It's a shame he ended his life, he was probably depressed that he was at war with his crew and became the laughing stock of the submarine fleet. Had he wasn't at least at war with his crew he'd probably not have done that. Side note: I wonder how the crew must have felt when they abandoned ship because they couldn't control the flooding. Then a group of Americans along with a news reporter go in the sub that uses measurements they don't use in a language they don't speak or read and proceeds to disable the scuttle charges, take control of the flooding, and save the sub.
Ya I can’t imagine the experiences that he would’ve went through / how he would’ve been mentally. Couldn’t have been good. Very brave of the men who kept her afloat since she could’ve plummeted to the bottom without any chance for them to escape.
Admiral Daniel V. Gallery's excellent account of the capture of U 505 goes into detail on how the Americans trained to specifically capture a Uboat and the amazing fact that the High Command in Berlin was clueless of the fate of U 505 until after the war was over. Reading the book and visiting and touring the U 505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is a must for all WW II naval history buffs.
Gallery was considered for a court martial - Admiral King was furious that U-505 had not been immediately sunk following the recovery of enigma and documents in case the Germans suspected the capture with secret codes thereby being compromised and D-Day only two days away.
I last visited U-505 in September and chatted a good bit with the tour guide. He never mentioned the story of its previous skipper. How many of the captured crewmen had served with Zschech?
Ya I couldn’t believe that they didn’t mention it at all when I was on my tour. The capture happened only 2 patrols later so if I had to guess a lot of the same crew would’ve been there. I’ll see if I can find additional info on it!
I visited there recently and that's all I could think about when standing in there. Took all my willpower to not cut into the tour guides spiel and mention it lol
@@HiddenHistoryYT right bro!!!!!!! They never mentioned it, I, as you did, was dying to say something. Even looking at his bunk where they had to put a pillow over his face to quiet him was creepy. Steel boats Iron hearts was a great book that described this
@@HiddenHistoryYTI really want to go back and visit it as the last time I've been through here was when she was outside but man I absolutely hate Chicago traffic.
Boy that’s really annoying. My dad took me to see the U505 when I was a kid and I took my son. I think I’ve been through her 5 times now and no one ever mentioned that.
My tour guide of the 505 had done a lot of research and seems to believe the crew did it. He said too many reports conflicted and that the admiralty probably let it slide because they didn't like the commander either.
At about ten minutes into your program you mentioned "must have horrified the powers that be in Berlin." The exhibit in Chicago says that the capture of U505 was kept secret. Normally, prisoners of war were allowed to write home. The U505 prisoners wrote but their letters were not distributed until after the war and the prisoners were returned home. Keeping the prisoners sequestered prevented Berlin from the knowledge that secrets of enigma, codebooks, etc. had been compromised. After seeing your video I can see how Berlin would have readily accepted U505 sank while on patrol.
Did he commit suicide? Or did his second in command (along with other officers) use the depth charge bombing as an excuse to kill the captain? It just seems highly unlikely for a commander to kill himself in front of his men at such a critical time, especially one who had previously won so many medals for bravery.
The Germans never learned of the capture of U505 until after the war, somehow all the crews of the hunter killer group, destroyer escorts and the escort carrier involved kept the secret. Admiral King, CC of the US Navy wanted to court martial the commander of escort group as he feared the Germans would learn of the capture and change their radio codes, which the allies had been able to read up to now.
LOL ! AS I TOURED THIS SUBMARINE THREE TIMES IN MY LIFE AT CHICAGO IT IS A GREAT STORY! THE FIRST TIME WAS A SCHOOL KIDS WEEKEND GET AWAY TRIP FROM THE KANSAS CITY UNION STATION TO CHICAGO , WAS THE FIRST TIME! I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICAL WORKINGS OF HER. THE SECOND TIME I TOURED HER I WAS TAKING MY ARMY RESERVES JOB TRAINING, AND AS I HAD BEEN WORKING AS AN AUTO AND FARM MACHINERY MECHANIC I HAD A GREATER KNOWLEDGE OF HER MACHINERY! AFTER ACTIVE DUTY TIME I LUCKED INTO A RAILROAD JOB AND RECEIVED AN MACHINISTS APPRENTICESHIP AND BECAME QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE ELECTRICAL LOCOMOTIVE KNOWLEDGE! WHEN I TOURED THE THIRD TIME I ENJOYED TO SEE THE OPERATION AND MECHANICAL SIMILARITIES BETWEEN DIESEL ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES AND THE DIESEL / BATTERY/ PROPULSION SUBMARINE DRIVES!! THANKS FOR YOUR POST, ENJOYED, IMMENSELY!
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Again -- You're hitting the subjects we need to know !
Loss of nerve is real
I've been on the boat, back when I was a kid in Chicago. I never heard about KaLeun Zschech, though.
Ya they don’t mention it for whatever reason! A shame as it’s quite a unique tidbit of history
It's a shame he ended his life, he was probably depressed that he was at war with his crew and became the laughing stock of the submarine fleet. Had he wasn't at least at war with his crew he'd probably not have done that.
Side note:
I wonder how the crew must have felt when they abandoned ship because they couldn't control the flooding. Then a group of Americans along with a news reporter go in the sub that uses measurements they don't use in a language they don't speak or read and proceeds to disable the scuttle charges, take control of the flooding, and save the sub.
Sounds like is was slightly autistic ?
Ya I can’t imagine the experiences that he would’ve went through / how he would’ve been mentally. Couldn’t have been good.
Very brave of the men who kept her afloat since she could’ve plummeted to the bottom without any chance for them to escape.
