Hi Ken,

you were already on the right path to identify the Type IX-boat on page 21. From the drainage slot scheme, the railing type and other items it is obviously a Type IXC/40 built by the Deutsche Werft Hamburg out of the batch U 535-540. As the UAK emblem can be seen on the radar antenna box, the most likely identity is U 537. The point of time is therefore February to mid-March 1943. By combination, the supply U-boat must be U 488. The photograph on page 20, which is said to come from the same batch, clearly shows a supply U-boat of the second batch U 487-U 490. Hence, the photo caption to both photographs is clearly incorrect.

Unfortunately, there are a great many other photographs in the book which are not in agreement with the captions attached. A most striking example is the series of photographs on pages 303 to 306, which are not showing U 488 but U 460 in August 1943. Likewise, photographs on pages 298/299 are not showing U 488, but U 462 on 2 March 1943 during the resupply of U 653.

Anyhow, the book is still worth its money despite its obvious flaws in photo identification.

Regards

Axel