A couple of years ago, Clay Blair wrote a two volume set, _Hitler's
U-Boar War_, detailing every German combat patrol. Check for a copy --
it will probably be in your local library.

Take care,

Bob

Judy and Bob Huddleston
10643 Sperry Street
Northglenn, CO  80234-3612
303.451.6276   [log in to unmask]


I note with some sadness that the plans to honor the men of the CSS
Hunley down in Charleston, SC have been trashed by some few as 'honoring
a regime which was every bit as bad, and commited atrocities as bad as
the NAZIs.'  But as a partial answer, I wonder if anybody can help me
with a bit of Virginia history, also involving an 'enemy' submarine.

My father was army liason officer at the 5th Naval District in Norfolk
through most of WWII.  After the war, he told a story of one of the
first sinkings of a German UBoat off the Virginia capes, probably late
1942 or early 1943.  It seems a PBY on patrol caught U-____ on the
surface charging its batteries, dropped bombs or depth charges set to
minimal depth and sank it.  The PBY, running low on fuel then radioed
its location (before GPS!) dropped life rafts to survivors and returned
to Norfolk.  Navy ships and aircraft could not find it when they reached
the area.  Two or three days later, a smart staff officer realized the
sub was in the Gulf Stream when sunk, so calculated the northward
movement, dispatched rescue craft, and there they found the survivors
and unfortunately the bodies of many who had died from exposure.

To make a long story short, a funeral with full military honors was
given the dead crew members at the US Military Cemetery in Hampton --
German flags, German music ('Deuschland uber alles', I guess).  I have
never read of this anywhere, and 20 minutes ago was unsuccessful finding
anything about it at the Library of Virginia or the Hampton Military
Cemetery.

Can anybody point me to a source for further information?

Randy Cabell

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html