Ram ho!
I'm not sure why it is such big news that they have found the final resting place of U-550. Since we sank the vast majority of the German submarine force at sea, and dealt with the rest in other ways, I had assumed the bottom of the Atlantic was littered with depth-charged hulks and iron crosses. (A fine recapitulation of the U-550 engagement is here.)
The historian Michael Gannon reportedly argues that the German submariners were among the least-Nazi elements of the German armed forces. Hmmm. Upon serious reflection, since they came to America and killed lots of civilians in sneak attacks on Hitler's orders, I don't think that really changes my view of them.
What was new to me was the information that U-550's final battle featured ramming, in my opinion an underutilized maritime tool in war and peace. As every schoolchild knows, the Seattle fireboat Duwamish was designed with a built-in ram to use as a last resort.
I've always been a bit of a partisan for the destroyer escorts, a force that never received the attention of battleships or PT boats, but arguably did more useful work (including the unbelievable engagement off Samar). They were pretty good vessels - USS Gandy has a still-active sister ship serving in the Philippine navy.
posted by The Other Front at 9:44 AM
2 Comments:
Must recommend the novel "The Cruel Sea," by Monsarrat, about a Royal Navy corvette chasing around U Boats. I read it at 9, and then again last year.
By the way, what are you doing writing about the Sea!? Every man to his craft, Sir!
I should add: the whole history of naval warfare was highly dependent on ramming - indeed, from Greek Triremes to Venetian galleys with their enormous built in rams, and until heavy cannons were perfected, a primary naval attack meant maneuvering to smash your opponent's vessel amidships.
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