Operation Pelikan aka Projekt 14 - Stukas vs the Panama Canal

[WATU]

There are numerous references to this rumoured/lightly-planned operation online. They feel like a circular story to me as they mostly consist of the same paragraph summary. Several books also contain the same brief account.

Does anyone know of a primary source that relates to this?

 

[GrauGeist]

I beleive the first mention of this, was in a post-war novel "Spy for Germany" (Spion fur Deutchland) and it's been drifting around ever since.

The problem with the "folding winged Ju87 launched from a submarine" version, is that the only submarine big enough to carry a Ju87T (assuming that any Graf Zeppelin Stukas were left by 1943), is that it would take a Japanese I-400 class sub to transport them (after modifications to the Stuka).

The Stukas could have been disassembled and transported by sub and reassembled at their destination, the Germans transported quite a few aircraft to Japan this way or transport them via cargo ship to the destination. Either way, there would need to be facilities for offloading, assembling/prep work and such.
This would be a difficult undertaking to do in total secrecy and still be within range (even one-way) of the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.

It makes for a good story, though.

 

[WATU]

Yes, that seems to be the earliest source. I did not realise the book was a novel. Smells like it is a complete fiction that endless websites have taken as fact. As you say, it is not just a matter of the aircraft. Shipping them to Japanese bases was a different matter as full engineering back-up would be there. Thanks

 

[Snautzer01]

I think a demolition team on a raider would be far easier.