As the Allies prepared for D-Day, another Allied force landed on German territory, resulting in a significant breakthrough in the war. The Allied battle against German submarines was turning in the Allies favor. Advances such as sonar made it difficult for submarines to use their stealth to their advantage; and the escort carrier was eliminating safe zones in the Atlantic submarines could operate on the surface free from fear of an attack. Task Group 22.3, commanded by Admiral Dan Gallery, consisting of the USS Guadalcanal CVE-60 and five destroyer escorts, was one of those hunter killer groups patrolling the Atlantic. When decrypted communications revealed German submarines operating off of Cape Verde, it was ordered to the area.
Shortly before noon on 4 June, TG 22.3 made sonar contact with U-505, a Type IXC U Boat, commanded by Ober Lt zur See Harald Lange. U 505 was on its 12th patrol, the second under Lange. Upon contact, the escorts steamed to the contact while the Guadalcanal launched aircraft to assist in the chase. Following an hedgehog and depth charge attack, a large oil slick appeared and the U-505 was spotted after surfacing, less than 600 yards from escorts.
Admiral Gallery, a veteran Atlantic sailor, had noticed German submarines surfacing late in the war often did not fight but abandon ship and scuttled the boat. With this observation, Admiral Gallery conducted boarding drills to be prepared if presented with an opportunity to board a German submarine. The U-505 provided that opportunity. After surfacing, the U-505's crew abandoned ship. The crew opened some seacocks and left the diesel running, resulting in the U-505 steaming in circles. While escorts collected survivors, an 8 man boarding crew, led by Lt. Albert David boarded the U-505, conducting the first boarding of an enemy naval vessel on the high seas by the US Navy since the War of 1812. After recovering vital code books and charts, they remained aboard, closing scuttling valves and disarming demolition charges. Lt. Albert David was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Admiral Gallery then made a historic decision. Rather than sink the U-505, he towed it to Bermuda. In his book, U-505, he says he prayed, "Lord, I have a lot of curious sailors on her. Please don't let them fire a torpedo..." The U-505 was an intelligence coup and studied extensively; disguised as a US submarine and renamed the USS Nemo. The crew was isolated from other POWs to prevent the Germans from learning of the U-505's fate. Germany declared the sailors lost at sea, their families were no doubt surprised when they returned after the war.
The U-505, after being used for war bond tours, eventually was selected to be a gunnery and torpedo target and sunk. Admiral Gallery once again kept her from being sunk when he helped lead an effort to bring her to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, where she is on display today.
Captain Lange, upon returning to Germany, found himself ostracized from his fellow submariners for allowing his boat to be captured. Lange and Gallery had become friends, and Gallery defended Lange's actions, resulting in Lange's being welcomed by his fellow submariners.
If you are interested in more information on the War in the Atlantic, I recommend Admiral Gallery's autobiographies and the book U-505. Of course, if you get to the South Side of Chicago, the badest part of town, be sure to visit the U-505.
Museum of Science and Industry U-505 webpage:
https://www.msichicago.org/explore/whats-here/exhibits/u-505-submarine/
