As they lay helpless in the water. While that may have occurred, there is the strong possibility such stories were used for propaganda purposes by a Ministry of Information which depicted U-boat captains as callous, dedicated Nazis.
The most successful U-boat was U48, which came into service in April 1939 and sank a record 59 ships before being sunk itself in October 1943. Many of the submarines, particularly those commissioned in the later years of the war, sunk five
Left: Depth charges were one antidote to roaming U-boats. I
Or fewer ships, many making no hits] at all before they were sent to the ocean bed.
The U-boat force gradually became more impotent prompting the desperate Ddnitz, by now admiral of the entire Kriegsmarine, to order a kamikaze-style attack by them following D-Day.
¦ RECKLESS ATTACK ¦
On 11 June 1944 he issued an order which read: ‘The Invasion Fleet is to be attacked with complete recklessness. Every enemy vessel that aids the landing, even if it puts no more than half a hundred men or a tank ashore, is a target calling for all-out effort from the U-boat.
‘It is to be attacked even at the risk of losing one’s boat. When it is necessary to get to grips with the enemy landing fleet, there is no question of any regard to danger through shallow water or possible minefields.’
Even with the benefit of hindsight it is difficult to discern whether the U-boat captains, fired by their leader’s words, carried out assaults
Boats could use against their enemies was an undersized machine gun which could do little in the face of a concerted attack. German sailors grew into the habit of calling their craft ‘iron coffins’.
After attacking, there are examples of U-boat captains displaying concern for their victims, passing on food and water and radioing their position so help could be sent. Survivors were never allowed on board, however.
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