Did you ever think about it?

[bigboywooly]

Yeah it certainly does

I remember standing on the back of a ship some years ago in the bay of Biscay at night
Not a sound apart from the engines and not a light to be seen

Eerie but great all the same

They certainly deserve respect

[AVGWarhawk]

Yeah, eerie seems to be the word. Also a feeling of being insignificate in the large scheme of things.

[mookiemookie]

Take it a step further. Imagine being one of the guys in the engine room who never saw the sun, never got fresh air (except the few and far between times the kaleun let them up on deck) had no idea what was going on in an attack.

And still knowing that you were stranded in that iron coffin, in the middle of the ocean. Man, I would have gone stir crazy. I totally understand why Ghost from Das Boot flipped out.

[Jimbuna]

'Lonely' is the word that springs to mind with me....and the tight confined/cramped/damp conditions...yuk !!...what an existence

[Sailor Steve]

Standing on a deck and seeing nothing but water all the way to the horizon? Yeah, that can be lonely. Being inside with 50 or 200 or 6000 other sailors? No, lonely isn't the word. "Suffocating"...that's the word.

[melnibonian]

No matter what we think of the second world war and Germany I feel we should respect the level of professionalism, endurance and (unfortunatelly) ruthlessness of the U-Boat crews. The achieve a lot with inferior machines and in really difficult conditions.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by melnibonian

No matter what we think of the second world war and Germany I feel we should respect the level of professionalism, endurance and (unfortunatelly) ruthlessness of the U-Boat crews. The achieve a lot with inferior machines and in really difficult conditions.

It is not what we think of Germany, there was less than a handful of radicals. For the most part the German soldiers were much like you and me. Unfortunate that Hollywood always shows the extremely bad side of the Germany back then. If you get out of Hollywood and read accounts by soldiers in the Germany military, most loved, laughed, cared for family and country...not much unlike the Allied troops. Most thrown into a war they did not want.

As far as inferior machines as to what we have today....you bet man, it was sometimes a shoe string operation at best. Hell, the wildcats that flew off carriers had no compass, fly only while the sun is up so they could see their way back. Now that takes a large set of nuts to do that!!!!

A very different world then what we see today, no doubt.

[melnibonian]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

It is not what we think of Germany, there was less than a handful of radicals. For the most part the German soldiers were much like you and me. Unfortunate that Hollywood always shows the extremely bad side of the Germany back then. If you get out of Hollywood and read accounts by soldiers in the Germany military, most loved, laughed, cared for family and country...not much unlike the Allied troops. Most thrown into a war they did not want.

As far as inferior machines as to what we have today....you bet man, it was sometimes a shoe string operation at best. Hell, the wildcats that flew off carriers had no compass, fly only while the sun is up so they could see their way back. Now that takes a large set of nuts to do that!!!!

A very different world then what we see today, no doubt.

Oh I do agree in everything you say. All of the operations during WWII look dated by modern standards, especially U-Boat operations. Still the german crews did the best they could (soe ties even more) given the circumstances. I feel they did more than enough for their country in a messy, bloody and horrible war.

[mookiemookie]

The descriptions of the smell is what always gets me. The combined B.O. of 50 guys who haven't bathed in weeks, mixed with diesel oil, saltwater and urine on clothes that haven't been washed in weeks, and moldy food all in humid and stale air...blah. I wonder if you just became immune to it after a while. Turns your stomach!

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

The descriptions of the smell is what always gets me. The combined B.O. of 50 guys who haven't bathed in weeks, mixed with diesel oil, saltwater and urine on clothes that haven't been washed in weeks, and moldy food all in humid and stale air...blah. I wonder if you just became immune to it after a while. Turns your stomach!

That must have been a living hell!!! I would suspect they did not smell themselves after a while. What I find funny are old movies reels showing the crew coming off the boats, smelly and beards, etc. and the girls kissing and hugging them. It's like honey, I have not brushed my teeth or washed my rearend for over 4 weeks. Man, the stench! Must be very brave women or extremely hard up.