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Forum: General Discussions

Hi simplyacrow, First, I don’t know how your research came to the conclusion that the crew only had 14 hours of breathable air remaining. Without knowing how many of their resources were depleted before they submerged it is impossible to answer your question. There are several variables that have to be taken into consideration. Here is a general overview: When submerged, the only air t
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Victor, I hadn't given it much thought but like the battle flag, they could have been displayed while in port on special occasions but not while at sea. I looked through a good many of my U-boat photos and one of the standard commissioning photos has the commander on the back of the winter garden saluting the flag being raised on the stern with the crew mustered on the stern in thei
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Victor, U-boats did have bells but the only time I can remember seeing one displayed for sure was during commissioning. That doesn't mean that is the only time they were displayed, just the only time I remember seeing a picture of one displayed. At any rate they weren't normally displayed at sea. They may have been stored somewhere inside the boat while at sea though. Plea
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Raymond, According to the Secret (at the time) "U-boat Information for U-boat Type VIIC" document Effective 15. 7. 40: Type: 33 MAL 800 W Cells: 2 x 62 Number of negative plates: 34 Number of positive plates: 33 Cell weight: 493 kg +/- 2% Total weight of batteries: 61132 kg +/- 2% Capacity at 20-hour rate 9160 Amp hours Note that the battery s
Forum: Technology and Operations

Hi Bruno, A = 80 meters (262 feet). You frequently also see A + or - a number in KTBs. For example A + 80 = 160 meters and A - 20 = 60 meters, etc. One source claims that 80 meters was the boat’s safe diving limit as guaranteed by the building shipyard. However during WWII U-boats routinely dived and operated much deeper than 80 meters. Perhaps it was a holdover from WWI U-boats or e
Forum: Technology and Operations

Hi Paul, Thanks for sending me your books. I have read the section on Steinhoff's death in your "Hitler's Raketen U-Boote" and have found a lot of good speculation on the cause of Steinhoff's death, however I don't find it rises to the level of evidence. I must still go with the medical examiner's conclusion that it was not homicide.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Paul, I examined his death certificate before I made my post. The heading says: Line 1: Place of Death: “en route to Mass. Gen’l Hosp.” The Medical Certificate of Death section clearly says: Line 19: Cause and Manner: “Incised wound right wrist” Line 20: “Suicidal” Manner of Injury: “Found bleeding while a prisoner or at Charles St Jail May 19/45” Was there an autopsy?:
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Paul, Something occurred to me that might at least partially explain why the large quantities of alcohol & tobacco were aboard these subs at the end of the war. While some small amounts may have been for consumption by the crews (nobody wants to be on a submarine with a drunk crew where the slightest mistake could mean the loss of the boat & the entire crew), the rest may have had
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Paul, All ripped off from stores opened as the allies closed in on them & not normally carried on U-boats.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Cape Crusader, I am curious where you got the information that the wine etc. aboard U-1231 was for distribution to active U-boats at sea. I seriously doubt that was actually the case. The milk cows and other boats designated as resupply boats during the war didn’t carry that type of cargo for other U-boats. They carried some cigarettes & perhaps some beer and perhaps even a little
Forum: General Discussions

Hi David, Typically, the First Watch Officer (IWO) conducted all surfaced torpedo attacks from the bridge using the bridge optics (UZO). The Commander was responsible for conning the boat for surfaced torpedo attacks. He could do this from the conning tower or the control room. There were speaking tubes on the bridge, in the conning tower and in the control room for passing information &
Forum: General Discussions

