General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: apology
Posted by:
Ken Dunn
()
Date: July 04, 2001 05:13PM
<HTML>Hi Gavin,
My father, Robert Edison Dunn was Third Engineer on the SS Cardonia when she was sunk by U-126 March 7, 1942.
I have spent over a year researching the commander of U-126, Ernst Bauer. I have the KTB (war diary/Logbook) from U-126. My dad and I talked about the sinking of the Cardonia when I was a kid. I have corresponded with a number of survivors from other merchant ships he sank and talked with one (who won the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his heroism during the attack) about the attack on his ship on the phone at length. I have reviewed the documents in the National Archives as well as those in some German archives. I have read two books written by men who survived having their ships sunk out from under them by Ernst Bauer. I have studied every scrap of information I could find about Ernst Bauer.
What I found out about Ernst Bauer as a result of this research is that he was a brave and honorable man who served his country with distinction.
On numerous occasions he fished survivors of the ships he sank out of the water and put them on rafts on in lifeboats. In one case he fished Archie Gibbs out of the water and kept him onboard U-126 for four days because there was no lifeboat or raft to put him in.
Gibbs wrote favorably about the Captain and crew of the sub that picked him up in his book “U-Boat Prisoner†(published in 1943), even making one of the crew a gift of his pipe and giving two cartons of cigarettes to be shared by several crewmembers. He reported that he was well treated, given medicine, and fed the same food as the crew. Even his interrogation was quite mild. After four days the sub stopped a passing neutral boat (the Venezuelan vessel MINATAORA) by firing a couple of shots across her bow, got the crew to row over to the sub, and set Gibbs free. That’s right, he set him free, completely against U-boat Command policy, and yes, we were at war with Germany at the time. He did not even try to hide it. He logged it in the KTB which had to be turned over to U-boat Command at the end of every patrol. I also have the 14-page Naval Intelligence report on Gibbs’s debriefing when he got to shore. Gibbs wrote that he even tried to shake hands with the First Officer (Hans-Adolf Schweichel) and Captain (Ernst Bauer) of the sub when he left.
In any group of men in war the size of a submarine service (including ours), you will find some who do the wrong thing, but if you look closely you will find the vast majority are normal, decent men and that is as true for the German U-boat service as it was for ours.
The U-boat war is well documented. There are a number of books written about it by U-boat victims. There are also a number of books written about submarine warfare by those who served in our submarine service too. If you have the courage and intelligence to look deeper into the subject you will find out just how wrong your statements are.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
</HTML>
My father, Robert Edison Dunn was Third Engineer on the SS Cardonia when she was sunk by U-126 March 7, 1942.
I have spent over a year researching the commander of U-126, Ernst Bauer. I have the KTB (war diary/Logbook) from U-126. My dad and I talked about the sinking of the Cardonia when I was a kid. I have corresponded with a number of survivors from other merchant ships he sank and talked with one (who won the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his heroism during the attack) about the attack on his ship on the phone at length. I have reviewed the documents in the National Archives as well as those in some German archives. I have read two books written by men who survived having their ships sunk out from under them by Ernst Bauer. I have studied every scrap of information I could find about Ernst Bauer.
What I found out about Ernst Bauer as a result of this research is that he was a brave and honorable man who served his country with distinction.
On numerous occasions he fished survivors of the ships he sank out of the water and put them on rafts on in lifeboats. In one case he fished Archie Gibbs out of the water and kept him onboard U-126 for four days because there was no lifeboat or raft to put him in.
Gibbs wrote favorably about the Captain and crew of the sub that picked him up in his book “U-Boat Prisoner†(published in 1943), even making one of the crew a gift of his pipe and giving two cartons of cigarettes to be shared by several crewmembers. He reported that he was well treated, given medicine, and fed the same food as the crew. Even his interrogation was quite mild. After four days the sub stopped a passing neutral boat (the Venezuelan vessel MINATAORA) by firing a couple of shots across her bow, got the crew to row over to the sub, and set Gibbs free. That’s right, he set him free, completely against U-boat Command policy, and yes, we were at war with Germany at the time. He did not even try to hide it. He logged it in the KTB which had to be turned over to U-boat Command at the end of every patrol. I also have the 14-page Naval Intelligence report on Gibbs’s debriefing when he got to shore. Gibbs wrote that he even tried to shake hands with the First Officer (Hans-Adolf Schweichel) and Captain (Ernst Bauer) of the sub when he left.
In any group of men in war the size of a submarine service (including ours), you will find some who do the wrong thing, but if you look closely you will find the vast majority are normal, decent men and that is as true for the German U-boat service as it was for ours.
The U-boat war is well documented. There are a number of books written about it by U-boat victims. There are also a number of books written about submarine warfare by those who served in our submarine service too. If you have the courage and intelligence to look deeper into the subject you will find out just how wrong your statements are.
Regards,
Ken Dunn
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
apology
|
gavin | 07/04/2001 09:29AM |
|
RE: wrong apology
|
Rainer Bruns | 07/04/2001 12:07PM |
|
RE: wrong apology
|
james Stewart | 07/04/2001 06:09PM |
|
RE: wrong apology
|
Forest | 07/04/2001 07:08PM |
|
flame wars
|
kurt | 07/05/2001 03:01PM |
|
No, MY apologies
|
Dietzsch | 07/04/2001 02:48PM |
|
RE: No, MY apologies
|
Joe | 07/05/2001 12:40AM |
|
RE: apology?
|
John Griffiths | 07/04/2001 04:14PM |
|
RE: apology?
|
JR | 07/04/2001 07:50PM |
|
RE: apology?
|
Joe | 07/05/2001 12:35AM |
|
RE:Who have left the mad dog loose?
|
Antonio Veiga | 07/04/2001 04:15PM |
|
RE: apology
|
Jim | 07/04/2001 04:30PM |
|
RE: apology
|
Ricky.S | 07/04/2001 04:54PM |
|
RE: apology
|
Ken Dunn | 07/04/2001 05:13PM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
Gudmundur Helgason | 07/05/2001 09:23AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
Walt | 07/05/2001 10:18AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
gavin | 07/05/2001 10:25AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
Stan | 07/05/2001 10:41AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
gavin | 07/05/2001 10:37AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
John Griffiths | 07/05/2001 02:46PM |
|
RE: Now your Talking!!
|
Joe Brennan | 07/06/2001 07:48AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
AZ | 07/06/2001 07:54AM |
|
RE: apology (wonderful)
|
Steve | 07/06/2001 02:10PM |
|
FLAMEBAIT!
|
John R. | 07/05/2001 12:05PM |
|
RE: apology
|
Craig McLean | 07/08/2001 07:35PM |