Booby Trapped by bmac62
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
This posting goes with my previous upload: U-505 in Chicago
Top frame is a mural illustrating the capture and boarding of the German WWII submarine, U-505 after hedge-hogs and depth charges were used to force it to the surface off the coast of West Africa on June 4, 1944.
U-Boat Captain Lange, after surfacing, fired one torpedo at the surrounding US Navy ships commanded by Captain Daniel Gallery (from Chicago). Several ships of the US Navy fired 20mm and 50 caliber rounds back at the submarine. Captain Lange thought his boat was in immediate danger of sinking and ordered his crew to abandon the boat (yes, a submarine is called a boat). The U-Boat crew was amazed to see a specially trained team of sailors board the sinking submarine to defuse the 14 booby traps and shut off the open sea cocks. They succeeded!!! Training once again overcame fear...each man knew his exact job to save the sub from sinking.
**** The prizes sought in this daring, carefully planned operation was the Top Secret Enigma code machines and the Top Secret code books carried by each U-Boat on patrol.
The bottom frame shows a dozen or more holes in the U-505 conning tower from the fire brought to bear...not to sink the boat...but to cause the U-Boat Captain to surrender without loss of life.
Please ZOOM. I have left the file quite large.
Thanks for stopping by and all your wonderful support for my recent uploads.
Bill:)
Location and date: Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois. Photos taken using available light on June 5th, 2009. 65 years, 1 day after the capture.

Comments (33)
great capture
Great history and collage. Very well done, Clive
Fantastic picture. Great image!!
You have captured some pretty darn interesting memories Bill:-)
Amazing story and wonderful presentation! Thank you for bringing it to us.
Impressive machine, impressive narrative and the photo?...Impressive, well the are not too high up for me either, BONUS! :)
Hooray for the damage control team.
What an extraordinary story!
Flippin' amazing history and captures Bill!
Fascinating, love the mural.
Superb and fascinating history Bill !
Great narrative and image. Thanks.
amazing ...I wish I could see the real size of it
Very cool again Great series
super excellent capture!!!! great collage!!!!
Stellar lighting effects again in another one of your fine wartime episode shots, Bill! Not exactly the Good Boat Lollipop, is it? Did they blow the top off the conning tower? The periscope is gone. Or am I just used to seeing all the vertical paraphernalia atop other submarine conning towers? I'm amazed that the boarding crew was able to rapidly distinguish between what were and what weren't booby traps.
Lovely captures of this piece of history.
wow, what an excellent capture!wonderful narrative too!
what a beautiful mural and your presentation offers an insight into the excitement
Wonderful history lesson --this whole series is great and the fotos and images only add to the enjoyment.
I agree the mural is a beauty! nice work!
Couldn't be any better. Well done, Bill!
Interesting piece of history Bill, great images. My brother works in the shipyard Barrow-in-Furness UK where they have built Submarines for years and still do today! He took me around an open day once for families of the workforce, awesome to see the size of the big ones. great stuff!
great photo!!!
Wonderful photos. I've read about this. Great to see this poster and photo of the real submarine. Thanks for sharing.
Great history and capture - what a daring plan!
Very well taken photographs! Keep em coming, along with the history lessons. : )
Very, very good. Lighting has turned out really well. Top job with the wall art again. You have a knack with those, mate.... Rob.
most amazing story and wonderful pics.
what an interesting story to go with those shots of historical events preserved in a museum, I knew about the enigma beeing cuaght, but I didn't know where...smile