The PRIZE: The Capture of U-505
Posted by Matty
on January 17, 2009, 1:38:28, in reply to "U-505 GROUP BUILD"
Message modified by board administrator January 17, 2009, 1:43:01
-Orig. 12/3/08-
For sheer intrigue and drama, few naval episodes can compete with the capture of a U-boat on the high seas - a coup first achieved in WWII by the RN on 5/9/41, with the capture of U-110, and repeated 6/4/44 by the USN, with the capture of U-505.
Stealthily, in darkness and under cover of the sea itself, U-boats hunting the Allied convoys were themselves being stalked, in a deliberate campaign to seize the German code system Enigma, whose components and methods comprised by far the best, and virtually unbreakable encryption of its day. After the RN capture of major Enigma components from U-110 in 1941, they managed to grab additional code keys from U-559 on 10/30/42, before the disabled sub went down (taking two of three boarders with her). To make such confiscations from a U-boat at sea, the Allies had at hand the primary tool of aggressive convoy escorts; rushing in - usually at great risk to themselves - to attack and yet not sink a U-boat, but instead to force it - against all odds - to surface, to submit to boarding and, with more luck, to capture, wholesale. In the case of U-505, add to all this the use of the previously captured Enigma key "Shark", from U-559, above, to decrypt orders revealing the operating area of U-505, plus airborne detection and attack by an ASW group, with the captain of their escort carrier dedicated - not unlike Captain Ahab, of Moby Dick - to capturing a U-boat, and you've got a story which truly "has it all".
Today, I find it quite astounding, given the secrecy demanded by any successful capture of Enigma (lest the DKM immediately change its ciphers, in response), to note how well-documented - including in photos - was the entire capture of U-505:
Click on Image to EnlargeAfter sonar detection by the Edsall-class DE 149, USS Chatelain, the Type IXC U-boat 505 shook off this initial contact but was then spotted by a pair of orbiting Wildcats, already launched from the Cassablanca-class CVE 60, USS Guadalcanal. The planes directed a HedgeHog volley from Chatelain squarely onto the sub, forcing her to surface, where a photo-equipped plane was waiting to take the pic at top; catching U-505 still with some headway on, and the crew (purportedly) abandoning. Note a last glimpse of deck aft of the extended "wintergarten" AA platform; (at least some of) U-505's seacocks had been opened, and she was already settling rapidly by the stern. The same aircraft (or another operating with her) also loitered to document the approach of the first boarding party (center); in a boat from another Edsall-class DE 133, USS Pillsbury. By the time the DE came alongside (bottom), note the sub's wintergarten was almost completely submerged; to a point only minutes - perhaps even seconds - away from her being lost forever to the ocean floor, when boarders secured all the flooding.
But, though the critical moment may have passed, the picture-taking was just getting started:
Click on Image to EnlargeHere, more salvors have boarded - all perched on the bow, now that the conning tower is completely occupied - as U-505 wallows in the swell. The bottom photo - the definitive "U-505 picture", in my memory, since about age 8 - remains a remarkable image, in its own right. Note firstly the clear indication of the original paint scheme; vertical surfaces of the conning tower being much darker (along with the deck, seen earlier) than the hull sides, including below the waterline. Extensive weathering - as both light chips and dark blotches in the paint- are clearly visible. Finally, note also the severely bent railings - plausibly a direct result of the HedgeHog hit(s) - but also quite possibly occuring during boarding, as U-505 helplessly rolled and lurched into repeated collision with Pillsbury. The above and subsequent pics (see below) provide excellent references for an accurately-painted model of U-505 at the moment of capture - a depiction I have yet to see presented, anywhere.
And speaking of models, the following is the other U-505 image I remember since I was 8:
Click on Image to EnlargeThese are re-boxings of the original Aurora kit, in about 1/200 scale - renamed "WolfPack U-boat"; no doubt to avoid infringing the trademark of the real U-505 exhibit, on display in Chicago - but you can see the box art is clearly depicting U-505 (even though our pics prove she wore no number while at sea.) The top box is from my stash today, but it has been "politically-corrected" from the original artwork (bottom) - the really memorable image - including in the background a burning tanker and exploding ammunition ship, its flaming tentacles snaking into the sky like an octopus of fire. This image was redrawn - and re-imagined - many, many times by an 8-12 year old boy. 
Returning to the real U-505, photography of her capture proceeded unabated:
Click on Image to EnlargeAs Guadalcanal approached (top), both these pics must have been taken from near the same moment as the last one, above, since many of recognizeably the same crewmen remain in the same spots, and even in the same poses - for example, note the sentry on the conning tower, dressed all in whites. Note also the great views of U-505's crest - clearly some kind of a tree - as well as, at bottom, the extensive weathering, higher up- and further aft on her conning tower. Note she carries single- and twin-mount machine guns to starboard and port, respecitvely, and further aft, a heavier ~40mm(?) AA flak gun.
Above, I used the word "pose" - and maybe those scenes were posed, to some extent - but the really obviously posed pics were immediately to follow:
 
Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, note much the same view as the last one, above - except now with only a single American officer (pretending to be) securing a line to the conning tower - under a giant American flag, of course; what a breast-beating scene of national dominance! Fortunately for us, it shows even more clearly the conning tower weathering, wintergarten railings and breach of the flak gun, aft - although note the MGs have now been removed. At right, the gaggle of boarders on the bow are likewise all trying to look purposeful - as opposed to largely milling around, as seen earlier - long minutes after their task(s) must have been concluded. Again, we can still benefit from the good, additional look at U-505's paint, her weathering and some of her forward limber holes.
It bears repeating just how astonishing is the extent of this photography; remember, the entire episode would have to be kept strictly secret until (possibly long) after the end of the war. And yet here they are dawdling at sea - in the combat zone, no less - to take pics obviously intended for public relations!
And still all the above wasn't yet enough to satisfy someone(s):
Click on Image to EnlargeThis pic, now with American flag clearly ascendant in both size and position over a Nazi ensign, was taken long after all those above - as immediately deducible from the sub's level trim; she has clearly been refloated (at least, sufficient to bring her decks awash, on an even keel). This dates the image to after - or at least well into - the 3-day tow all the way to her new, top-secret (for the rest of the war) berth in Port Royal Bay, Bermuda. It was only during this tow that power to restart U-505's pumps was ingeniously restored; by disengaging her diesel engines, while leaving her turbines connected to batteries, leaving her props free to spin the turbines while under tow, and thereby recharge the batteries. Thus, while it seems highly likely the carrier in the background should be the Guadalcanal, this pic was definitely taken long after departing the capture site - maybe even long after arrival in Bermuda - and possibly even in front of a different CVE.
In any case, it does give another, wider look at the extensive weathering of the conning tower, and back over the entire wintergarten, as well. Again, I have yet to see anyone depict this appearance on a build of U-505 - or on any U-boat, for that matter.
Given the intrigue and historic interest of the above, we just may have to do something about that...
Cheers,
-Matty
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