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German submarine U-505
German World War II submarine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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U-505 is a German Type IXC submarine built for Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. It was captured by the United States Navy on 4 June 1944 and survives as a museum ship in Chicago.
![]() U-505 shortly after being captured, pictured from the USS Pillsbury in preparation for towing | |
History | |
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Name | U-505 |
Ordered | 25 September 1939 |
Builder | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg-Finkenwerder |
Yard number | 295 |
Laid down | 12 June 1940 |
Launched | 24 May 1941 |
Commissioned | 26 August 1941 |
Fate | Captured by US Navy on 4 June 1944[1][2] |
Status | Preserved as a museum ship[2] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Type IXC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 230 m (750 ft) |
Complement | 48 to 56 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 46 074 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
8 merchant ships sunk (45,005 GRT) |
U-505 (IXC U-boat) | |
Coordinates | 41°47′30″N 87°34′53″W |
Built | 1941 |
Architect | Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg, Germany |
NRHP reference No. | 89001231 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 1989[3] |
Designated NHL | 1989[4] |
In her unlucky career, it had the distinction of being the "most heavily damaged U-boat to successfully return to port" in World War II, suffering six botched patrols, and becoming the only submarine in which a commanding officer killed himself in combat conditions.[5] On 4 June 1944, it was captured by United States Navy Task Group 22.3 (TG 22.3), one of six U-boats that were captured at sea by Allied forces during the war. All but one of U-505's crew were rescued by the Navy task group. The submarine was towed to Bermuda in secret, and her crew was interned in an American prisoner-of-war camp, where they were kept in isolation. The Navy classified the capture as top secret and went to great lengths to prevent the Germans from discovering it.
In 1954, U-505 was donated to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It is now one of four German World War II U-boats that survive as museum ships, and one of just two Type IXCs still in existence, along with U-534.