Admiral Daniel V. Gallery's excellent account of the capture of U 505 goes into detail on how the Americans trained to specifically capture a Uboat and the amazing fact that the High Command in Berlin was clueless of the fate of U 505 until after the war was over. Reading the book and visiting and touring the U 505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is a must for all WW II naval history buffs.
Gallery was considered for a court martial - Admiral King was furious that U-505 had not been immediately sunk following the recovery of enigma and documents in case the Germans suspected the capture with secret codes thereby being compromised and D-Day only two days away.
I last visited U-505 in September and chatted a good bit with the tour guide. He never mentioned the story of its previous skipper. How many of the captured crewmen had served with Zschech?
Ya I couldn’t believe that they didn’t mention it at all when I was on my tour. The capture happened only 2 patrols later so if I had to guess a lot of the same crew would’ve been there. I’ll see if I can find additional info on it!
I stood in the very spot he smoked himself, u 505 in Chicago. Creepy
I visited there recently and that's all I could think about when standing in there. Took all my willpower to not cut into the tour guides spiel and mention it lol
@@HiddenHistoryYT right bro!!!!!!! They never mentioned it, I, as you did, was dying to say something. Even looking at his bunk where they had to put a pillow over his face to quiet him was creepy. Steel boats Iron hearts was a great book that described this
@@HiddenHistoryYTI really want to go back and visit it as the last time I've been through here was when she was outside but man I absolutely hate Chicago traffic.
Ahh I forgot about the bunk part!
Boy that’s really annoying. My dad took me to see the U505 when I was a kid and I took my son. I think I’ve been through her 5 times now and no one ever mentioned that.
I have visited the U505 in Chicago. It was really cool. Thanks for sharing the story about the voyages of U505.
The crew killed him that's why the guy was absolved , and that's is why they didn't transfer the crew
Fragging was very rare in that generation, but it might explain a whole lot.
My tour guide of the 505 had done a lot of research and seems to believe the crew did it. He said too many reports conflicted and that the admiralty probably let it slide because they didn't like the commander either.
At about ten minutes into your program you mentioned "must have horrified the powers that be in Berlin." The exhibit in Chicago says that the capture of U505 was kept secret. Normally, prisoners of war were allowed to write home. The U505 prisoners wrote but their letters were not distributed until after the war and the prisoners were returned home. Keeping the prisoners sequestered prevented Berlin from the knowledge that secrets of enigma, codebooks, etc. had been compromised. After seeing your video I can see how Berlin would have readily accepted U505 sank while on patrol.
Did he commit suicide? Or did his second in command (along with other officers) use the depth charge bombing as an excuse to kill the captain? It just seems highly unlikely for a commander to kill himself in front of his men at such a critical time, especially one who had previously won so many medals for bravery.
One of my favorite places to visit when I was a kid.
I’ve been in the U-505 twice. It’s a must-see when in Chicago!
It most definitely is! Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
I was on the U 505, not during the war ... well, kind of ... my first marriage.🙄
😂
😂
Sorry for your loss. Or not!
@@theujexperience3564 Best thing that ever happened to me ... she left! LOL
I don't think the narrator mentioned it. What was the U-boats number?
U-505. It’s actually the same U-Boat on display at the Science & Industry Museum in Chicago
The Germans never learned of the capture of U505 until after the war, somehow all the crews of the hunter killer group, destroyer escorts and the escort carrier involved kept the secret. Admiral King, CC of the US Navy wanted to court martial the commander of escort group as he feared the Germans would learn of the capture and change their radio codes, which the allies had been able to read up to now.
Thanks for watching and have a great week :)
My guy. 👍👍
❤️
Read U-505 by Daniel V. Gallery, commander of the task force that captured the boat. Good book!
Crikey
the guy that died in the woods
Was this captured by Captain Cressell?
The survival rate of submariners in every country was about the same.
I don't know about this. The US lost 50 or so, compared to over 600 U-boats.
@@stevew6138 What I meant is the submariners in every country suffered the highest casualty rates. I misspoke.
@@HeinzGuderian_ Got ya Bro, yes, this makes sense. Submarine and bomber crews had it rough. Take care and Merry Christmas Friend.
LOL !
AS I TOURED THIS SUBMARINE THREE TIMES IN MY LIFE AT CHICAGO IT IS A GREAT STORY!
THE FIRST TIME WAS A SCHOOL KIDS WEEKEND GET AWAY TRIP FROM THE KANSAS CITY UNION STATION TO CHICAGO , WAS THE FIRST TIME!
I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE MECHANICAL WORKINGS OF HER.
THE SECOND TIME I TOURED HER I WAS TAKING MY ARMY RESERVES JOB TRAINING, AND AS I HAD BEEN WORKING AS AN AUTO AND FARM MACHINERY MECHANIC
I HAD A GREATER KNOWLEDGE OF HER MACHINERY!
AFTER ACTIVE DUTY TIME I LUCKED INTO A RAILROAD JOB AND RECEIVED AN MACHINISTS APPRENTICESHIP AND BECAME QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE ELECTRICAL LOCOMOTIVE KNOWLEDGE!
WHEN I TOURED THE THIRD TIME I ENJOYED TO SEE THE OPERATION AND MECHANICAL SIMILARITIES BETWEEN
DIESEL ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES AND THE DIESEL / BATTERY/
PROPULSION SUBMARINE DRIVES!!
THANKS FOR YOUR POST, ENJOYED, IMMENSELY!
2:59 - That's not a German sub. Looks American or British. (Bow planes up)
It's German..I visited it in Chicago when I was a kid.