Color Footage
Shortly after U-505 was blown to the surface by the hunter-killer escorts of TG.22.3, a sailor recorded the capture on rare color film. Watch as American bluejackets struggle to stabilize and secure the U-505. Through their efforts, the Anglo-American Allies gained access to vital intelligence material, which provided details about German naval operations and technology. Today, you can visit U-505 on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.
• Guadalcanal (CVE 60) maneuvering to take U-505 in tow.
• Bluejackets on the forward main deck and conning tower of U-505.
• Captured crewmen from U-505.
• Starboard quarter view showing Guadalcanal towing U-505.
• Stern view showing Guadalcanal with U-505 in foreground, conning tower awash, with the American boarding party on the forward bow.
• Conning tower of U-505 with the Stars and Stripes flying from the periscope.
• American boarding party on the forward bow and conning tower of U-505.
• Forward bow view of U-505.
• Broadside view of U-505; American boarding party working with the decks awash aboard the unstable and foundering U-boat.
• U-505 conning tower with forward bow at a steep angle.
• U-505 from stern of Guadalcanal.
• Overlooking stern of Guadalcanal; boarding party in a motor whaleboat moving to set a tow line on U-505.
• U-505 with USS Pillsbury (DE 133) in background.
• American boarding party underway in a whaleboat, moving toward U-505.
• U-505 with bluejackets peering through pair of binoculars in foreground.
Black-and-White Footage
After U-505 was captured and towed to Bermuda, Anglo-American intelligence analysts studied the contents of the vessel. U-505 was also used by the U.S. Navy for training purposes. During the winter of 1944, a crew of American sailors was assigned to U-505 to learn more about U-boat capabilities and operations. Watch as American bluejackets tour the interior of U-505—operating torpedo tubes, depth controls, engines, and, most interestingly, the radio.
• Moving into the crew spaces near the forward torpedo tubes.
• U.S. Navy Warrant Officer and bluejackets examining the forward torpedo tubes.
• Warrant Officer uses telephone.
• A bluejacket adjusts torpedo tube pressure control.
• Warrant Officer and sailor descend ladder.
• Sailors climb to the main deck through the forward hatch.
• A bluejacket working in the galley.
• Moving aft through a cramped passageway.
• Warrant Officer using the hydrophone.
• A signalsman uses the high-frequency radio transmitter and receiver.
• Sailors adjusting controls on the diesel and electric engines.
• Bluejackets monitoring the rudder, trim, and depth controls.