This is funny - U166

Shelton · 08-27-07, 02:22 AM

U-166 sailed from Lorient, France on June 17, 1942. The war in Europe was nearly three years old, but the conflict had barely touched the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Only six months after its official entry into the war, the United States was still learning how to handle the U-boat menace and, generally speaking, wasn't doing a very good job. Many merchant ships continued sailing alone and unescorted, and some coastal cities were still reluctant to enforce blackout regulations -- after all, the blackout was bad for tourism!

Kuhlmann's first war patrol as commander started off inauspiciously, when he intercepted the 84-ton Dominican schooner Carmen off that country's northern shore on July 11. Not wanting to waste valuable torpedoes on such a small target, he attacked on the surface and sank the boat with gunfire. Two days later bigger game appeared, the 2,309-tom U.S. steam freighter Oneida, off the eastern tip of Cuba. Kuhlmann sent her to the bottom with six dead and continued west along the Cuban coast.

On the evening of July 16, 1942, about thirty miles northeast of Havana, U-166 encountered an ancient and tiny motorized fishing vessel called Gertrude. Kuhlmann may have been amused that this little boat bore the same name as his wife. The 16-ton boat was far too small for a torpedo, so he ordered the trawler's three-man crew into a motorboat and sank the trawler with gunfire. The motorboat ran out of fuel before reaching Cuba, and the crew drifted for three days before being picked up in the Florida Keys.

Kuhlmann and his crew never knew about it, but their encounter with Gertrude gained some notoriety after the trawler's crew was picked up and questioned by the U.S. Navy. Press releases, always looking for a good propaganda angle, suggested that Gertrude had been attacked and "hijacked" for food "by a Nazi U-boat crew apparently desperate for provisions." The resulting article appeared in the New York Times on July 28 and undoubtedly caused a few chuckles, especially when readers learned that the trawler's cargo consisted of twenty tons of onions.

source:
http://www.pastfoundation.org/U166/U-166Patrol.htm

Lible · 08-27-07, 05:26 AM

A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

onelifecrisis · 08-27-07, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lible

A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

LOL well spotted!

Gezoes · 08-27-07, 06:21 AM

Onion soup...

minute · 08-27-07, 06:33 AM

So what/who did actually sunk U-166? There doesn't seem to be a conclusion on that yet, is it?

Jimbuna · 08-27-07, 06:49 AM

A bit info here: http://uboat.net/boats/u166.htm

siber · 08-27-07, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelton

Press releases, always looking for a good propaganda angle, suggested that Gertrude had been attacked and "hijacked" for food "by a Nazi U-boat crew apparently desperate for provisions." The resulting article appeared in the New York Times on July 28 and undoubtedly caused a few chuckles, especially when readers learned that the trawler's cargo consisted of twenty tons of onions.

U-166 didn't sink. It's crew was overcome by bad-breath and the captain scuttled the ship. They were only German after all, not French.

IrischKapitan · 08-27-07, 10:11 AM

[quote=siber]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelton

They were only German after all, not French.

:rotfl::rotfl:

tigone · 07-14-08, 12:22 PM

Lible asked:

> A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

The 17 tons refers to Gertrude's gross register tonnage (GRT), which is a measure of enclosed volume, not weight. (100 cubic feet = 1 gross register ton). It's common for vessels to carry more cargo in actual tons than their nominal GRT would suggest.

Nevertheless, I'm sure Gertrude was quite a crowded and aromatic little vessel.

Andy Hall

Sailor Steve · 07-14-08, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lible

A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

Not uncommon at all. Ship tonnage ratings are many and varied. Net tonnage is how much the vessel displaces empty. Gross Rated Tonnage is how much it weighs with fuel, crew, provisions and fittings. Deadweight Tonnage is the ship's cargo capacity, which almost always is more than the GRT.

The most famous example of this is the legendary Great Lakes ship Edmund Fitzgerald. The ship's GRT was 13,632 short tons, or 12,367 long tons, and her DWT was 26,660 short tons, or24,190 long tons. (a short ton is the standard imperial measure of 2000 pounds. A long ton, or ship's ton, is 2240 pounds)

So a boat listed at 17 tons carrying 20 tons of cargo is not unusual.

[edit]I see a newbie beat me to it.

WELCOME ABOARD, tigone!

rifleman13 · 07-14-08, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lible

A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

One must have plenty of fresh food aboard a u-boat, even it's a little "singy" on the taste, right?

Jimbuna · 07-15-08, 10:05 AM

Welcome aboard Kaleun tigone

08-27-07, 02:22 AM	#1
Shelton Planesman Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 195 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	This is funny - U166 U-166 sailed from Lorient, France on June 17, 1942. The war in Europe was nearly three years old, but the conflict had barely touched the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Only six months after its official entry into the war, the United States was still learning how to handle the U-boat menace and, generally speaking, wasn't doing a very good job. Many merchant ships continued sailing alone and unescorted, and some coastal cities were still reluctant to enforce blackout regulations -- after all, the blackout was bad for tourism! Kuhlmann's first war patrol as commander started off inauspiciously, when he intercepted the 84-ton Dominican schooner Carmen off that country's northern shore on July 11. Not wanting to waste valuable torpedoes on such a small target, he attacked on the surface and sank the boat with gunfire. Two days later bigger game appeared, the 2,309-tom U.S. steam freighter Oneida, off the eastern tip of Cuba. Kuhlmann sent her to the bottom with six dead and continued west along the Cuban coast. On the evening of July 16, 1942, about thirty miles northeast of Havana, U-166 encountered an ancient and tiny motorized fishing vessel called Gertrude. Kuhlmann may have been amused that this little boat bore the same name as his wife. The 16-ton boat was far too small for a torpedo, so he ordered the trawler's three-man crew into a motorboat and sank the trawler with gunfire. The motorboat ran out of fuel before reaching Cuba, and the crew drifted for three days before being picked up in the Florida Keys. Kuhlmann and his crew never knew about it, but their encounter with Gertrude gained some notoriety after the trawler's crew was picked up and questioned by the U.S. Navy. Press releases, always looking for a good propaganda angle, suggested that Gertrude had been attacked and "hijacked" for food "by a Nazi U-boat crew apparently desperate for provisions." The resulting article appeared in the New York Times on July 28 and undoubtedly caused a few chuckles, especially when readers learned that the trawler's cargo consisted of twenty tons of onions. source: http://www.pastfoundation.org/U166/U-166Patrol.htm __________________ I use Linux http://www.kde.org/screenshots/

08-27-07, 06:21 AM	#4
Gezoes XO Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 435 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Onion soup... __________________ If I wasn't a little mad, I'd go mad.

08-27-07, 06:49 AM	#6
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	A bit info here: http://uboat.net/boats/u166.htm __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

07-14-08, 12:22 PM	#9
tigone Mate Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 56 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	20 tons of Onions? Lible asked: > A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions? The 17 tons refers to Gertrude's gross register tonnage (GRT), which is a measure of enclosed volume, not weight. (100 cubic feet = 1 gross register ton). It's common for vessels to carry more cargo in actual tons than their nominal GRT would suggest. Nevertheless, I'm sure Gertrude was quite a crowded and aromatic little vessel. Andy Hall

07-15-08, 10:05 AM	#12
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Welcome aboard Kaleun tigone __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

08-27-07, 05:26 AM	#2
Lible Mate Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 58 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	A 17-ton boat carrying 20 tons of onions?

08-27-07, 06:33 AM	#5
minute Loader Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 87 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	So what/who did actually sunk U-166? There doesn't seem to be a conclusion on that yet, is it?