Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

WW2 category: U-Boats : Submarines  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'WWII Wrecks', 'Graf Spee', 'Nazi Medals', 'WW2 Movies', 'U-Boat Aces'.

Lost and Found: Legacy of USS Lagarto - WWII documentary film     pioneerlocal.com :: 2009-05-22
For most of John Kenney's life he's heard a story about his grandfather William Mabin that had no ending. William was onboard of the USS Lagarto, a submarine that vanished in the Gulf of Thailand in 1945. Finally in 2005 divers found the sub, and the next year Harvey Moshman and fellow documentarian Chuck Coppola set out to make "Lost and Found: Legacy of USS Lagarto." The documentary uses photos, film footage, interviews with family of the crew and other WWII submariners, and animation to tell the story of the Lagarto. Curiously, commander Frank Latta may have had his Harley Davidson motorcycle on the submarine.    

Germany's Last Mission To Japan: The Failed Voyage of U-234 by Joseph Mark Scalia     galvestondailynews.com :: 2009-03-29
In 1945, just weeks before surrendering, Nazi Germany sent cargo submarine U-234 to Japan with a load of latest technology. The manifest included jet aircraft, radar sets infrared tracking devices and samples of German aircraft engines. Since Nazis included blueprints, the u-boat's value to Japan was incalculable. The submarine also carried raw material (like lead, mercury and optical glass) that Japan desperately needed. Also aboard were 1,200 pounds of uranium oxide and two Japanese officers. Even the U-234 was valuable: It was equipped with a snorkel, a secret device that enabled a sub to run its diesel engines while submerged. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR]    

Finding Nazi U-boat off the Jersey coast     gmnews.com :: 2009-03-06
The Nazi U-boat that once hunted in the waters around New York and New Jersey lay undiscovered for 45 years just 60 miles off the Jersey coast. It wasn't until 1991, when shipwreck diver John Chatterton surfaced from 230 feet, holding two plates with a swastika and the year "1942" engraved on them, that anyone even knew the submarine was there. It would take 6 years to id the German u-boat. The proof finally came in the form of 3 tags with the number U-869. The search was chronicled in book "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson, and in the PBS documentary film "Hitler's Lost Sub."    

The first attack by Nazi Germany on Britain when U-Boat sank passenger ship in telegrams     dailymail.co.uk :: 2009-02-05
Three WW2 telegrams reveal the cruel sinking of a defenceless British passenger ship by a Nazi U-Boot only hours after World War II started. The Athenia carrying 1,103 passengers was torpedoed in Sept. 3rd 1939 when the German captain mistook her for an armed merchant ship. Her sinking led to the deaths of 118 people. The first telegram was sent to all shipping at 12.18pm: "war has broken out with Germany". The second, sent 10 hours later, read: "SOS from British steamer Athenia. Torpedoed - 1.400 passengers some still aboard sinking fast."    

Norway: Nazi u-boat U-864, which contains 65 tons of mercury, to be raised     norwaypost.no :: 2009-01-30
The Norwegian Government has decided that the wreck of the WWII German submarine U-864 which contains 65 tons of mercury, is to be raised, and that the seabed be overlaid with clean sand. The wreck, located off the Norwegian west coast, near Fedje, has long been viewed as an environmental hazard. However, experts have disagreed on whether or not the wreck should be raised or if it would be better to build a sarcophagus which would isolate the mercury from the marine environment. The head of the Marine Safety Directorate, Magne Roedland, decided the u-boat wreck should be raised.    

Commander remembers sinking 5 captured Japanese submarines     usna.com :: 2008-10-26
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Allen B. Catlin had a hand in the sinking of 5 Japanese submarines off Barbers Point in 1946. The subs were rounded up at the end of the war, brought to Pearl Harbor for review, and then torpedoed. The I-201 and I-203 were designed to run at high speeds with their 4,500 batteries (compared to 256 in a U.S. sub), while the mammoth I-400 and I-401 (with their rails and a catapult) were designed to disgorge 3 Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft. At the time the American Mk-4 torpedo had a magnetic exploder, supposed to explode beneath a ship. "But it was a failure, and the guys would... see the torpedo go under the target."    

