How deep have you gone?

Checkmate King 2 · 11-12-07, 08:00 PM

Below is an excerpt from the book Black May.

Numerous efforts were made by the British to determine the maximum diving depth of VIIC, the most numerous U-boat type. In 1942 RN submariners tested the captured U-570 (renames H.M.S. Graph) and found that her thick hull survived the atmospheres of pressure at 200 meters (656 feet). The deepest measurement taken by asdic during the war was 238 meters (780 feet). Gunter Hessler, who commanded U-107 until November 1941, the served on Donitz's BdU staff, wrote after the war that by summer of 1942 new Type VIICs had been strengthened to a standard of 200 meters, "which in practice meant that in an emergency they could go down to 300 meters without harm. From interrogations of U-boat prisoners the British learned that most Commanders considered 200 meters the deepest safe depth when under attack, but that "good evidence" indicated that in the summer of 1943 one boat involuntarily dived to 340 meters (1115 feet) without breaking up. Interesting is the finding that as late as easrly 1943 the maximum depth setting for British D/Cs was 550 feet. In June of that year both the D/C and asdic recorder settings would be readjusted to 750 feet.

After reading this I got to thinking; how deep have you been able to go and lived to talk about it?

11-12-07, 08:00 PM	#1
Checkmate King 2 Helmsman Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 109 Downloads: 184 Uploads: 0	How deep have you gone? Below is an excerpt from the book Black May. Numerous efforts were made by the British to determine the maximum diving depth of VIIC, the most numerous U-boat type. In 1942 RN submariners tested the captured U-570 (renames H.M.S. Graph) and found that her thick hull survived the atmospheres of pressure at 200 meters (656 feet). The deepest measurement taken by asdic during the war was 238 meters (780 feet). Gunter Hessler, who commanded U-107 until November 1941, the served on Donitz's BdU staff, wrote after the war that by summer of 1942 new Type VIICs had been strengthened to a standard of 200 meters, "which in practice meant that in an emergency they could go down to 300 meters without harm. From interrogations of U-boat prisoners the British learned that most Commanders considered 200 meters the deepest safe depth when under attack, but that "good evidence" indicated that in the summer of 1943 one boat involuntarily dived to 340 meters (1115 feet) without breaking up. Interesting is the finding that as late as easrly 1943 the maximum depth setting for British D/Cs was 550 feet. In June of that year both the D/C and asdic recorder settings would be readjusted to 750 feet. After reading this I got to thinking; how deep have you been able to go and lived to talk about it?