The Enemy Below (Part II)

Inside the great science building, as I awaited my turn in line to board the 505, the lobby entrance to it was adorned with some pretty interesting stuff. The Enigma machine and codebook, the corresponding charts, and one of the accoustical torpedoes, that had a section of skin cut-away so you could see what made it work....(not that any of us in line might understand it).

A guide took us into the U-505, about 7 or 8 people at a time, through an entryway cut into the side of the hull. At first I thought in was a shame to cut into a piece of history like that, even if it WAS a NAZI boat......but then......it'll never see the ocean again, and climbing up & down the ladder in the conning tower would have bee a real CHORE for a lot of visitors.

The guide gave us some background info I'd never read in any books on th3 505. For instance, she said that the sub was so stuffed with food & other provisions for the long patrols, that not only did they pack things everywhere they could find a spot, but that also included the two small latrines! When they left home port, each man was giving a small can (about the size of a coffee can), to "go to the bathroom" in.....the "contents" would be tossed overboard as they cruised along. All this time, they would eat the food stored in one of the latrines. When the first latrine was finally cleared of "rations storage", then they could toss the cans and start using the latrine.

They would then, of course, start consuming the food from the OTHER latrine until IT was finally empty. They still had the majority of food to live on, that they'd was stashed everywhere else on the U-Boat. And of course, BOTH latrines to use.

Life aboard a U-Boat was miserable. 59 crewmen lived on the 505, and as you walked through it, you couldn't picture how you could GET 59 guys IN there!

(I took a lot of pictures), that I STILL haven't figured out how to post on here----I need to get with Jessie, for a RE-TRY at this).

It was cramped on board to say the least. The bunks were small. There were 2 bunks for every 3 crewman. They worked in 3 shifts, and one guy was rolling OUT of a bunk while another one was rolling INTO it, so it was called "hot-bunking", because the bunk you were climbing into was still "warm" from the LAST guy.

The supply of fresh water onboard was used strictly for consumption, so they had to shower with sea water, and used a special soap that would lather-up in salt water.

During the periods of time in hostile waters when they had to remain submerged for days on end, the air stank from the human sweat of 59 men, and was so foul, they were often called "pig-boats". Whenever they could surface for awhile though, they'd open up some hatches to "air the boat out" and the guys could walk around on deck, a few at a time.

But these "pig-boat" sailors were held in the highest esteem by their Navy. They had sunk MORE allied convoy shipping than any other type of ship in the Kreigsmarine (German Navy). The crewmen were promoted and given medals & banquets more-so than ANY of their "Battleship & Cruiser brothers"

Submarine duty in the Third Reich, was ALSO the only arm of any German military branch where you could serve, and at the end of any patrol, you could leave with no questions asked. Most did NOT, because of the "prestige"

And most of them PERISHED by the end of the war. Once our side had the codebooks, charts, and the Enigma figured out.......the NAZI's (unknowingly) could no longer safely translate radio signals & messages, so we KNEW where their U-Boat "wolf-packs" would be heading long before they got there, and with our latest sonar detection equipment, we started depth-charging and destroying U-Boats by the dozens, until they were no longer the hunters, but the "hunted."

The U-505 has been kept in a pretty nice state of restoration, and I took several photos of the engines, torpedo tubes, the Captain's quarters, galley, etc. They even had "fake" meat & bread hanging from the overheads, just as the REAL provisions would have been.

You can't go up into the conning tower, but you can SEE well enough up there, to get a good shot of the periscope. Walking around OUTSIDE, I got some great shots of it as well.

You see documentary footage on the History Channel sometimes, but I could never imagine actually being DOWN there in one of those subs....theirs OR ours.....especially when you're in deep water where the outside pressure of the ocean is ready to crush the hull, and the OTHER guys up topside are trying to blow you open with depth charges. It HAS to be the toughest duty in ANYBODY'S navy.

It was a memorable few hours for me, and if you're a history buff....and ever in Chicago with a little extra time on your hands, I would highly recommend a trip to that museum. There are lots of other things there, but the biggest attraction has always been the U-505.

It's worth going to see the home of "The Enemy Below."