John chatterton explores the mystery uboat sunk off the new jersey coast. Online german emigration records and lists german roots. The waters around new york provide one of the richest hunting grounds in the united states for wreck divers. German submarine u869 was a type ixc40 uboat of nazi germanys kriegsmarine during world war ii, whose wreck was discovered off the coast of new jersey in 1991. German navy uboat submarine headquarters war logs from world war ii in the collection of the navy department library. Are there any good books about german uboats, during the. The u853 german submarine shipwreck new york and new. German uboat operations form a not inconsiderable body of the historiography of world war ii, with many books having been published on. Shipwreck found dating back to wwii off jersey coast whyy. Germany was the first country to employ submarines in war as substitutes for surface commerce raiders. The question of which uboat it is turns out to be extraordinarily difficult to answer, and ultimately requires the divers, and particularly chatterton to take extraordinary risks to answer the question. Shadow divers by robert kurson goodreads share book.
An unidentified german submarine was discovered on september 2, 1991 by john chatterton in 230 feet of water 65 miles east of point pleasant, new jersey. Operation drumbeat was a secret wwii mission put in place by the german naval command. German uboat command expected her to arrive in her gibraltar operation area on february 1, 1945. We are always looking for scans of booklet of general plans, docking plans, etc. Jersey, discovered a shipwrecked world war ii german uboat 60 miles off the coast of new jersey. Shadow divers published in 2004 is a nonfictional book by robert kurson recounting of the discovery of a world war ii german uboat 60 miles 97 km off the coast of new jersey, united states in 1991. Robert kurson is an american author, best known for his bestselling book, shadow divers, the true story of two americans who discover a sunken world war ii german uboat and for crashing through, the story of an entrepreneur who regains his eyesight after a lifetime of blindness. Nagle discovered the resting place of a world war ii german uboat, a wartime loss with the 56 man crew still continue reading. Lost ww1 german uboat wreck found off norfolk coast. His uboats operated up and down the eastern seaboard, from maine to florida and into the gulf of mexico. The old lutheran emigration at the middle of the 19th century by wilhelm iwan scanned book. Did the uboat commander fail to receive the german order at wars end to cease attacks.
John chatterton and richard koehler are premier world class scuba divers who discover a sunk submarine off the coast of new jersey. We always provide all the pages of the booklet that we have been able to find. The book was awarded the american booksellers associations 2005 book of the. Wwii uboat history books rc uboat model uboat plan uboat picture uboat models. The strange tale of nazi germanys super submarines that never fired a shot the type xxi uboat cost way more than it was worth. It was known from the beginning that it was a submarine, but records did not indicate that a uboat was sunk in the new jersey area.
German navy uboat submarine headquarters war logs from. A rescue boat stands ready for deployment in the event of a plane crash. Comprehensive instruction in new jersey boating safety education. The young captain of the submarine, twenty eight year old helmut neuerburg, had been extra cautious on his voyage to his detachment point. A german uboat was found off the coast of new jersey, usa on 2 sept, 1991 by several divers. This database is taken from us customs and immigration passenger ship records prior to world war i. New uboat books torpedo junction world war ii u boat. The wreck of a world war one german uboat, missing for more than 100 years, is found off the coast of norfolk. The german born guellich came to america in 1932, and was recruited by griebl in 1935 due to his work as a metallurgist at the federal shipbuilding co. On december 29, 1944 uboat command radioed the submarine to patrol an area off the new jersey coast. Alarmed by the possibility that this uboat could have dropped off enemy agents, the boston fbi office sent men north to maine. Nagle discovered the resting place of a world war ii german uboat, a wartime loss with the 56 man crew still aboard. July 16, 2018 the octavian was a norwegian freighter tasked with transporting sulfur and wood resin to its destination at saint john in new brunswick, canada.
Ww2 german submarine uboats of the kriegsmarine ww11. The uboat however never headed to gibraltar she headed to a point off new jersey, this distance was 2430 miles. Werner, iron coffins herbert werner served in uboats from 1941 to the end of the end of the war, ending up a uboat captain in the latter stages of world war ii. Were there any german subs in the ny harbor during ww2. Timothy mulligan is a german naval historian and archivist at the national archives and records administration. In the waning hours of the war against nazi germany, a uboat skipper off the new england coast either ignored or never received orders from the fatherland to cease operations.
