How did real-life U-boat captains work?

[Rhodes]

Originally Posted by somedude88

Holy ****! They fired a torpedo and it circled around and hit the sub it was fired from? How often did this happen?!

More often than It should happen. I think I read some were that in the US subs during WW2 war (possible in the beginning), this kind of situations were "normal" and so they had orders or it was standard procedure to fire the torpedoes and dive to a establish depth for safety. But I could be confuse or wrong.

[Aktungbby]

Quite often! http://www.subsowespac.org/the-patrol-zone/circular-torpedo-runs.shtml In real life, especially on a 'salvo fire it is advisable and practical to shift depth till the eels have completed their run. The German sub off new jersey U-869 is belived to be a victim of its own eel. It conducted one World War II war patrol without success. It suffered no casualties to its crew until it was lost in February 1945.


For many years it was recorded, and believed, that U-869 had been sunk off Gibraltar in a depth charge attack, with the loss of all 55 officers and crew.


An unidentified U-boat wreck, dubbed U-Who, discovered off the coast of New Jersey in 1991 was established from identifying items and numbers to be U-869. The finders of U-869 have also provided persuasive arguments that the sinking was due to a circle runner torpedo.


Two other German U-boats, U-377 in 1944 and U-972 in late 1943, are known to have been sunk by circular runner torpedoes.
<The USS Tullibee was a US submarine launched in November 1942. She operated out of Pearl Harbour. Whilst on her fourth patrol in March 1944 she came upon a convoy consisting of a large troop and cargo ship, two medium sized freighters, two escort vessels and a large destroyer. After sustaining a depth charge attack, Tullibee launched two torpedoes from her bow tubes. Two minutes later the Tullibee was rocked by a huge explosion, which was found later to have been caused by one of the torpedoes completing a circular run.


Gunner's Mate C.W. Kuykendall, on the bridge at the time, was knocked unconscious and thrown into the water. When he regained consciousness, the submarine was gone. He heard voices in the water for about ten minutes before they stopped. The next day, he was picked up by a Japanese destroyer and made a prisoner of war, being released after VJ Day.


79 men died in the sinking. Kuykendall was the only survivor. The USS Tang was a US submarine launched in August 1943 and sunk on 24 October 1944. In her brief career Tang sank 33 ships and her captain, Commander Richard O’Kane, received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements on 23 and 24 October 1944.

In her last engagement, Tang sunk a destroyer and a number of freighters, tankers and transports, 13 in total, part of a convoy, using 23 of her 24 torpedoes. The final torpedo was fired but made a circular run and hit the Tang 20 seconds later.


Of the nine officers and men on the bridge, three were able to swim through the night until picked up eight hours later. One officer escaped from the flooded Conning Tower, and was rescued with the others.


The submarine settled in 60 metres (180 feet) of water with the men crowded in to the forward torpedo room to escape. Escape was delayed by depth charges and there were only 8 men who survived from the men who escaped from the sunken submarine. Picked up by a destroyer escort, they were beaten and tortured by survivors of the torpedoed ships. According to Commander O’Kane, "When we realized that our clubbings and kickings were being administered by the burned, mutilated survivors of our own handiwork, we found we could take it with less prejudice."


78 men were lost when the Tang sank itself with its last torpedo.

[somedude88]

Man, the achievements in that death alone. It's both 3 stooges-like and also horrifying... there's something morbidly humorous about being torpedoed by your own torpedo..

Loop-de-loop- ..but it works so well on planes!
What goes around- ...comes arou- uh-oh...
Straight shooter- Well, figuratively at least.
I meant to do that- I mean, it did hit something, right?
Return to sender- of all the times to get the address wrong...

[somedude88]

Since we are talking about U-boats, we are talking about Germany during Nazi times, which begs the question, what influence did the Nazis force upon commanders, if any? I read "A higher call" and read about certain instances where Nazi agents were inserted into units to monitor and tattle on pilots and crews that made fun of or insulted Hitler or Goering. Did anything similar happen to U-boat Captains?

[Rhodes]

About that, what is normally said that the kriegsmarine was the least nazi of the german arm forces and the u-boat force was the least nazi of the various branches of the war navy.
Of course this can be a reductionist view. From my knowledge, some u-boat captains were nazis (only party members just because or avowed members) others were not and didn't die of love of them. U-boat ace Teddy Suhren has a funny/infamous incident when arriving from a patrol, that illustrates his views about politics.
Also, never read it about nazi agents being infiltrated in u-boat crews, but another forum member can shed more knowledge of the subject.
And if they did it, it would be so easy for going to stand watch and be forgotten when a crash dive happend...