OT...U Boat.........

[G.T.]

Have any of the forum members gone through the U Boat at the Chicago Measuem of Sience & History.....one of the neatest exhibits I have ever seen! till...later....G.T.

[G.T.]

[EOC Bob]

Is that the sub that was captured on the high seas by the Brits? Another story relates the recovery of two or three Lugers from a sunken German sub that had most of their internal components corroded away leaving the frames intact.

I believe the following random statements to be true:


This was the sub captured off of Africa on June 5, 1944 with the express intent of obtaining codes and an Enigma machine, which the captors did. The guy who ordered the operation apparently was raked over the coals as a result because the Allies already the codes and an Enigma and the capture of the sub could have ruined everything if the Germans started over. There was one German killed during the operation.


The sub (I think it was U-501) had spent much of the war in the drydock as a result of aerial bombings. At one point in its career, the crew became demoralized when its previous skipped committed suicide in the middle of a depth-charge attack. The boarding crew who captured it did get some Lugers but were required to turn them in for security reasons.


The sub is neat to visit in Chicago, although someone just told me they were going to be closing it down for awhile. It must have been fun to drive it up the St. Lawrence Seaway and then move it across land to the museum.


I don't have the address, but somewhere on the internet is a very extensive website which gives the detailed history of each and every German U-Boat in WW2.

[EOC Bob]

Remembered where I saw the picture of the Lugers recovered from the sunken German sub. Page 80 of John Walter's book "The Luger Story".

[Todd]

Iâ??m and ex-submariner and my father severed on Destroyer Escorts during â??Theâ?� war, so Iâ??ve always been fascinated by the German Submarine force during WWII.


This is from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry Web site:

On June 4, 1944, the USS Guadalcanal task group 22.3 under the command of Captain Daniel V. Gallery attacked U-505. U.S. Navy sailors boarded and captured the U-505; this was the first time that a U.S. Navy caputed an enemy ship on the high seas since 1815 (when the USS Peacock seized HMS Nautilus during the War of 1812). The USS Abnaki, a U.S. Navy fleet tug, met the task group in mid-ocean to complete the tow to Bermuda. The U-505 was kept there in secrecy until the end of the war.


After the movie U-571 came out, I understand that the British actually captured an Enigma Machine from a U-Boat, does anyone have any details about that?

[G.T.]

Hi Todd! I believe your right! I went through the sub probably about 10 years ago and they had a few artifacts from the sub in a display area, the forward and aft torpedo room were off limits as was the conning tower, but the rest of the sub was open for a looksee....it was all gray paint, baekolite, and brass inside, pretty sinister looking.....Hope they open it up for display again! It's a must see, till...later....G.T.

[Mark]

I have been through this boat many times, the U-505. They revamped the display areas and have much better narraters for the tour so it is a very imformative trip for us German history nuts. The boat is in rough shape inside and out and it is scheduled for a complete overhaul in about a year or so I believe. There was even talk it MAY be moved into a special built building to get it out of the elements. It needs alot of work inside since all the paint is peeling off everything and showing wear from millions of people tramping through it. A lot of the external deck sheetmetal has been replaced as most of it has rusted away and you can no longer walk around the outside of the boat anymore. That is a pity as years ago I got to look at this wonderful boat up close and personal for quite some time, externally. It still has the American artillery shell holes in the Conning Tower. The engines have been started a few times over the years and if you go see the boat they play a recording of one of the engines running on about 4 or 5 cylinders. Gives a man wood, let me tell you. I think I could live on this boat and be eternally happy.

[G.T.]

Hi Mark! Yes! I felt it too! It is an increadible example of mans ability to make tools of war! till...later....G.T.

[Johnny Peppers]

Before he passed away a couple of years ago one of the sailors of the U-505 had a table at the Tulsa gun show where he autographed pictures. He was a diesel mechanic and according to him, he was the one that opened the valve to scuttle the sub. He had projectile struck pieces cut from the boat when it was repaired from previous strafings.

[Marvin]

I am a little late in getting in on this topic, but it is very interesting. We have discussed different movies of the war and one movie that you need to see is "Das Boot". This movie is excellent if you want to see what happened on a submarine, expecially the German ones. A grrat movie and I high recommend it.


Marvin

[G.T.]

Hi Marvin! Das Boot, is one of my favorite movies! till...later....G.T.