5/9/2023 0 Comments German submarineNavy prize crews seized the possessions of the Nazi U-boat crews and saved them as souvenirs. The Germans complained of their treatment. I’ll probably go through it again.” The Dark Side of the Story When asked how he felt about surrendering, he said, “I was in the last World War. Kessler spoke in fluent English with a British accent. He seemed to enjoy the publicity, noted WHEB’s Gray. Tall and formal, he wore white gloves, a long leather greatcoat, polished leather boots and an Iron Cross around his neck. German General Ulrich Kessler, assigned as the Luftwaffeliaison in Tokyo, made an impression as the stereotypical Nazi general. of uranium oxide. Scientists later used it in the Manhattan Project for the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. government kept the secret about part of U-234’s cargo: 1,232 lbs. They had committed suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills, and the Germans buried them at sea. The two Japanese scientists were not on board. The submarine carried a disassembled Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, prototypes, technical descriptions of new weapons and several senior weapons technicians. The biggest prize of all the Nazi U-boats, the high-ranking officers aboard made it a major news story. U-234 arrived in Portsmouth at 7:30 am on Saturday, May 19, greeted by swarms of journalists. Supposedly it carried personnel and materiel to help the Japanese war effort. The submarine was headed to Japan, which was still in the war. On Friday, May 18, the public eagerly awaited the arrival of the fourth and last of the Nazi U-boats. Portsmouth Naval Prison, where prisoners from Nazi U-boats were first taken The USS Sutton captured a U-boat near Newfoundland with three high-ranking German officials and two dead Japanese scientists aboard. That night, a wire service report added to the excitement. Two more Nazi U-boats arrived the next day: At 2 pm, U-873 was towed into the harbor, followed by U-1228. He also said Allied bombing ruined his native town of Hamburg. Albert Finster as a ‘typical dyed-in-the-wool Nazi.’ Finster’s interview caused a stir because he blamed England for the war. WHEB-AM reporter Charlie Gray scored an interview with a captain of one of the U-boats. They wanted technical details about jet aircraft, ballistic missile, guided bomb and nuclear weapons technology. One caption read, “Its fangs yanked out, this prize U-boat will prey no more upon Allied shipping in the Atlantic.”Ī bus took the prisoners to Portsmouth Naval Prison, commonly known as The Castle, where Office of Naval Intelligence interpreters interrogated them. The submarine was then taken to the shipyard for publicity photos. Three ‘ surly, expressionless’ German officers appeared on board. Green dye marked the spot for the rendezvous with a tugboat carrying Navy officials and news reporters. She had surrendered in the North Atlantic and was towed into Portsmouth Harbor. The 245-foot U-805 was the first to arrive. One of the feared Nazi U-boats by Ferrer Dalmau Fangs Yanked Out But their fearful reputation persisted, contributing to the drama on the Piscataqua River in May 1945. entered the war and developed effective anti-submarine measures. “The only thing that really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril,” wrote British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.Įventually the U-boat menace subsided by 1942 when the U.S. More people died in attacks by Nazi U-boats than at Pearl Harbor. They also killed more than 5,000 seamen and passengers. At first they had remarkable success, sinking about 3,000 vessels, mostly merchant ships. They attacked commercial shipping in order to starve the Allies of supplies. The U-boats, sophisticated and much-feared maritime predators, traveled together in wolf packs to sink their targets. The shipyard then studied the technologically advanced Nazi subs and their cargo. victory increased as three more Nazi U-boats followed over the next five days. The excitement over the tangible evidence of U.S. Germany had surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945, bringing World War II closer to an end.
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