In this book he keeps alive the memory of the legendary, sometimes very original and unforgotten emblems of german u boats. The wargame that revealed a nazi uboat tactic time. Georg hogel, a former u boat sailor who saw service in world war ii, experienced the origin of these emblems of the u boat service. Uboat refers to the german submarines of world war i and world war ii. The highest total for a single year was 1917, when unlimited submarine warfare resumed and 6,235,878 tons was sunk. If there was ever a book that can be defined as authoritative, comprehensive and meticulous, hitlers uboat war. Pack hunter uboats were famous for hunting targets in groups known as wolf packs, which would engage the enemy as a single deadly unit, much like the animal namesake 2. By 1939, a newer model had much better engine power and greater fuel carrying capacity the type vii b. World war ii military medals and awards identify medals. Nazis called this the happy time because their uboats roamed the. The destruction of enemy shipping by german uboats was a spectacular. March of 1943 was the most successful month of the german uboat fleet during the entire war.
Rich with adversity, adventure and war history, the authors enthusiasm for the tale which in turn is lit by the dedication and determination of the divers themselves lends the writing that elusive thrill of. Describe life for a german kreigsmariner aboard a uboat. Heinrich lehmannwillenbrock, a highly decorated uboat commander was the sixth best uboat ace of world war ii with 24 ships sunk totaling 179,125 tons. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not. British and german submarine statistics of world war ii naval. The book contains a lot of facts and details on the u boats, their organisation and. Quoted reference is from churchills book their finest hour the second world war, volume ii, at page 259. Volumes 1 4 the monthly antisubmarine reports the monthly antisubmarine reports, circulated secretly to officers in the royal navys escort forces throughout the war, were a major weapon in the all important distribution of information for the battle of the atlantic. Are there any good books about german uboats, during the. Luftfahrtverlagstart softcover 50 pages, 66 black and white 10 colour photos, 1 document in colour, 1 coloured conning tower view, 2 coloured maps included. Volume ii, the hunted, to follow a year later, will cover the last years of the naval war in europe, august 1942 to may 1945, when the allies finally overcame the uboat threat.
Part of a uboat fleet terrorizing the atlantic, this submarine was known as u505. Magazine the time vault time for kids time edge masthead. Wreck of nazi germanys most advanced uboat discovered. Game helped win world war ii by simon parkin, available now from little. Part of the largest submarine fleet in the world, the uboats played a huge part in securing the ocean depths for germany, carrying out various sneak.
The japanese kamikaze divine wind tactic was suggested on october 19, 1944, by viceadmiral onishi in an attempt to balance the technological advantage of invading american forces. The book is heavily illustrated, with photographs or diagrams on nearly every page. Germanys top military decoration was the knights cross ritterkreuz, which was awarded nearly seven thousand times from 1939 to 1945 to both enlisted and nonenlisted men. The allies developed technologies to detect the uboat. However, it is also very readable, filled with odd anecdotes, for example, poor kapitanleutnant rolf mutzelberg, commanding u 203 south of the azores, who decided to join his crew bathing in the ocean u boats got pretty smelly after weeks at sea, but. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. Coast guard cutter ship blasts a german uboat during world war ii. The gloom was only lifted after the seizing of a uboat, u559, with her codebooks on 30 october 1942, 75 years ago, enabled bletchley park to break the code once again. See more ideas about boat, german submarines and submarines. U505 is a german german type ixc submarine built for germanys kriegsmarine during world war ii. Designs that included uboats that carried two eboats or planes were dropped. The german u576 off the coast of france, around 1940 or 1941.
In terms of human lives, 28,000 german uboat crew of the total 40,900 men recruited into the service lost their lives and 5,000 were taken prisoners of war. Uboats the most feared hunters of the seas youtube. Nicknamed the gefrierfleischorden, or frozen meatmedal, the eastern front medal was awarded to three million. Its fairly easy to find similar descriptions of uboat action in wwii, harder for ww. The story of the uboat in world war ii 3rd edition by gordon.
During world war ii, uboat warfare was the major component of the battle of the atlantic, which began in 1939 and ended with germanys surrender in 1945. The german sub before it was sunk german soldiers pose for a photo aboard the sub. The abbreviation in german is uboot for unterseeboot. The main part of the book lists by hull number each uboats date of commissioning, its commanding officer. This article is part of our larger resource on the ww2 navies warfare. A4 portrait format 9 x 12 inches dual english german text isbn. Merchant marine who were supplying the european war, and one communitys monumental. The german empire relied on imports for food and domestic food production especially fertilizer and the united kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed its population, and. Smart news keeping you current wreck of nazi germanys most advanced uboat discovered sunk in 1945, u3523, a type xxi sub, may have been attempting to smuggle highranking nazis to argentina. But on this day, the u505 had just become the hunted. Shadow divers published in 2004 is a nonfictional book by robert kurson recounting of the discovery of a world war ii german uboat 60 miles 97 km off the coast of new jersey, united states in 1991. The uboat campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the world war i naval campaign fought by german uboats against the trade routes of the allies. It took place largely in the seas around the british isles and in the mediterranean. For a period of nearly six years, the german uboat force attempted to blockade and isolate the british isles in hopes of forcing the british out of the war, thereby thwarting both the allied.