The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. He layers german uboat history with the search, both underwater and. A hazardous german uboat mission targets new york city. Its a passion that has taken him deep into the ocean, left him with lifealtering injuries and led him to an incredible find four years ago. In the fall of 1991, captain bill nagle of the dive boat seeker led a team of recreational scuba divers on an expedition to explore an unknown wreck site 60 miles off the new jersey coast. How a german submarine attack forever changed cape may. East coast, but poor planning forced uboat crews into. Reinhard hardegen, a leading german submarine commander of world war ii who brought uboat warfare to the doorstep of new york harbor in the winter of 1942, died on june 9. A book out this week explores the depths of mazraanis hobby. Deutschlands visit to baltimore was a local fascination.
On 31 august, 1997 these same divers reported evidence that the boat they found is the u869 knife inscribed with a u869 crew members name, uzo torpedo aiming device, machinerynumbers from the engine room. There were rumors in the diving community in new jersey that there possibly was a submarine off the new jersey shore. A discovery off the coast of cape may shows a ship brought down during world war ii is in the waters off new jersey, not canada. The last german uboat sunken in divable waters off the atlantic coast. Merchant ship sunk by nazi uboat off cape may reveals secret that is changing an episode in wwii history books by tommy rowan, updated. The german submarine u858 surrendered off cape may at the end of world war ii. Finally in 1991 a german submarine was discovered 50 miles off the coast in the vicinity of point pleasant, nj in 230 feet of water.
On 31 august, 1997 these same divers reported evidence that the boat they found is u869 knife inscribed with a u869 crew members name, uzo torpedo aiming device, machinerynumbers from the engine room. The history of submarine warfare off the jersey coast whyy. From then until early august, german uboats dominated the waters off the east coast, sinking fuel tankers and cargo ships with impunity and often within sight of shore. From january of 1942 until august of that year, german torpedoes sunk a dozen or more shifts off the coast of new jersey, with many more attacked off north carolina, virginia and the gulf of mexico, according to joseph bilby, a new jersey military historian and author. The quality varies because most of these have been scanned from original booklets that have been used aboard ship. But in 1991, not even these bold divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid atlantic waters sixty miles off the new jersey coast. Two days after their arrival in new york, ul230, still lingering about the coast, sank the 5,458ton canadian freighter cornwallis, which was carrying sugar and molasses from barbados to st. Merchant ship sunk by nazi uboat off cape may reveals.
This official training program is developed to meet the standards for boating safety education established by new jersey. Rustin cassway says he was diving with partner brian sullivan about 70 miles off the coast of cape may on july 4th when they found a steamship sunk by a german uboat submarine during world war ii. But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of new jersey. Kursons new focus is the larger historical worlda world of uboats, forensics and. The u869 was built at the deschimag shipyard in bremen and commissioned into the german navy on january 26, 1944. Eventually the wreck turns out to be u869, supposedly sunk off north africa, though in fact it is very close to new jersey. New jersey american steam tanker ships hit by german u. Kursons new focus is the larger historical worlda world of uboats, forensics and lungcrushing pressureand. Smart news keeping you current wreck of nazi germanys most advanced uboat discovered sunk in 1945, u3523, a type xxi sub, may have been attempting to smuggle highranking nazis to argentina.
Diving german uboats off the east coast draugas news. Shadow divers published in 2004 is a nonfictional book by robert kurson recounting of the discovery of a world war ii german uboat 60 miles 97 km off the coast of new jersey. The destruction of enemy shipping by german uboats was a spectacular feature of both world wars i and ii. The mostly german settled banat area was once part of the austrian empire and is now divided among romania, yugoslavia and hungary. Wreck of nazi germanys most advanced uboat discovered.
No uboat has been recorded sunk within 100 miles of the wreck. Admiral doenitzs operation drumbeat uboat offensive against u. In 1991, john chatterton and richie kohler, two divers from new jersey, discovered a shipwrecked world war ii german uboat 60 miles off the coast of new jersey. The order was in turn rescinded when the u869 radioed in her fuel supply. A celebrated baltimore maritime episode occurred 100 years ago this month when the uboat deutschland, a german submarine ostensibly on a. The inside story of how a nazi plot to sabotage the u. Many of the ships were attacked within a few miles of the beach, he said.
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