The U-Boat War
By Ian Baxter
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About this ebook
Ian Baxter
Ian Baxter is a military historian who specialises in German twentieth-century military history. He has written more than fifty books. He has also reviewed numerous military studies for publication, supplied thousands of photographs and important documents to various publishers and film production companies worldwide, and lectures to various schools, colleges and universities throughout the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland.
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Reviews for The U-Boat War
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quite a few rare photos, many taken from personal collections (Rather than official press photos) good supplemental text and captions covering the U-Boat War in WWII.
Book preview
The U-Boat War - Ian Baxter
Chapter One
Recruitment & Training
Many still believe that during the Second World War all submarine crews were volunteers. Actually, contrary to popular belief the majority of young German sailors went through a traditional method of selection procedures. Many of the Ubootwaffe that were selected were in their early twenties. Their first contacts with U-boats were in the shipyards of Wilhelmshaven, Kiel, Hamburg and Bremen. Here they saw them being constructed, learned to find their way around inside them, and met their new commander who would share their lives onboard. Once the U-Boat had been completed and was ready for the ‘working up’ exercise, a formal luncheon party for the new crew was held. A normal ship's company was about 44. There were four commissioned officers and the commander, with the 1st and 2nd Officers and the Chief Engineer and 10 Petty Officers responsible for the engine rooms, the watches, radio and control rooms, with a quartermaster, a coxswain, and 30 technicians and seamen, including electricians, engine room men, telegraphists, control room hands, a cook and torpedo men. The crew also had to find room for newly trained officers, war correspondents and official observers.
Out in the Baltic, the new crew was left to negotiate the proving waters on their own. They made a number of practice dives to test and prove the strength of the pressure on the hull at depth, the operation of the hydroplanes, and of the trim and ballast tanks. For hours, the U-Boat was put through its paces with the crew making a series of dummy torpedo launches and torpedoing practices. The diesel and electric motors were tested, along with the radio equipment and sonar. The crew also familiarized themselves with all the gauges, instruments, handles, wheels and buttons that littered the vessel.
Despite the camaraderie that grew between the crew, there was always a clear division, not just between the crew and their officers, but between those working on the deck and the engine room, between the sailors on sea-watch and the greasers and stokers down below. But above all those that sailed onboard the U-boats, there was one man that every crewman respected and looked up to, the commander - ‘Herr Kaleu’ or the ‘Old Man’. Everyman was aware that his decisions meant success or failure. To many U-Boat crewmen the commander was regarded like a mystical warrior of the deep. Although most commanders themselves tried their best to avoid such stereotypical images, nearly all of them were good leaders, prepared to enjoy the camaraderie of those they commanded.
Here a trainee crewman practises with the ‘Drager lung’ escape apparatus in the diving tank. The rubber bag contained an oxygen cylinder and filter for removing carbon dioxide and could be used for nearly one hour. On the surface the bag could be inflated and used as a life jacket.
A trainee crewman practising in the diving tank. During submarine training the young recruits were compelled to deal with every combat situation, and this included trying to escape from a sunken U-boat. Although the chances of actually escaping from a U-boat that had been sunk was rare, candidates still had to train in underwater escape techniques using the ‘Drager lung’ escape apparatus.
Candidates training in a diving tank learning the grim techniques of how to survive and escape from a sunken submarine. When the interior of the vessel was fully flooded with sea water, the hatches of the vessel could seldom be opened due to the pressure of the boat. Many of the crews would perish like this. Sometimes, however, there were successful stories of escape where crewmembers managed to escape using the ‘Drager lung’ escape
apparatus, but this was often very rare.
Two photographs showing crew members training in a diving tank clearly wearing their ‘Drager lung’ escape apparatus. The special breathing equipment consisted of a tube attached to a face mask, an oxygen canister, a canister filled with carbon dioxide absorbent material, and a control valve. The entire apparatus was fitted inside a special vest, so it could be worn like a life jacket. The wearer would open the oxygen valve and inhale and then exhale through a small vent in the face mask. The air wasrecycled so that the wearer could continuously breath. A special valve which was manually operated was opened to eject used air when carbon dioxide was detected at high