[Public-List] Factory installed wheel steering

[Gordon Laco]

Canada had captured U Boats during the war, and the Brits had two as well.
All four were operated for a time.

We used the ones we had as 'tame' submarines to practice antisubmarine work
on out of Halifax - the Brits commissioned one of theirs into their navy and
operated her as HMS GRAF. I think she only did one war patrol then went into
a training role.   One of the U Boats Canada took right at the end of the
war was U190; her chief engineer is still alive and shows up at our Battle
of the Atlantic Mess Dinners.  It's a little un-nerving to see his Iron
Cross on his blazer.  He told me that after he survived the capture, he was
in prison camp with Otto Kretschmer, the U Boat ace we captured in '41.

And that reminds me of a story my Dad told me about being 14 years old in
'41 and standing on the sidewalk outside Union Station in Toronto, waiting
for his older brother to come out on leave (Henry was a pongo) Dad said that
out of the station came striding a senior looking German naval officer with
his cap askew and his coat draped over his shoulders.  He was being followed
by a pair of soldiers who Dad reckoned were supposed to be his guards, but
the German walked as though he was running the show.  Dad saw him come out
onto Front Street, look at the Royal York Hotel across the road, then east
and west at the big buildings and the traffic.  He put his fists on his
hips, looked down, shook his head and walked east (trailing his guards).

Much later I read Kretschmer's autobiography.  He describes being taken to
Halifax then being put onto a train for 'days and days' traveling into the
interior of Canada.  He was astonished to be passing several large cities -
all untouched by the war.  When he got to Toronto, he said he'd expected to
find 'bears, log cabins and cowboys' but found yet another great city, also
untouched by the war.  He wrote that when he walked out of the train station
in Toronto he knew in his heart that Germany couldn't win the war.   We'll
never know for sure - but I think it's likely my Dad saw that moment.

G




On 03/10/13 6:28 PM, "Michael Grosh" <dickdurk at gmail.com> wrote:

> U 505 is the captured German sub. It's now a museum in Chicago. Adm. Daniel
> Gallery was the commanding officer of the capturing task force, he wrote a
> book about it, also a series of 'sea story' accounts of Navy life I enjoyed
> reading in my youth.
> The interesting thing is the capture of the 505 meant it slipped through
> cracks in the Allies Potsdam agreement and the U.S. did not have to destroy
> it as part of that agreement.
> 
> Michael Grosh
> #220
> On Oct 3, 2013 5:48 PM, "Glenn" <brooks.glenn at comcast.net> wrote:
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