RL Depth Charge Damage: U-175

[danlisa]

I pray for this level of detail in any Silent Hunter series.

I'm suprised this boat even surfaced but the pressure hull seems to be intact.

Click Me: It's a biggie.


Read about the entire attack here:
http://www.uscg.mil/history/WEBCUTTE...ncervsu175.asp

[Keelbuster]

strange that the damage is so contained to the lower rear conning tower. It looks like it tore out the whole supporting structure to the AA gun platform. But the rest of the tower, and the deck (even the rails on the deck) just below are relatively unscathed.

Very cool though.

[Huskalar]

Very nice picture.

[seafarer]

Originally Posted by danlisa

I pray for this level of detail in any Silent Hunter series.

I'm suprised this boat even surfaced but the pressure hull seems to be intact.

Giving the guy working on the conning tower (looks like he's got a cutting torch going), I assume she's fully surfaced. if so, she's pretty low in the water, so I'm assuming there has been some major flooding.

A bit like a shot up plane though - any landing you walk away from is a good one (any dive you surface from is a good dive).

[danlisa]

Was definately a DC attack. The guy on the UBoat is a US sailor.

I put the link to the full events in the first post.

[Captain Nemo]

It may have been a DC attack that brought this u-boat to the surface, but the damage to the conning tower might have been inflicted by the escorts opening fire with every weapon available to them. This was mainly done to prevent the u-boat crew manning the deck gun as well as trying to stop the crew abandoning the u-boat and scuttling it so that it could be captured.

Nemo

[seafarer]

Reading the whole account, the conning tower damage looks like it wasn't due to a depth charge though. That look's like a hit from one of the Spencer's 5" guns, after the DC attack forced her to the surface.

At least 41 of the crew were picked up - better then the fate of the crews of most u-boats that took such a DC beating.

But, it's sad about the Coast Guardsman who died from the friendly fire shrapnel - you don't often think of friendly fire casualties when you think of the Battle of the Atlantic.

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by seafarer

But, it's sad about the Coast Guardsman who died from the friendly fire shrapnel - you don't often think of friendly fire casualties when you think of the Battle of the Atlantic.

I remember reading a book about the arctic convoys in particular convoy PQ17. When under attack by enemy aircraft, it was quite common for gunners on merchant ships to hit other ships in the convoy with their ack ack guns when trying to shoot down low flying torpedo bombers.

Nemo

[Brag]

To me, it looks like most visible damage was done by guns. The other pix in the article show the conning tower being hit. Lots os smoke is coming out of the conning tower hatch.

Good find, Dan!

[Morts]

i really hate how they keep calling them nazis on that website

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by Morts

i really hate how they keep calling them nazis on that website

They're just quoting the original captions printed with the photographs.

[baggygreen]

Thats because of the time the comments were written on the back of the photos tho Morts..

My question is why did they start shelling the sub once it was blown clear to the surface? I wouldnt have thought it very likely the subs crew could ready the deck gun without being spotted doing so...

[seafarer]

Originally Posted by baggygreen

Thats because of the time the comments were written on the back of the photos tho Morts..

My question is why did they start shelling the sub once it was blown clear to the surface? I wouldnt have thought it very likely the subs crew could ready the deck gun without being spotted doing so...

Pretty much standard practice, from the attacks I've read of u-boats being forced to the surface. Open up on them with everything at hand. The goal was to be sure to put the boat on the bottom - period. When my father's ship was in a similar situation, that's what they did - opened fire as soon as the boat was spotted on the surface.

From their perspective, the u-boats offered no mercy to their victoms, so they were offered none in return. I think that's one thing we can't have a true perspective of, not having lived it. A lot of people truly hated the germans (ever see the interviews on Band of Brothers with "wild Bill" Garnier - he says quite bluntly that when he landed in Normandy, his personal goal was to kill as many germans as he possible could, and he admits, that turned into quite a few in fact). The crews of the convoy escort ships and the various merchant marines really had no sympathy for the u-boat crews - none at all.

It's really near impossible to put yourself into their emotional shoes - I mean anyone, from any side, who lived and faught in WWII.

[baggygreen]

I can completely understand that seafarer, the uboats put crews into the cold atlantic with no warning, the desire to kill them with no mercy is understandable to an extent.

I was thinking more though of the fact that had they decided not to shell it into oblivion, they could've gained a treasue trove of information before it sank - surely the shelling only made the boat sink with all the more speed...:hmm:

[Brag]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

They're just quoting the original captions printed with the photographs.

The original captions were war propaganda.

That Allied ASW ship commanders acted with unnessesary brutality against surfacing U-boats, there is no question about it.

Too bad (as far as I know) no allied war criminals were ever put on trial.