Navy confirms lost World War II submarine USS Grunion has been found     ap :: 2008-10-03
The Navy has confirmed the wreckage of a sunken vessel discovered off the Aleutians Islands is the USS Grunion. Underwater video footage and photos taken by an expedition hired by sons of the commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mannert L. Abele, enabled the Navy to confirm the discovery. The Grunion was last heard from July 30, 1942. The submarine described heavy anti-submarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes left. On the same day, the Grunion was ordered to return back. Japanese anti-submarine attack data show no attack in the Aleutian area at the time, so the sub's fate remained a mystery for over 60 years.    

Talking about German U-boats at Merseyside Maritime Museum     liverpoolecho.co.uk :: 2008-08-24
A pair of khaki trousers stand testimony to a compassionate wartime gesture after a German U-boat sank steamship Darino in 1939. The trousers, on display in the Battle of the Atlantic gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum, belonged to James Kearon, one of 11 survivors who were taken on board the U-boat for 3 days before being moved to an Italian ship. In the late 1930s Karl Donitz had calculated that Germany would need 300 U-boats in the event of war with England. In Sept. 1939 Nazi Germany had only 57 subs, with less than half having the range to operate in the Atlantic. Until early 1945 the Nazi U-boats were based on WW1 designs.    

Historic surrender of U-boat U-858 recreated at Fort Miles     capegazette.com :: 2008-08-12
German submariners marched through Fort Miles as history buffs re-enacted the surrender of the U-858 at the "The Dog Days of War" -event. Dressed as German submariners, including the authentic leisure T-shirts with a German eagle holding a swastika, they paraded through the cantonment area of the massive Battery 519. Fort Miles, protecting the Delaware Bay and River, had been built as a response to the Kriegsmarine and its flagships like the Bismarck, Tirpitz and Graf Spee. Those vessels never made a threat to the Eastern Seaboard, but inhabitants saw results of other German navy ships. Operation Drumbeat was the Nazi u-boat operation that wreaked havoc on US shipping.     [WWII Reenactment & Reenactors: Living History]

Dive to U-778 to see if it can be raised to the surface to be used as a floating museum     derryjournal.com :: 2008-07-26
Divers are set to probe a World War II U-boat off the coast of Donegal to see if it can be brought up. U-778 is one of a number of Nazi submarines which were sunk off the coast of Malin Head after Germans surrendered at Lisahally at the end of the war in 1945. 19 U-boats were scuttled off the Malin Head Coast but U-778 (commanded by Ralf Jurs) is thought to be intact because it sunk while being towed. Derry City Council are hoping to raise the submarine to use it as a floating museum marking the city's key strategic WW2 role. Initial search showed all the airtight containers were closed, amd there's a chance that the interior is well preserved.     [U-Boats : Submarines]

Surveying Nazi U-boats sunk off North Carolina during World War II     sciencedaily.com :: 2008-07-10
NOAA will lead a research expedition to probe the wrecks of 3 German subs sunk by U.S. forces in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina. The team will survey and photograph visible sections of U-352, U-85 and U-701 using non-invasive methods as the submarine wreck sites are war graves. The German U-boats are located in an area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," which has shipwrecks from both sides of the Battle of the Atlantic at recreational diving depths (less than 130 feet). The wrecks are popular dive sites, but unfortunately U-352 and U-85 have been damaged by salvage operators and relic hunters.    

60 tons of mercury in wreckage of WWII U-boat U-864 could create disaster     statesman.com :: 2008-06-14
In 1945 the German submarine U-864 was traveling just west of Norway on its way to Japan. The secret mission of the specially outfitted vessel: to deliver 60 tons of mercury to the Axis ally for use in explosives. But the British military detected the sub's task through Ultra and sent submarine HMS Venturer to intercept. U-864 and its cargo were sunk. 60 years later the Norwegian navy located the wreck and discovered signs that the steel canisters that hold the mercury are corroding. U-864 is almost impossible to reach, its ruins are spread out over 10 acres, and a third of the 1,857 mercury canisters are scattered on the seabed.    

Mystery of German U-Boat 234 recalled at Wright Museum exhibit     newhampshire :: 2008-05-09
No one, officially, knows what happened to a half ton of Nazi uranium that German submarine U234 - captured while travelling to Japan - brought with it into Portsmouth Harbor in May of 1945. Conventional wisdom holds that the uranium was sent to Oak Ridge, but new research shows it would have arrived too late for the weapons used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Wrigth Museum has a display of prisms from the periscope of U-Boat 234 and articles that detail the importance of the cargo, which also included 2 disassembled Me-262 jet fighters, and scientists aboard the 295 foot-long Unterseeboot.    

