U-boat U-505 (Type IXC)

History of Submarine U-505 (Type IXC)

The U-505 served with the German Kriegsmarine (Navy) during World War II. She was known for having one of her captains commit suicide in her control room, and for being taken captive entirely by the Allies.

The U-505 is part of a larger Type IX German vessel designed for deep sea service, with inherently long endurance at the expense of maneuverability and dive time. Type IX ships are produced in four main groups, Type IXA, Type IXB, Type IXC and Type IXD, totaling 283 ships. Type IXA boats were the original production model, followed by the improved Type IXB line, then Type IXC, which was further divided into the Type IXC and Type IXC/40 groups. It turned out that the Type IXC models were the most numerous, with 54 and 87 built respectively, while the last group became the Type IXD.

Type IX ships were produced from 1937 to 1944 and entered wartime service from 1938 to 1945.

The U-505 is a diesel electric boat as it uses a diesel engine on the surface and an electric motor underwater (although the latter is much slower). Surface propulsion is provided by 2 MANM9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel marine engines with 4,000 hp and underwater travel is provided by 2 SSW GY345/34 electric motors with 1,000 hp. This gives the submarine a maximum surface speed of 18 knots, a submerged speed of 7 knots, and a range of 11,000 nautical miles.

She has a total crew of 59 and onboard storage allows the vessel to stay at sea for up to three months and underwater for up to 36 hours (food is stored in nearly every open space, including the "head", commonly called for bathroom). Motor drives 2 screws mounted under the stern in front of each rudder assembly.

Like other diesel-electric submarines of the time, the U-505 had to surface to emit dangerous accumulated carbon dioxide gas, absorb fresh oxygen and recharge the batteriesa major limiting factor in warfare diving technology, and represented the ship's most vulnerable.

Dimensions include 252ft barrel length, 22.3ft beam and 15.4ft draft. Displacement was 1,120 tons when surfaced and 1,230 tons when submerged. Her deck is flat and her design is tapered at both ends for maximum hydrodynamic efficiency.

The door of the torpedo tube is covered with a power plate that opens to reveal the tube when fired. The dive plane was mounted on the bow and conning tower almost midship above the control room.

The U-505 is well-equipped as an attack submarine, with four forward torpedo tubes and two rear torpedo tubes. Carry up to 22 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes, which can be replaced by mines if necessary (type IXC ships are rarely equipped with such torpedoes.

Surface weapons include 1 x 105 mm (10.5 cm) SK C/32 deck gun and 30 mm and 20mm anti-aircraft gun and movable stand near the conning tower.

U-505 was constructed and laid on the quay in Hamburg, Germany on June 12, 1940. She was officially launched on May 25, 1941, and officially commissioned on August 26, 1941. On her first war patrol, she did not expect combat action. U-505 completed a total of 12 war patrols, for which her crew required 8 Allied ships from various countries. U-505 sank 46,447 tons of Allied cargo.

Their first claim was the British ship Benmohr on 5 March 1942, followed by the Norwegian ship Sydhav. When the West Irmo sank in April, U-505 claimed his first of three American warships. A day later, the Dutch vessel Alphacca was claimed. Two more American ships followed on June 28-29, 1942, which became the Sea Thrush and Thomas McKean. On July 22, 1942, the Colombian ship Uurious was successfully attacked and sunk, and the final credit for U-505 was the British ship Ocean Justice on November 7, 1942.

Back on September 6, Lieutenant Peter Zschech took command of the lieutenant and was supposed to commit suicide in the control room of U-505 on October 24, 1943, when he was heavily attacked by depth charges from the British destroyer. When she was captured and buried by the Allies in 1944, Captain Harald Lange became the (final) commander of the ship's eleventh and twelfth wartime patrols and would become the ship's captain.

The U-505 ended only on its 12th wartime patrol as Allied decoding services were able to improve tracking and localization of German U-boat activity in the Atlantic. U.S. Navy Task Force 22.3, commanded by Capt.

Daniel Kull, was deployed to the Cape Verde region off the West African coast of the South Atlantic to counter German U-boat operations. Discovered on June 4, 1944, U-505 engaged in a series of cat-and-mouse exercises with the Allies, exerting considerable pressure from depth charges and aerial reconnaissance from the USS Guadalcanal.

U-505 eventually damaged her rudder, forcing her into a turn and losing useful control. Further injuries forced her to surface on Captain Lange's orders.

Once surfaced, officers (including Lange) went to the conning tower to assess the situation and were greeted by heavy caliber artillery fire from surrounding Allied ships. The shootout took one of the U-505's crew, the only recorded casualty of the U-505 captured (Captain Lange was also wounded but survived).

U-505 was sunk and abandoned by her captain, after which her evacuated personnel were recovered by U.S. warships. A team of Allied boarding commandos arrived at U-505 and disarmed in case of attack, and managed to cover a drain used to absorb seawater (the Germans had left the cover by mistake next to the open harbor).

The last room checked was the stern torpedo room, which the German crew found was not boosted. Now free from danger and sinking, the U-505 was claimed by the U.S. Navy and secretly towed to Bermuda for internment and full USN scrutiny. The German ship revealed thousands of pages of vital information and information, as well as an Enigma machine showing the latest usage code.

U.S. Navy engineers were also able to delve into the newer German acoustically guided torpedoes, which provided highly sensitive information about their designquite advanced for their time.

The capture of the U-505 proved to be such a treasure trove that the quality of its design influenced the future pedigree of American submarines after World War II.

U-505 was intended to be a target ship for USN ammunition after being exhausted by the USN. However, the current Rear Admiral's Gallery arranges for the ship to be placed in the safekeeping of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.

The USN donated the ship, which is on permanent display at the museum where it resides today (2013) and is available as a tour. U-505 was initially anchored outdoors, exposed to Chicago's changing weather, until the concrete hull was constructed and the submarine moved indoors.

She is now in a climate-controlled environment for long-term preservation as part of a WWII submarine warfare exhibit.

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