Hitler's lost sub

[diddyriddick]

Found this transcript on-line for the Nova episode where they found the identity of the "U-Who". It was literally an ocean away from where Doenitz thought it was. While I knew about "U-Who", I had not seen this. It makes for interesting reading.

NOVA | Transcripts | Hitler's Lost Sub | PBS

 

[Messy1]

Great find Diddy! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Messy1]

This part part really stuck with me. Can you imagine anything like this taking place on America's shore?

GORDON VAETH (US Navy Intelligence): And this went on all the time. Bodies and wreckage. And oil was constantly coming ashore—down the coast as far as Florida.

I never heard or thought about anything like that happening on US soil. Really make you think.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

My dad can remember seeing ships burn off the coast Virginia when he was a young boy.

 

[timshatz]

The really wild thing about that time in the war was how many ships were sunk off the East Coast of the US in the period from Jan 12, 1942 to June 30 of the same year. Something like 350 to 400 ships. And the event is relatively unknown.

To put it in perspective, Pearl Harbor resulted in something like 8 US ships sunk. Operation Drumbeat (the Kriegsmarine name for the attack) accrued those results in a couple of days and it went on for 6 months. Granted, Pearl Harbor resulted in Warships being sunk whereas the East Coast attack was almost all merchantmen, but the numbers are awesome.

There are a few web sites that show the locations of the ships that were sunk. Most of them were broken up after the war as hazards to navigation. They were sunk in relatively shallow water. Unfortunately, I can't remember the location of the web sites but they are dive sites and not history sites.

 

[vikingBerserker]

That would be fricken awesome!

 

[GrauGeist]

The U-boats really did a number on North Amrican shipping before the U.S. Navy got thier act together. And it wasn't just in the Altantic, the U-Boats successfully roamed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, too.

Check out uboat.net - The U-boat War in Maps for good maps of Ops in all areas.

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

I remember reading that we didn't blackout the major cities right away either.
The light from them silohuetted the outbound ships perfectly which aided the U-boats in their task.

Cool site GG.


Wheels

 

[RabidAlien]

If y'all haven't already, check out the book "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson. An excellent read on this very subject!

 

[timshatz]

I remember reading that we didn't blackout the major cities right away either.
The light from them silohuetted the outbound ships perfectly which aided the U-boats in their task.

Yeah, local Mayors thought it would affect the tourist business. Didn't want them off as they thought a darkened city would not attract tourist. So the lights stayed on.

It did attract a lot of Germans.

 

[Messy1]

Hollywood!

 

[beaupower32]

I thought i was a very intresting read, and I just spent the last 30 minutes reading it. I am glad that they found it and its another sub that has finally made it back home (so to say). May all the family's of the lost crew members finally be able to heal knowing that their family members have come home.

 

[diddyriddick]

This part part really stuck with me. Can you imagine anything like this taking place on America's shore?

GORDON VAETH (US Navy Intelligence): And this went on all the time. Bodies and wreckage. And oil was constantly coming ashore—down the coast as far as Florida.

I never heard or thought about anything like that happening on US soil. Really make you think.

If you're ever in this neck of the woods, the NC Maritime museum in Morehead City covers this generally, and the sinking of U-352 specifically. Worth the time!

 

[Capt. Vick]

If y'all haven't already, check out the book "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson. An excellent read on this very subject!

Agreed! An excellent book that reads like fiction! Amazing... 8)

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Yeah, local Mayors thought it would affect the tourist business. Didn't want them off as they thought a darkened city would not attract tourist. So the lights stayed on.

It did attract a lot of Germans.

Thanks Tim. 8)


Wheels

 

[timshatz]

My pleasure.