Escape from the Deep - WWII book examines lost U.S. submarine     bostonherald :: 2008-05-08
Submarine warfare during World War II was as deadly a task as a sailor could get in the U.S. Navy. Not only did America's Navy have to deal with Adolf Hitler's U-boats, Japan's navy was just as good at sinking American submarines. Submariners learned that one false move, one too many depth charges and their vessel would become their "Iron Coffin". "Escape from the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew" tells the story of the USS Tang (SS-306), one of the most highly decorated submarines during the war, and how only 9 men survived, only to be captured by the Japanese.    

Sailor wins fight to have U-boat U-714 he sank declared a war grave     scotsman :: 2008-04-10
4 hours into his maiden voyage Roger Williams fired the depth-charge that sank the U-boat U-714 off the coast of Scotland. Recently he quietly honoured the lives of the 50 men who lost their lives, as his crusade to have the wreck declared a protected war grave was finally won. The U-714, which went down 8 miles off St Abb's Head on 14 March, 1945, is one of ten locations to be given protected status by the Ministry of Defence. Williams struck up a friendship with Axel Schwebcke, the son of the skipper of the U-714, and the two began their campaign. Schwebcke met his father, Hans-Joachim, only once.    

Third Reich U-boat base Valentin for sale - The largest existing Nazi bunker     timesonline :: 2008-03-19
Built by slave labourers, the vast concrete complex known as Valentin near Bremen is for sale - to anyone needing a building with 7m-thick walls. Nazi Germany's submarine factory is the largest surviving bunker from the Third Reich. The price is not clear but officials say that they could be adapting, because the place has become a millstone with its upkeep cost of 800,000 EURs a year. Adolf Hitler, worried that Nazi Germany was losing the edge in the war for the sea lanes, ordered the construction of the factory with the aim of building a new U-boat, the advanced XXI model, every 56 hours.     [Ruins & Bunkers of Third Reich]

Nazi U-boat U534 sails to final resting place in Wirral [video]     liverpooldailypost :: 2008-03-12
In spite of the predictions of howling gales, one of the most unusual removal jobs got under way. The fate of the historic submarine U-534 had hung in the balance after the closure of the Historic Warships collection, until Merseytravel bought it up, planning to use it as the basis for a visitor attraction at Woodside ferry terminal. But first the submarine had to be moved, all 900 tonnes of it, causing one of the most unusual engineering operations for those involved. Neil Scales was relieved to see the first and heaviest section of the U-Boat lifted by the Mersey Mammoth floating crane and start its journey.     [U-Boats : Submarines]

Engineers to break up the U-534 : The only WWII German U-Boat in UK     bbc :: 2008-02-06
German U-Boat U-534 is being moved to Mersey Ferries' Woodside ferry terminal in Birkenhead. Visitors will be able to walk through parts of the U-boat after it's cut into 4 pieces using a diamond wire cutter. Presently the submarine stands at Mortar Mill Quay, where it was part of the Historic Warships Museum, closed 2007. Merseytravel purchased the vessel to turn into a tourist attraction. Neil Scales said: "There are only 4 U-Boats left. One here, two in Germany and a sister boat of the U-534 in Chicago. It's a really important piece of history." See also: In Pictures: U-boat operation    

Adolf Hitler's lost fleet found in Black Sea: Three German U-boats     telegraph.co.uk :: 2008-02-03
The location of 3 German U-boats (U-19, U-20, U-23), "Hitler's lost fleet", has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea. The vessels, including one once commanded by U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer, formed part of the 30th Flotilla of 6 submarines, taken by road and river from Nazi Germany's Baltic port at Kiel to Constanta, the Romanian Black Sea port, to attack Russian shipping. In 2 years the fleet sank dozens of ships and lost 3 own u-boats. But in August 1944, Romania switched sides, leaving the 3 last vessels stranded. Mike Williams: "...these U-boats were all scuttled, so they should be intact, like a sealed tube. They are unique survivors of the war."    

