Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Operation Deadlight and U-776 - Nonfiction - A to Z Challenge

 
Among my husband's massive collection of papers was this: a log sheet from German u-boat (submarine) U-776, with what looks to be the last entry made by the German crew before being officially handed over to the Royal Navy in the UK. (But I could be wrong, as I can't read the names. The notations are in pencil.)


U776 had surrendered herself to the British in Weymouth, England in May 1945. She never saw combat, having made only one training cruise.  She was moored in front of the Houses of Parliament for some time so that people could view her, and is the only U-boat to have ever sailed up the Thames.

Brief footage of U776 on the Thames is included at this Pathe link

After the war,  "Operation Deadlight" took care of disposing of the captured German fleet including over 100 U-boats, among them U776. After their surrender, the majority of these submarines were sunk about 100 miles NW of Ireland, although some were in such poor condition that they couldn't make the full trip and were sunk along the way. 

While Operation Deadlight destroyed many of the U boats, some were claimed as war booty/reparations. U-505, which had been captured by the US in 1944 instead of being surrendered, is now on display in Chicago as a war memorial.

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12 comments:

  1. Interesting, an idea where he got the document?

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  2. I enjoy learning this historical stuff. I'll bet they went back and dredged up some of those boats over time.

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  3. sinking them all seems such a waste in such a time of need. Great artifact to have though
    Lx

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  4. Lots of history "fell" into private hands. Stories upon stories to unfold. Shared out for you, Li.

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  5. Such a cool piece of memorabilia. Reminders of "Never surrender."

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  6. Wow, Li, fancy having this logsheet, amongst other papers. Very precious keepsakes yet a reminder of ugly war.

    Denise

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  7. My grandfather was a Petty Officer on this U-Boat.

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  8. My grandfather was a Petty Officer on this U-Boat.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Would love to add any details that you have to this post. The log sheet is currently with a collector of militaria in the UK.

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