A Prize of War
On June 4, 1944, about 150 miles off the coast of West Africa, the German submarine U-505 was detected by sonar. U.S. Navy Task Group 22.3, a hunter-killer group centered around the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal, located the submerged vessel. Depth charges from the destroyer escort USS Chatelain damaged the U-boat, jamming its rudder and causing flooding in the aft compartments. Forced to the surface, the submarine's commander, Oberleutnant Harald Lange, ordered his crew to abandon ship, believing scuttling charges would sink the vessel.
The scuttling attempt was only partially successful. An eight-man American boarding party from the USS Pillsbury, led by Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert L. David, climbed aboard the circling, abandoned submarine. They raced below decks to close sea valves and disarm the demolition charges, securing the submarine. The capture provided an enormous intelligence victory: two Enigma cipher machines and over 900 pounds of codebooks and secret documents. The seizure was classified top secret for the remainder of the war to prevent Germany from discovering that its naval codes were compromised. The 58 captured German sailors were interned in a special prisoner-of-war camp in Louisiana.
Anatomy of a Type IXC
The U-505 is a Type IXC submarine, a class designed for long-range patrols. It measures 76.76 meters (252 feet) long and displaced 1,120 tonnes on the surface. Its propulsion system consisted of two MAN diesel engines for surface travel and two Siemens electric motors for submerged operation. This allowed a maximum surface speed of 18.3 knots and a submerged speed of 7.3 knots. The U-boat's operational range was, capable of traveling 13,450 nautical miles on the surface at 10 knots.
The submarine's armament included six torpedo tubes—four at the bow and two at the stern—with 22 torpedoes. It also carried a 10.5 cm deck gun and anti-aircraft cannons. During its service with the German Kriegsmarine, the U-505 conducted twelve patrols and sank eight Allied ships, totaling 45,005 gross register tons. The submarine had a troubled service history, earning a reputation for bad luck that included severe damage on multiple patrols and the suicide of its second captain during a depth charge attack. After its capture, it was towed 2,500 miles to Bermuda. Following the war, a campaign led by Captain Daniel V. Gallery, who had commanded the capture, saved the U-505 from being scrapped. In 1954, it was brought through the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes to the Museum of Science and Industry, where it is a permanent exhibit and a national historic landmark.