The primary targets of the uboat campaigns in both world wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from the united. This book fills that gap in the enthusiasts bookshelf by providing the crucial statistics about. Kriegsmarine uboats 193945 essential identification guide. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against. Submarine u14, sunk near peterhead on 5 june 1915 but lost only one.
You can also buy the book by clicking on the buttons to the left. On june 4, 1944, a german submarine was prowling the waters off the west african coast for american and allied ships. Uboat is an anglicised version of the german word uboot, a shortening of unterseeboot, literally undersea boat. Although their exact policy varied throughout the war the german uboats racked up a total of 12,850,815 tons of shipping sunk. For a time during world war 2, there appeared no answer for the havoc being brought about by the dreaded german u boat submarine scourge. There are a total of 8 ww2 german uboat submarines 1939 1945 entries in the military factory.
The u boat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. Today the u505 is the only german uboat on exhibit in north america. While the german term refers to any submarine, the english one in common with several other languages refers specifically to military submarines operated by germany, particularly in the first and second world wars. Imperial japanese navy type b1 submarine i15 1939 and i37 1943. Veteran while uboats were at their most numerous and advanced during world war ii, early versions were used in world war i too, sinking many a military and civilian ship. The boarding of u559 changed the war now both sides. The allies developed a raft of new and improved technologies to combat the uboat during the battle of the atlantic. During this time, u boat crews were not able to fully bathe, shave or even change their clothes for a crew set constantly on highalert, life was unpleasant. British and german historical newsreels, compiled by celeon999a and placed online through youtube.
Two major variants were ultimately proposed in the type xxib and type xxic models with the former having an increased number of torpedo tubes to twelve while the latter would have seen its torpedo tubes increased to a an optimistic eighteen. Top 10 german uboat aces of wwii war history online. Though the numbers are disputed, approximately 2,800 kamikaze pilots died. Bulldog captured u boat 110 and its enigma machine with code books which changed the. Might have liked a bit more on life in a ww1 uboat, but a book cant cover everything so thats not a criticism. It is a at long last, i am finishedbut this book is only half the story. Uboats the most feared hunters of the seas best documentary. A highstakes game of battleship helped turn the tide in world war. It derived from the german navys system of naming its submarines with u followed by a number, where the u stood for unterseeboot literally, undersea boat, the german word for submarine. A u boat war patrol could take anywhere between three weeks to six months, depending on their deployment location and mission objectives. Known for having the poorest living conditions of any vessel of war, the german uboat was a forbidding deepsea carrier and an expert in sneakattacks on merchant convoys and allied warships.
Privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers statistics cookie statement mobile view. Never before has hitlers uboat war been chronicled with such authority, fidelity, objectivity, and detail. Library journalhitlers uboat war is an epic sea story about the most arduous and prolonged naval battle in history. He spent the entirety of the war fighting on uboats, receiving his first command in december 1939. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. A personal account of the german uboat battles of world war ii. But before danny leaves for boot camp, the brothers are fishing on the atlantic ocean when dannys boat is capsized by a nazi uboat, nearly killing him. Get an answer for describe life for a german kreigsmariner aboard a uboat in the atlantic during world war ii. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order 1toz. When the war ended, 156 uboats surrendered, 221 were scuttled by their own. It is well written, flows well and the story pulls you to the next page.
It wound be a fantastic book on uboats, if a modern publisher would use the contents of the original german books and include all the separate blue prints. This book is principally the story of two american divers who risk their lives to explore and identify the wreck of a wwii uboat. Werner, iron coffins herbert werner served in uboats from 1941 to the end of the end of the war, ending up a uboat captain in the latter stages of world war ii. Asdic sonar, originally developed before the first world war, was improved to allow better detection. The iron cross, which dated from 18, was earned by some 2,500,000 men during world war ii.
Two months after the german surrender, a german uboat, u530, entered the argentine naval base at mar del plata after escaping from. There are a total of 8 ww2 german uboat submarines 1939 1945 in the military factory. All of the uboats 45 crew were lost when it was sunk july 14, 1942, during the battle of the atlantic. The type xxi uboat series began with u2501 and ended with the u3530. By 1941, this had been overtaken by the type vii c. The german navy commenced world war ii with fiftysix submarines, of which only twenty four were suitable for operations in the atlantic. Readers really must verify the content by consulting other reliable sources before accepting some of the facts. On 17 august 1945, over 3 months after germanys surrender, the submarine u977 suddenly appeared in argentina. British and german submarine statistics of world war ii. Germany built several different classes and types of uboats during world war 1 varying in length, speed, and crew capacity. A nazi uboat tactic stumped allied forces until a retired british naval.