General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: U-172's sinking of the Colombian schooner Resolute in June 1942?
Posted by:
Sid Guttridge
()
Date: November 24, 2010 10:13AM
Hi Jerry,
Many thanks. That answers my question fairly comprehensively.
It agrees in general with the Resolute's survivor reports. They don't mention the radio transmission, or even the possession of a radio, but they do mention that the captain hoisted the Colombian flag and that they subsequently came under machine gun fire (which is an understandable interpretation of 20mm cannon fire). Furthermore, the crew were, as reported, Afro-Caribbeans.
However, I am a bit mystified by the apparent use of "grenades" to sink the ship. They don't appear a likely weapon of choice to achieve this result. The survivors said that the Resolute was finished off by three main gun rounds. Is it possible the confusion arises because the German word for "shell" and "grenade" are the same?
The reasoning about the mistaken identity of the flag as Venezuelan or Ecuadoran seems suspect. All three countries had flags of the same colours. The Germans should have been aware of this. Furthermore, the scene of the action was between the two Colombian islands of San Andres and Providencia. These were hundreds of miles from the nearest Venezuelan possessions and in a completely different ocean from Ecuador!
Many thanks,
Sid.
Many thanks. That answers my question fairly comprehensively.
It agrees in general with the Resolute's survivor reports. They don't mention the radio transmission, or even the possession of a radio, but they do mention that the captain hoisted the Colombian flag and that they subsequently came under machine gun fire (which is an understandable interpretation of 20mm cannon fire). Furthermore, the crew were, as reported, Afro-Caribbeans.
However, I am a bit mystified by the apparent use of "grenades" to sink the ship. They don't appear a likely weapon of choice to achieve this result. The survivors said that the Resolute was finished off by three main gun rounds. Is it possible the confusion arises because the German word for "shell" and "grenade" are the same?
The reasoning about the mistaken identity of the flag as Venezuelan or Ecuadoran seems suspect. All three countries had flags of the same colours. The Germans should have been aware of this. Furthermore, the scene of the action was between the two Colombian islands of San Andres and Providencia. These were hundreds of miles from the nearest Venezuelan possessions and in a completely different ocean from Ecuador!
Many thanks,
Sid.