Hi All, Does anyone have a list of the boats equipped with the Balkon-Gerät during the war? Even an incomplete list will be welcome. I know U-995 had one when the war ended & it was to be standard equipment on the Type XXI. I am interested in the other boats though (Type VII & Type IX etc).
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Kristoff, From: Rust, Eric C. U-Boat Commander Oskar Kursch. Anatomy of a Nazi-Era Betrayal and Judicial Murder. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2020. ISBN: 978-168-2475-140. Copyright: Eric C. Rust, 2020. Page 83: “For the record, no standard orders or procedures governed the presence or placement of Hitler’s likenesses on German warships. Some U-boats carried none; others, s
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Kristoff, The crew bunked ashore. The bedding in the boat stunk after a patrol of hot bunking and had to be cleaned and aired out while in port. There was only one cook while at sea and he prepared all the meals and snacks. He was one of the few that didn’t have to hot bunk. Off watch crew performed the usual KP duties so the cook didn’t have to do them – he just prepared the meals. T
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Kristoff, There was an air filtration system but they lived with all kinds of contaminants in their air & all sorts of smells as there were no shower facilities and most of the crew hot bunked. Not to mention the (sometimes spilled) buckets that had to be used when the boat was submerged & the heads couldn't be used. There was no storage tank for the contents of the heads &am
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Kristoff, Living conditions on a U-boat really, really sucked. The secret to tranquility on a U-boat was getting used to the fact that there was no getting used to it. Smoking If you were a smoker a U-boat was no place for you. Smoking wasn’t ever allowed in the boat. Occasionally, a few men at a time might be allowed to go up into the conning tower & smoke but the conning to
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Urs, I have seen photos of the IIWO directing fire from the bridge and some of him doing it from the deck. He would actually have gotten a better view of the target from the bridge. Perhaps it depended on the IIWO. That said, I haven't seen many photos of the IIWO directing fire other than target practice and then he generally is on the deck but not always. Most photos I have seen
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Picklepatch, A normal bridge watch consisted of one watch officer (IWO, IIWO, or the IIIWO – usually the navigator, not actually an officer) and 4 lookouts. Later in the war sometimes a 5th lookout was added as an additional pair of eyes to watch the sky. The AA gun crew may or may not be present on the wintergarden. Sometimes a shot or shots (from the AA guns or the deck gun) was fire
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Thorsten, Thanks for the update. I haven't been in contact with Thomas since he retired from the archive in Stuttgart a year or two ago. That was the only email address I had for him.
Forum: General Discussions

Your post interested me and I happened to have both books so I looked into it to satisfy my own curiosity. I grew up on Galveston Island in the Gulf of Mexico and Wiggins lived there too though I didn’t know her. Also note that per Rainer, uboat.net’s original “Ships Attacked” section was based on Rohwer’s book and they subsequently coordinated any changes with him through Thomas Weis (now re
Forum: General Discussions

Which map at uboat.net are you looking at that shows the ships sunk in the Gulf of Mexico?
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Sergio, If you are looking for a wreck somewhere other that in the middle of the ocean, make friends with a fishing boat operator. They know where all the wrecks are in the area they fish. If they use nets the nets snag on the wrecks so they avoid getting too close to them but otherwise the wrecks attract fish & they go there to catch them. Also a local dive shop will also know whe
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Urs, Thanks much for the information on the bubble sextant. I have never used a sextant myself & knew there was more to it but not the details. A friend had sent me some information on the Gyro sextant that used a different technique to come up with an artificial horizon. Here is some of the text that went with it: "To use the gyro sextant a supply of compressed air is requ
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Sergio, What follows here is relative to WWII. I know nothing about WWI, though the merchant ship’s procedures must have been quite similar to those of WWII, assuming the merchant ships had radios. The short answer is that the locations that went into the records were as accurate as the technology of the day and the fog of war permitted. As Michael points out, the locations shown o
Forum: General Discussions

Hi COYS1882, Try watching the movie Das Boot for a start. That should generate some specific questions. It is just a movie but it is the most accurate movie about life on a U-boat you are likely to encounter. It can't convey the smells (which the crew got somewhat used to) or the temperature in the boat under different conditions or what the food tasted like once it absorbed the dies
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Michael, Good points, thanks much.
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Michael, Thanks for the info. Johannes Graf von Ballestrem came aboard U-126 as a Leutnant zur See d. R. but was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See before the next patrol & I wasn't sure if the d. R. still applied now that he was on active duty. After his promotion, Bauer didn't reference his as d. R. anymore. I really have no idea how the Kriegsmarine dealt with reserve of
Forum: General Discussions

Hi All, I need photos (scans or cellphone camera copies are fine or even the name of a book or website that has a photo of any of them) of the following men that served on U-126 (the officer's crew affiliations would be of help too - for example Ruland was Crew 35): Aboard U-126 when she was sunk with all hands: Oberleutnant zur See Johannes Graf von Ballestrem Leutnant zur See
Forum: General Discussions

Hi AlexRyassky, Great idea. Go ahead & do it. just remember it needs to be in English and be about the U-boat War as that is what this forum is all about. I think there are few books about the soviet contribution to the U-boat War in English. There are plenty about the Soviet contribution to the war on land & some good movies too though. There are some good books about the Allies
Forum: General Discussions