Note: this topic is from . Thanks Red Badger. Playing some catchup here.
Posted on 04/19/2018 10:55:33 AM PDT by Red Badger
They had been under attack, so they may have been in an emergency dive, in unknown depths....................bad decision..................
I know that there was more than one sub. Another one was intercepted and the men were captured. They claimed to be heading to S. America. I’ve never seen anything that said how many of these subs there were.
The KIA proportion of the U-Boat arm of the Kriegsmarine was 75%.
The US rate was about 20%.
US Air Force losses in Europe were also horrific, but I don't know the percentages.
There’s a superb book to read on the Kriegsmarine’s U-Boat service called “Iron Coffins”. It talked about their 75% KIA rate but the book claims they were never hurting for volunteers.
Either it rammed into the mud hard or the sea over the years is burying it.
Sounds like something from a Jack Higgins novel...Thunder Point maybe?
Wikipedia has detailed history of every Uboat. I spent many hours reading their stories and fates.
Note: this topic is from . Thanks Red Badger. Playing some catchup here.
The problem with the Boys from Brazil myth is that virtually the entire German senior leadership was accounted for eventually after the war.
I don’t know if the B-24’s had them, but Grumman TBM’s operating on ASW patrols were armed with a crude acoustic homing-torpedo.
Also, the Tenth Fleet (US) and the RN were monitoring all German radio traffic. If a sub sailed, they probably knew before, or slightly after, it left the pen. The sub would have to sail underneath allied air patrols who were alerted to look for that particular sub. The sub that attempted to take war materials to Japan as Germany fell was nailed off the west African coast by a TBM using this technique.
Don’t forget that the Type XXI was a new design. She could have had a ballast trim problem. If it was combat damage, then it’s most likely obscured by the sea floor.
No Evidence*
All that means is that the Allies, who were reading encrypted German radio traffic, didn’t detect anything unusual about that sub’s sortie.
Cue the trombone: *Whoann whoaaa*
403 ft may not be an impossible technical dive, but all technical dives carry an inherent risk. Add the fact that these are not ‘diver-friendly’ waters and the goal would be to do a close-inspection of a 70 year old wreck (possibly entering it). Short of a navy salvage dive team there are few who would have the resources to do it safely, and they won’t do it for reasons of international treaty. If anyone else attempted a large-scale dive the German government would have it shut down.
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