Japanese Submarine I-52 had 2 tons of gold and other valuable cargo     montgomeryadvertiser :: 2008-01-28
"Battleground Atlantic: How the Sinking of a Single Japanese Submarine Assured the Outcome of World War II" by Richard Billings tells the story of the I-52, and the salvage efforts by Paul Tidwell. The I-52 carried with it the hopes of bringing victory to Japan. The cargo (gold and liquid opium) was to be used as payment for Nazi engineering that would help bring the Japanese submarine fleet up-to-date, and to bring back to Japan technology for a superweapon - thought to have been a radiological bomb. Billings cites decoded inventories that show uranium oxide aboard the I-52 to back up his argument that Japan was close to launching such a bomb against American targets.    

U-boat U-869 discovery brings some clarity to decades-old mystery     hnn.us :: 2007-11-29
Richie Kohler wanted to become an astronaut. Instead, he became a diver, helping to reveal a World War II mystery. German submarine U-869 was believed to have been sunk near Morocco in 1945, but turned up in 1991 60 miles off the New Jersey coast. The case is covered in Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers." Kohler was one of a group of divers who became involved with the mystery boat after a trawler snagged its net on the wreck. At the beginning it was believed the ship was an American submarine. The mystery intensified when diver John Chatterton recovered an artifact marked with 1942, an eagle and a swastika. "The Navy said there was no known wreck at that location."    

A new Battle of the Atlantic: Who will film the raise of Nazi submarine     belfasttelegraph.co.uk :: 2007-09-09
World-renowned documentary producers are competing to film efforts to raise a Nazi submarine, Derry City Council said. TV companies have contacted the council to express their interest in filming the raising of the U-778 that sank after World War II. Interest is so great that the council has drawn up terms of reference for the filming of operations to ensure it retains as much control of the filming as possible. The Nazi U-boat fleet surrendered at Lisahally on May 8 1945. They were sunk north of Malin Head. U-778 will not be the first submarine to be brought back from the depths. In 1993 U-534 was raised between Sweden and Denmark at a cost of £3m.     [U-Boats : Submarines]

World War II submarine USS Grunion found off Alaska     thewest :: 2007-08-24
The remains of a vessel found in the Bering Sea are likely those of a WWII submarine USS Grunion that disappeared with a crew of 70 off the Aleutian Island of Kiska. The discovery culminates a 5-year search led by the sons of its commander Mannert Abele, and may reveal the last moments of the doomed vessel. A remotely operated vehicle snapped pictures and 3 hours of video footage of the Grunion on a rocky underwater slope north of the volcanic island. The sub lies 300 metres below the surface and crushed by pressure. "The most surprising thing was the damage. It was much more than we or anyone else imagined. Initially it was very hard to recognise as a ship."    

Derry council plans to put Nazi submarine U-778 in maritime museum     guardian :: 2007-08-21
60 years ago the Nazi U-boat fleet that menaced Atlantic convoys and threatened Britain with starvation was scuttled off the north-west coast of Ireland. The sunken hulls and rusting torpedo tubes are encrusted with coral. Salvage plans are being explored to see whether one of the German submarines could be raised. The vessel and its technology could be put on display as the central attraction for a new maritime museum in Derry. The wreck of U-778 which lies 16 miles north-west of Malin Head, has been identified as the best candidate for recovery from among 116 U-boats that litter the ocean floor off the northern Irish coast.    

Soviet sub SC305 found - Sank after being rammed by Finnish sub     canoe :: 2007-07-06
A research team has discovered a Soviet submarine SC305 at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. It was sunk in 1942 by the Finnish navy during a World War II battle. Bjorn Rosenlof says the 8-member team, using sonar equipment, found the vessel at a depth of 136 metres between the Swedish east coast town of Grisslehamn and the Finnish Aland Islands. The sub is "in very good condition, aside from a hole in the hull where it was hit." All 38 crew members died when the submarine sank after being rammed and hit by cannon fire from a Finnish submarine. The military has been informed of the discovery, but it's unclear whether the submarine will be raised from the seabed.    

German WWII submarine U-534 rescued to be Wirral tourist attraction     wirralglobe.co.uk :: 2007-06-27
A german u-boat U-534 torpedoed during World War II will become a tourist attraction at Woodside Ferry terminal under Merseytravel plans. Huge glazed panels installed over the end of each section will allow visitors to see inside the submarine. U534 was never involved in active combat but used for meteorological purposes. "The U-Boat exhibition will also complement both the Resurgum, the world's first submarine, a full-scale model of which is located on the north side of the ferry terminal, as well the historic connection between the Mersey Ferries and U Boats through the 1918 Zeebrugge raid."    

