I agree... he had no choice given the circumstances and should not be second guessed for making the command decision he made to drop the charges despite the fact that men were in the water.
I thought i read in "torpedo junction" that it was suspected that U-boat commanders might let off some crew in the water to fake a scuttling and throw off the destroyer.
though in hind sight i cant imagine a sub skipper doing that - if the Roper's C.O. felt that it was a possibility of a ploy or trick he was within his right to continue his attack.
it could be argued a lot of ways.
I have read a great deal about this particular incident.
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