anxious for a career at sea. In many instances German crews and officers are in complete control of vessels on patrol or on mine sweeping details. They are not, however, permitted to operate vessels equipped with guns or automatic weapons.

When the new German Navy provided under the London agreement gets underway, it is likely that large numbers of American trained German seamen and officers will be taken in. US leaders hope that this will be done, for they feel that their work with the combined fleets will be greatly facilitated by their American training. On the other hand, they also hope that they will not all go over to the German navy at once, but rather in increments, for they are a valuable part of our activities and we would rather have a transition period during which we can recruit and train more Germans to take their places.

The US seamen serving with our units in Germany are a hand-picked group. All have asked for the duty and then are thoroughly screened before being assigned. Each man picked must have had a conduct score of 4.0 (perfect) for at least one year prior to selection.

Like other US Forces in Germany, the Rhine River Patrol has done much to help the German people. Recently when LCdr M. J. Gates was detached for duty in the States the Oberburgermeister of Karlsruhe sent an official letter thanking him for the help and cooperation he had frequently given the German people there. Also recently Captain Unmacht received a letter from a Catholic priest expressing appreciation for the use of a navy crane and bulldozer which helped in the rebuilding of their church and playground. These are instances which are multiplied many times over during the year.

The Navy Watches On the Rhine
Captain B. A. Robbins 1)

Primarily a tactical arm, the Patrol is responsible for the security of the United States Zone of Germany along the Rhine and for the water communications of United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. Its mission is to control river traffic from Lauterbourg in the south to Lorch about a hundred miles north. Lauterbourg, the upstream terminus, lies at the border of the French Zone and at the head of the Black Forest. Lorch, deep in the heart of the castle country downstream, is close to the famed Rock of the Lorelei and thirty-five miles from Coblenz, headquarters of American occupation forces after World War I.

The Rhine is one of the world's busiest inland waterways. It is estimated that about eighty-eight million tons of cargo will move up and down the river during the year, placing its tonnage well above that of our own Mississippi. The biggest single item of commerce is coal from the Ruhr Valley. Some twenty-eight million tons will be shipped this year.

It is the job of the Patrol to check all commercial vessels and log them as to type and nationality. Over eight thousand were recorded in 1952. At the same time, the Patrol notes and reports changes in currents, channels and river depths. Our sailors have learned that there are no short cuts to mastering river navigation. High water from the snowy Alps frequently causes trouble. The swift, changing currents gouge and alter the underwater topography, leaving new channels which must be designated on navigation charts.

Shorelines are troublesome, too. They have been lined with paving stones placed there by the Germans to protect the land from washing away in high water. To avoid damage, landing craft must be handled carefully when loading or unloading.

Besides controlling commercial traffic along the American sector of the Rhine, the Patrol protects bridges and other structures, provides supplemental ferry service, carries on salvage operations and fire control support. During United States-Allied field exercises, the Patrol ferries ground troops and materiel across the Rhine, maintains floating guards at bridges, and occasionally carries out simulated bridge demolitions as part of its training duties.

The Rhine is not a new sphere for the Navy. During World War II assault and landing vessels with Navy crews were hauled overland from Channel ports on the Atlantic and launched from the west bank of the Rhine. After the war the Navy withdrew and did not return until 1948. In December of that year the Rhine River Patrol was established.

Today the Patrol has three operating sections. Headquarters and Unit "S" are at Schierstein, a harbor community close to Wiesbaden. Unit "K" is at Karlsruhe near the southern terminus. The third, Unit "M", is based at Sandhofen near Mannheim.

Several types of craft are used. Newest and fastest are the 80-foot, twin-screw speedsters called PRs (Patrol, River). By degrees these are replacing the old German torpedo-retriever boats (torpedofangboot) which the Patrol has been using. With a top speed of 27 knots, the new silver-gray craft were built in German shipyards to US Navy specifications. Plans called for an underside exhaust and no stack, but the German boat builders were more than skeptical. "They were amazed," one of our Navy men recalls. "They didn't think it could be done because they had never done it before. But we told them that in America vessels with underside exhausts and no stacks are common. We finally got the boats without the stacks."

Work horses of the patrol are the LCUs (Landing Craft, Utility), formerly British craft, which are used chiefly for ferrying operations. They can transport five heavy tanks or two hundred and fifty tons of cargo. During Seventh Army field exercises the LCUs ferry vehicles and troops across the river.

Two other types of smaller ferrying craft are in use. The LCM (Landing Craft, Medium) can carry one medium tank or about thirty tons. Slightly larger than the LCMs are the LCM-RRs (Rhine River) which were constructed in Germany under US Navy direction. Built to meet the peculiar requirements of the Rhine River shoreline, the LCM-RRs can carry one heavy tank or sixty tons of cargo.

Ferrying operations keep the patrol busy. During Army and Air Force training exercises, the major loads are bulldozers, trucks, bridge building equipment, and supplies. Allied vehicles, too, are accommodated. In one recent operation the patrol shuttled a large number of French Army tanks and trucks across the waterway.

Special ferrying tasks are handled by an awkward-looking craft known as the Siebel ferry. Built by the Nazis to carry tanks on the Mediterranean and on Italian rivers, they are self-propelled rafts with parallel pontoons, planked decks and retractable loading ramps on two sides.

Crews vary according to the type of patrol vessel. The fast PRs have an all-US Navy crew of five commanded by a boatswain's mate first class. Each LCU carries a 16- to 22-man mixed US Navy and German crew. The Germans are members of the Labor Service Organization and many of them once served in the German navy. Each unit of the Patrol includes a contingent of these Germans qualified in marine skills.

During the Netherlands floods of February 1953, the Patrol earned the gratitude of the stricken Dutch. Like other United States military services in Germany, the Patrol did its share to relieve suffering in the flooded areas. Two PRs and two LCUs helped with the rescue of persons and livestock. For almost a month the four boats aided the Hollanders in supply and reconstruction work.

Duty with the Rhine Patrol involves continuing travel through some of the finest tourist attractions in Europe. The picturesque Rhine Gorge, with its hillside vineyards, crumbling castles and gingerbread villages, has a thousand legends. One of them tells of the siren on the Rock of the Lorelei who sings of the natural beauty around her while combing her golden hair. It is no wonder that an enraptured Rhine skipper might look up too long and let his barge shoal up on a hidden reef. The Gorge is the kingdom of the grape and in many languages Rhine rhymes with wine, Rhin with vin and Rhein with Wein.

Above the vineyards, the cragged castles still beetle down on the rococo towns and the river as they did in the days when their robber-baron owners levied tribute from passing vessels. Some of the freebooters built their "tollhouses" right in the middle of the Rhine. The Mouse Tower, built on a quartz rock near Bingen Loch, was one of these hold-up points. Later legend tells of the fate of a cruel-hearted tyrant in the tenth century who tried to solve a famine by burning the poor in a barn. According to the legend, he was pursued into the tower by thousands of indignant mice and devoured alive.

To make their "seafaring" life more unusual, the crews of the Rhine River Patrol are armed with carbines, carry full field packs on occasion and take turn rustling up meals when their vessel is on a lengthy river patrol. The duty is not all hurricane decks, navigation and channel soundings either. The men receive considerable land training and their 42-man frill team, one of the finest in the European Command, represented the Navy at the Armed Forces Day observances at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Many consider the Rhine River Patrol choice duty and there is always a waiting list of applicants. It may lack some of the glamour of the high seas but it has many attractions.