New monument at Iowa Capitol honors World War II submarine crews     desmoinesregister :: 2007-06-23
Article no longer available from the original source.
The S-36, one of 52 American submarines lost during WW2, will be remembered when a new black granite military memorial on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol is dedicated. It's erected under the sponsorship of Iowa submarine veterans groups to remind people of the role played by the U.S. Navy's submarine force. Walter Kraus, the only living member of the S-36's crew, will share his memories of a sub that survived the depth charges dropped by a Japanese destroyer before hitting a submerged reef just days later, forcing sailors to abandon ship. "You could hear the hull creaking, and you could see the water coming through the rivets."    

New generation german U-Boat too little, too late for Third Reich     wired :: 2007-04-30
In the waning days of WW2, U-2511 under Adalbert Schnee puts to sea from Bergen. It marks the first and only combat patrol by German U-boat Type XXI Elektroboot. Had the boat been accorded a higher priority in the armaments pecking order the Battle of the Atlantic might have turned out differently. U-2511 closed to within 500 meters of the British cruiser HMS Norfolk without being picked up by sonar. The Type XXI, displacing 1,620 tons and armed with 6 forward torpedo tubes, would be used as a prototype for the Cold War U.S. and Soviet subs. There were also quantum leaps in sonar and radar technology - where Nazis had lagged throughout WW2.    

How a Japanese Submarine Cruised Through Gilroy During WWII     hollisterfreelance :: 2007-02-26
(Q) Did a Japanese submarine travel through downtown Gilroy during World War II? (A) The day was Nov. 19, 1942. Called a "Tojo Cigar," the 2-man sub on top of a flat-bed truck stopped for a few hours in front of Gilroy's City Hal. The Imperial Japanese Navy's midget submarine Haramaki 19 was captured by the U.S. Navy on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. It was in good enough condition for the U.S. Treasury to send it on a tour across the nation to encourage Americans to buy war bonds. After World War 2, the submarine spent the next 24 years as an exhibit at the Key West Lighthouse Museum.    

Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, author of Das Boot, dies at 89     iht.com :: 2007-02-24
Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the German author and art collector best known for his autobiographical novel, "Das Boot," has died at 89. He joined the German navy as a reporter during World War II. He was acclaimed for his works, including several about his patrol aboard the German sub U-96 in the Atlantic Ocean in 1941. He crafted that experience into the novel "Das Boot," or "The Boat." In 1981, the book was turned into a film that detailed the hopelessness of war and its effect on sailors living in the confines of submarine. He also wrote a 3-volume work, "U-Boat Krieg" or "U-Boat War," that featured 5,000 photos he took aboard the U-96.    

Toxic Nazi submarine U-864 to be buried at sea     guardian :: 2007-02-14
A Nazi u-boat sunk off Norway at the end of world war II is to be buried in the sea bed so that its cargo of toxic mercury will not contaminate the coast. The U-864 submarine was sunk by allied forces off west Norway on Feb 9 1945, and is believed to hold 65 tonnes of mercury. The U-864 had been moving towards Japan with advanced weapons technology and was sunk in a battle with the British HMS Venturer sub. Despite villagers' demands for the hazard to be removed, minister said the wreck will be buried at sea, because raising it would involve risk of spreading mercury to new areas.    

Ambitious plan aims to raise World War II U-boat     bbc :: 2007-02-01
There is a plan to raise a U-boat from the seabed off County Donegal. The aim is to house the boat in a museum where people can get a glimpse of one of the iconic vessels from WWII. A number of U-boats lie 70 metres deep off the coast of Donegal. Even in the murky depths the outline of the U-boat is quite clear, with the aerials and periscopes are still intact. Diver Geoff Millar who has been examining the wrecks of Adolf Hitler's Wolf Pack said he had been surprised they were in such good condition. So far only two U-boats have been brought up from the seabed and preserved for display in Europe.    

Sunken WWII sub USS Perch found by accident near Java     starbulletin :: 2007-01-22
The wreck of WW2 diesel submarine USS Perch was discovered near Java, according to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, by a team hoping to photograph the wreck of the British cruiser Exeter. The news was welcome news to Robert Lents, who was a torpedoman when the Perch was sunk: "I got $35 still in my locker." On March 1, 1942, the Perch was attacked by an enemy convoy that was landing troops. Two Japanese destroyers forced the Perch to the bottom with depth charges, damaging the starboard engines. Two days later the Perch, unable to dive, was attacked by 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers. At that point, commander David Hurt ordered the Perch to be scuttled.    

