U-boat Under Air Attack U-118 is caught on the surface, below left, and sunk by aircraft from escort carrier USS Bogue off the Canary Islands on 12 June, 1943. Note the German crewmen seeking shelter behind the submarine's conning tower. By this time in the war, submarine crews lived in constant fear of air attacks.
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TBM Avengers, shown at right, used as torpedo planes in the Pacific war, were the most capable antisubmarine aircraft operating off small carriers in the mid-Atlantic.
A crewman ofU-175 calls for help after the U-boat is attacked and sunk on April 7, 1943 by USCGC Spencer, the successful sub hunter shown in action dropping depth charges against U-175 on page 12. In this rare instance, forty-one crewmen were picked up by the Spencer after the attack; in most cases, few Uboat men survived when their boats went down-and more and more U-boats were sunk as the initiative passed to the Allies.
Victory In the Atlantic Despite earl y triumph s by German submarines , surface raiders and aircraft, whi ch claimed nearly 3,000 Allied vessels, enough ships got through to pave the road to victory in Europe. As Allied tactics and technology , and the sheer bravery and determination of Allied seamen, turned the tide, German losses soon became unsustainable. Admiral Donitz withdrew the U-boats from the mid-Atlantic convoy routes on 26 May , 1943, tacitly admitting defeat. Although the submarines regrouped for sporadic attacks on Allied shipping, the U-boats were being SEA HISTORY 66, SUMMER 1993
sunk in ever increasing numbers, often within hours of leaving their protected bases on the French coast. By the end of the war, nine out of every ten operational U-boats had been destroyed , while 32,000 German submariners were sent to watery graves, along with 45 ,000 Allied seamen and their ships. Although it was indeed a war of technology and science, it was a war won by merchant and naval seamen of many nationalities fighting under harsh conditions. The contributions of the Americans who served with the Merchant Marine, Coast Guard , Navy, Anned Guard, Picket
Patrol , Iceland Patrol, Civil Air Patrol, Marine Corps, Army Air Force, and Army , a ll played a significant role in this hard fought victory.That was fifty years ago. The scars of thi s long and horrific battle are long covered by the cloak of the deep, but the valor of those who took part in the struggle is not forgotten by those who sail the slate grey waves and foaming crests of the broad Atlantic. 1,
Jerry Roberts serves as Curator and Larry Sowinski as Executive Director of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. 15