Hi Mark, Generally when the sea state is too high for surfaced torpedo firing it is also too high for firing the deck gun (he does specifically mention firing 3 rounds from it at the part of the ship that was still afloat) but perhaps he was worried about the depth keeping mechanism in his torpedoes at that sea state as there were known problems with it. What was the sea state during the surf
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Martinus, That's easy. It was U-Moron that was involved in all of them. There actually were some landings in Africa but not what is described here.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Mark, It’s hard to say why U-99 submerged for that shot without the KTB and torpedo reports but Magog wasn’t a Q ships (she wasn’t even armed) and “The Golden Horseshoe” gives no indication that Kretschmer thought she was. However it doesn’t mention the first torpedo or the deck gun fire that is mentioned in the abbreviated KTB I have either. Magog was a convoy straggler and
Forum: General Discussions

Hi submann68, There is no "if" about it. This photo has been discussed on this forum before.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Paul, You got mail.
Forum: Technology and Operations

Hi Thomas, Try the following: Breyer, Siegfried. German U-boat Type XXI. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1999. ISBN: 0-7643-0787-8. Copyright: Schiffer Publishing, 1999. Köhl, Fritz and Rössler, Eberhard. Anatomy of the Ship – The Type XXI U-boat. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2002. ISBN: 1-59114-887-1. Copyright: Conway Maritime Press Ltd, 2002.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Thomas, Do a forum search on Helgoland (all dates and all forums) to answer your own question. This has come up before.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Dan, Perhaps he distinguished himself while assigned to the punishment battalion. That generally meant being thrust into the worst part of the fighting. However I haven't discovered if he was the same man either,
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Dan, According to the crew list for U-515 at there was a StOStrm Paul Wilde born 25.09.1916 who also served on U-57. Serial/entry UN.139/27.S. Awards: DKiG.24.06.44.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi All, Does anyone have U-514’s KTB for 11 Sep, 1942 they would be willing to share?
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Scott, You got mail.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Geraldine, You might want to drop Jak a line or give him a call. He was at the Archiv the other day. He will know or be able to find out for you.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Geraldine, If he were joining to become an officer it would have been Stralsund on the tiny island of Dänholm in the Baltic. I am not sure where he would have been sent if he was joining to become an enlisted man.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Thomas, The movie U-571 perpetuates the myth that U-boat men machine-gunned lifeboats and that reason alone is enough reason to condemn it - especially with an audience that will simply accept it without question.
Forum: Movies and Films

Hi Laurie, Another thought - you might try a post on the Warsship forum here at: . Someone there might be able to help you with records of the attack on U-449.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Laurie, Unfortunately not much information on U-boat enlisted men survived the war. Officers are documented somewhat better but that won’t help in this case. You can contact WASt the German agency that holds service records to see if they have anything at all on him though: . U-449 was commissioned on 22 Aug, 1942 and only went on one war patrol. She departed Kiel on June 1, 1943 a
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Laurie, There was a Gottlob Mayer born June 07, 1920 who was killed while serving as an enlisted man (Maat) on U-449 on June 24, 1943. You can find the most comprehensive (but still not complete) crew lists available at: . You can find some details of the sinking at: . Hope this helps.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Jim, First of all the author you are using as a source had an agenda as the title of his book (full title: Waves of Hate – Naval Atrocities of the Second World War) clearly indicates even though all he did was publish an account of the sinking without specifically stating what he thought was wrong about the attack (he also didn’t say anything about any “needless deaths”). You obvio
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Jim, Which author?
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Jim, Yes the emblem of U-502 was the head of a goat slightly bent down as it would be in charging but it is not charging, it is eating a branch or vine containing what might be flowers. Send me an e-mail & I'll send you a scan.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Babyjag, You got mail. Its a long one & there is a problem with long private messages on the forum at the moment so I sent it to your gmail account.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Babyjag, The mere presence of a helmet certainly doesn’t mean it came from a U-boat – especially since we know U-boats didn’t land people there during the war. It could just as easily have been a souvenir someone lost there or threw away there but that's just speculation. Rather than me trying to prove it didn't come from a U-boat, It is on you to either prove that it did
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Babyjag, You are a victim of a myth. There were no “recreation areas” for U-boats in that part of the world. For the places that U-boats did land someone see: Showell, Jak P. Mallmann. U-boats at War Landings on Hostile Shores. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., 2000. ISBN: 1-55750-864-X. Copyright: Jak P. Mallmann Showell, 2000. Also see: for some of the other U-boat
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Cape Crusader, Neither Cape Wrath or Sutherland are included in the index to the book. If there were indeed German agents in the area they were probably parachuted in. I also wonder if the equipment in question might have been pre-war. If so it could have belonged to anyone. Landing agents on enemy territory was a big deal to U-boat command and the incidents where that was done (and t
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Cape Crusader, See: Showell, Jak P. Mallmann. U-boats at War Landings on Hostile Shores. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd., 2000. ISBN: 1-55750-864-X. Copyright: Jak P. Mallmann Showell, 2000. If it isn’t in there it didn’t happen. Almost every coastal community ended up with myths about spies and U-boat sighting/landings during the war.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi James, First, U-106 IS listed as having been: “Sunk 2 Aug, 1943 north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain, in position 46.35N, 11.55W, by depth charges from British and Australian Sunderland aircraft (Sqdn 228/N & 461/M). 22 dead and 36 survivors.” Source: Member’s area here at uboat.net. Second, Anton Loeschenkohl is not listed as having ever served on U-106 in WWII. In fact nobo
Forum: General Discussions

Hi JerseyDavid, Ultra was an important part of the U-boat war but it was just one part. Radar fitted to planes and escorts, HUFF/DUFF and other technical innovations also played important parts. All of them together in addition to improved tactics were necessary to win the war. Any speculation as to which was the most important is just that – speculation and posts based on speculation are
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Chris, Actually it isn't likely. The boat was only 40% complete when it was canceled. Not only that very few items on a U-boat contained the number of the U-boat and most that do are fakes - especially a boat that was never completed. The nerve gas part is completely out of the question too. There were a lot of hastily made up fakes at the end of the war and from the sounds of
Forum: General Discussions

Hi John, Yes I am certain it is the right book. The following was scanned (not retyped) from the area just above the copyright notice from Gasaway, E.B. Grey Wolf, Grey Sea. New York: , 2002. ISBN: 0-7592-4576-2. Copyright: E. Blanchard Gasaway, 2002: “This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictit
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Chris, I am afraid your dad was wrong. U-931 was never even completed. She was canceled on 23 Sept, 1944. 40% completed at the time. She was broken up. Additionally the nerve gas part is pure fantasy and pretty bizarre at that.
Forum: General Discussions