Futuristic X1 submarine was scrapped in 1936 Wales     icnetwork :: 2006-12-28
A welsh historian Roger Cook is hoping to solve the "political murder" of one of the most advanced submarines of its time. The X1, a triumph of British naval engineering, would have been a major force in World War II. But it was dismantled before the conflict even got under way. Mr Cook, who has become fascinated by the history of the X1, on which he is writing a book, is now hoping people from the Milford Haven area may still be able to offer clues. He says he has discovered that, despite its size and awesome firepower, politicians were always a much bigger threat to the craft than a depth charge could ever be.    

U-boats off the North-East - Submarine Wrecks of the UK     thisishertfordshire :: 2006-12-27
Covering the entire East Coast this meticulously-researched account has separate chapters for the North-East and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The authors have pieced together the stories of the 16 U-boat wrecks so far located - 7 off the North-East coast, 9 off Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. They provide full technical details of the vessels, describe the events leading up to their loss, and list the victims, including, where available, those on ships attacked by the U-boats prior to their own destruction. The present state of the wreck, established by divers, completes the remarkable record.    

Toxic timebomb surfaces after U-boat U864 lost duel to the death     timesonline :: 2006-12-19
61 years ago a U-boat slipped out of the port of Kiel, sent by Adolf Hitler on a secret voyage to Imperial Japan in a mission to avert Nazi Germany's looming defeat. U864 never reached her destination. She was sunk by the British in the only known case of one submarine destroying another while both were submerged. The wreck now lies, in two pieces, 152 metres beneath North Sea waters off the Norwegian coast, and contains 65 tonnes of mercury in 1,857 corroding canisters. It is a toxic timebomb, and the Norwegian Government will announce plans to entomb it in a sarcophagus 12 metres thick.    

Mystery submarine wrecks could be German U-boats     cdnn :: 2006-11-09
Wrecks of two mysterious submarines have been discovered off the coast of Orkney in an area where there were no reports of wartime sinkings. An Orkney diver speculated that the vessels might have been German U-boats sunk during World War 2. There were reports that the Royal Navy had depth-charged U-boats, but this took place several miles away. Grainy images of the submarines were captured using the latest 3-dimensional sonar device, but their identity are not known.    

Seehund submarines - The small two-man subs of Third Reich     northjersey :: 2006-10-03
World War II was winding down when Germany's reeling military launched its Seehund submarines. The small two-man subs didn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of Third Reich enemies. But they were quiet, and their size - only 39 feet long - made them less vulnerable to depth-charge attacks. American and Russian intelligence agents wanted to get their hands on the stealthy subs - they were particularly interested in the sub's periscope optics. The Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA, captured two of the subs and shipped them to the US.    

WWII sub USS Grunion may have been found near Alaska     adn :: 2006-08-23
The USS Grunion, one of the Gato-class attack submarines, was on its maiden operation when it disappeared while patrolling the seas between Alaska and Japan. In July 1942, submarine reported sunking 3 Japanese destroyers. On July 30, it reported heavy anti-submarine activity nearby and said it had 10 torpedoes left. It was never heard from again. For years, the sons of skipper Mannert L. Abele have pored over Navy documents and contacted others interested in the Grunion. A break came in 2002, when Japanese historian Yutaka Iwasaki posted a translation of an article, describing an exchange of cannon fire and torpedoes with an American submarine.    

U-boat hit by the B24 Liberator bomber - Victoria Cross for Pilot     northernadvocate :: 2006-08-22
Submarine commander Oberleutant Clemens Schamong, who held an Iron Cross 1st class, ordered to open fire when an Allied B24 Liberator caught the German u-boat on the surface. Cannon shells from two 20mm anti-aircraft guns on the U-boat hit the B24 Liberator, which caught fire and the Germans thought it would turn away. Despite many more direct hits, Pilot Lloyd Trigg ran the burning bomber toward the u-boat, dropping 6 depth charges before the plane plunged into the Ocean and blew up. All men aboard it were killed. Two of the depth charges exploded alongside the U-boat, fatal strikes which had the submarine sinking. Trigg was decorated with the Victoria Cross.     [Bomber Pilots of WWII: B-17, B-24]

