Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505
Jan 2005 · Savas Beatie
4.6star
28 reviewsreport
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288
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About this ebook
The story of the German submarine U-505 and its dramatic capture by the US Navy during WWII—told by one of its crewmen.
Hans Goebeler is known as the man who “pulled the plug” on U-505 in 1944 to keep his beloved U-boat out of Allied hands. Steel Boat, Iron Hearts is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat. It is the only full-length memoir of its kind, and Goebeler was aboard for every one of U-505’s war patrols.
Using his own experiences, log books, and correspondence with other U-boat crewmen, Goebeler offers rich and very personal details about what life was like in the German Navy under Hitler. Because his first and last posting was to U-505, Goebeler’s perspective of the crew, commanders, and war patrols paints a vivid and complete portrait unlike any other to come out of the Kriegsmarine. He witnessed it all: from deadly sabotage efforts that almost sunk the boat to the tragic suicide of the only U-boat commander who took his life during WWII; from the terror and exhilaration of hunting the enemy to the seedy brothels of France. The vivid, honest, and smooth-flowing prose calls it like it was and pulls no punches.
U-505 was captured by Captain Dan Gallery’s Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 on June 4, 1944. Trapped by this “Hunter-Killer” group, U-505 was depth-charged to the surface, strafed by machine gun fire, and boarded. It was the first enemy ship captured at sea since the War of 1812. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour U-505 each year at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Includes photos and a special Introduction by Keith Gill, Curator of U-505, Museum of Science and Industry
Hans Goebeler is known as the man who “pulled the plug” on U-505 in 1944 to keep his beloved U-boat out of Allied hands. Steel Boat, Iron Hearts is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat. It is the only full-length memoir of its kind, and Goebeler was aboard for every one of U-505’s war patrols.
Using his own experiences, log books, and correspondence with other U-boat crewmen, Goebeler offers rich and very personal details about what life was like in the German Navy under Hitler. Because his first and last posting was to U-505, Goebeler’s perspective of the crew, commanders, and war patrols paints a vivid and complete portrait unlike any other to come out of the Kriegsmarine. He witnessed it all: from deadly sabotage efforts that almost sunk the boat to the tragic suicide of the only U-boat commander who took his life during WWII; from the terror and exhilaration of hunting the enemy to the seedy brothels of France. The vivid, honest, and smooth-flowing prose calls it like it was and pulls no punches.
U-505 was captured by Captain Dan Gallery’s Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3 on June 4, 1944. Trapped by this “Hunter-Killer” group, U-505 was depth-charged to the surface, strafed by machine gun fire, and boarded. It was the first enemy ship captured at sea since the War of 1812. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors tour U-505 each year at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Includes photos and a special Introduction by Keith Gill, Curator of U-505, Museum of Science and Industry
Ratings and reviews
4.6
28 reviews
David Megginson
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October 3, 2018
Excellent description of an ordinary submariner's life in WWII. However, the book is unashamedly apologetic for Nazi Germany—for example, he uses the Communist threat multiple times to justify Germany's war, but never even hints that anything like the Holocaust happened. Reading it for the details is interesting, but it will also leave you feeling a little dirty.
Chris Weber
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December 29, 2013
This is a good book worth reading.only those who were there will be able to tell you what it was like aboard U-505 through out her history.
Cary Park
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January 10, 2019
A good history of the life strugle aboard a WW2 Gerrman U Boat during the war. This book by a crew member of U 505 is at a time when the tide of war had turned against the German U boat. As a companion book "U-505 by DANIEL V. GALLERY Rear Admiral (ret). This book is about the HUNTER KILLER TASK FORCE that stalked and forced U 505 to the surface and capture.
About the author
Hans Jacob Goebeler was born in Bottendorf, Germany, on November 9, 1923. At the age of 17, he joined the Navy and served as control room mate aboard U-505.Years later, Goebeler moved his family to the United States to be close to his beloved boat and began penning his wartime memoir.Hans passed away in 1999
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