Hobby map where u-boats battled now the definitive source     huntsvilletimes :: 2006-07-17
He grew up in World War II on the coast watching German U-boats burning in the Gulf of Mexico and went on to research them for the rest of his life. Carl Vought loved U-boat research so much he did a comprehensive map on where they battled and who captained them. It's so accurate, a copy of the map resides as the definitive source in a German U-boat museum and the World War II Museum in New Orleans. "He wound up tracing all the U-boats in that era, had their courses, who their captains were, logos on their towers, all charted on a map. If you called the Navy archives, they would have referred you to him."     [U-Boats : Submarines]

Relic from a sunken World War II German submarine     townonline :: 2006-05-27
Earl King was unaware a relic he retrieved from a sunken World War II German submarine may be an object of interest to the German government and could have a value in the thousands. He managed to recover a gyrocompass from the sunken hull of a German U-58 submarine in a dive off Block Island on July 4, 1973. He did not disclose an exact amount, but said the gyrocompass is a rare object and would have "high value" to the German government, which would want to place the gyroscope in a museum. Under salvage ownership laws King probably has ownership right now, but German officials might see things otherwise.     [Relic Hunters: Hidden Nazi & War treasures]

Suspected discovery of lost WWII u-boat     maritimequest.com :: 2006-05-07
The U.S. government was so secretive about its submarines patrolling the Pacific Ocean that family members got little information whenever a crew was lost. But after 60 years of lingering uncertainty, those who lost loved ones aboard the USS Lagarto have received unexpected news: The wreckage of the submarine built and commissioned in Wisconsin apparently has been found. Divers have reported finding the sunken vessel in the South China Sea off the coast of Thailand. If confirmed, the discovery would resolve decades of unanswered questions about how crew members perished during the final months of WWII.     [U-Boats : Submarines]

Dodging depth charges aboard the U.S. Submarine Thresher     lompocrecord :: 2006-04-12
Unlike the air-and-ground war in Europe, the war in the Pacific was more a naval war. All the U.S. Pacific Submarine Fleet reported to headquarters in Hawaii. Due to the lack of advanced communication, the sub commander had a lot of autonomy. Patrols could last weeks, depending on fuel, torpedoes and damage sustained. On one patrol, the Thresher sank a big Japanese freighter. Unknown to the sub crew, a group of Japanese destroyers was nearby, soon pursuing the sub. For 18 hours the Thresher evaded the depth charges. On another mission, the Thresher was carrying 25 rangers, when it ran aground on a sand bar on the way and wouldn't come off...    

Submariner hero of the Tirpitz raid - Richard Kendall     guardian :: 2006-03-18
Former naval diver Richard Kendall was one of the bravest participants in the Royal Navy's most daring operational success of the WWII - the midget submarine attack on the Tirpitz, Hitler's mightiest warship, in its Norwegian base in autumn 1943. At 53,000 tones and armed with eight 15-inch guns, the battleship had been the bane of the British home fleet since Jan 1942, threatening allied convoys taking munitions to Murmansk. British air attacks on the battleship at anchor failed, but from May 1943 the navy began to develop the X-craft, a midget submarine only 51ft long and displacing 35 tonnes. Its only armament was a pair of detachable mines.    

Only four intact WWII German U-boats in museums worldwide     csmonitor :: 2006-03-01
When the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago recently took the step of relocating its U-boat to a underground exhibit hall, it also revamped the entire exhibition. As with the physical exhibit, the U-505 website guides visitors through a historical context related to the main attraction: the U-Boat Menace in the Atlantic Ocean, the US Navy's response in the form of Hunter-Killer Task Groups, and the role of Intelligence and code breaking in the war against the subs. A 6-part series on Capturing the U-505 follows.    

Revealing WWII Sub's Secrets     ap :: 2006-01-28
Three safes aboard as World War Two-era submarine docked in Hackensack have yielded more trove than treasure. It took world champion safecracker Jeff Sitar about 24 minutes to crack the safes aboard the U-S-S Ling. Inside were three training manuals, two .45-caliber bullets, carbon paper and pennies. Two safes still need to be unlocked.    

See also:
'WWII Wrecks'
'Graf Spee'
'Nazi Medals'
'WW2 Movies'
'U-Boat Aces'.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2009. All rights reserved.