Abstract
We all need to face facts, there is something incredibly fascinating about shipwrecks. I think every kid is at one point dreamed about the idea of finding a shipwreck. Although that is usually associated with pirates, galleons, and of course gold. When the wreck includes a secret regarding how it got there, that is just a bonus. Add the mystery of a submarine, especially a German U-boat, and you have something destined to catch and hold your imagination. In this case the mystery of a German U-boat in the waters of the Potomac River presents many fascinating questions and Aaron Stephan Hamilton presents them well in his new book German Submarine U-1105 ‘Black Panther,’ The Naval Archaeology of a U-Boat.
Laid out in nine chapters with supporting appendices, introduction, and forward by Dr. Innes McCartney, Hamilton’s work traces the history of U-1105 from construction through its eventual demise as a test ship for the United States Navy. This particular boat is absolutely unique and thus presents many mysteries. U-1105 contained several important late war scientific advancements that were crucial to future submarine development. Put together in this late war submarine, they represented massively important technological leaps that submarines, American, British and Soviet, would utilize in the Cold War. In the case of U-1105 these three key technologies were put together for the only time in the war. The first, an improved late model snorkel which allowed the boat to operate its engines beneath the surface, meant that the U-boat did not have to surface to recharge its batteries. The second technology, an anti-acoustic coating called ‘Alberich’ by the Germans, was meant to reduce the sonar signature of the submarine against sonar. This coating was so new that the British did not understand exactly what it was meant to do. The third technology was a new passive sonar system called ‘GHG Balkon’. An upgraded passive array, Balkon was extremely new when the boat was launched. In fact, the U-1105 counted itself as the only U-boat equipped with all three of these technologies to conduct a wartime patrol.
Hamilton’s study of U-1105 presents a fascinating look at the history of one submarine. Breaking down the technological issues in the first chapter, he discusses the technological innovations and puts them within the historical context. The second chapter examines the construction of the boat and the training provided before deployment. Chapter three breaks down the wartime history of the U-1105. Despite the importance of this submarine, it was built late in the war. Thus, there were not many patrols and thus not as much history here as other boats could boast of but it does include a discussion of attacks and the experiences of trying to avoid Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) forces while getting to their inshore patrol zones. The post war period is discussed in three chapters. The first examines the postwar evaluation of the U-1105 by the British Royal Navy. This was an extensive round of testing and evaluation examining everything from the acoustic coating through to engine and dive performance. Chapters five and six discuss the U-boat while in American care. Chapter five focuses on the challenge of brining the boat to the US in the middle of winter in the North Atlantic and questions the reasoning for the US to take the boat considering all the details regarding the technology were already available to the US. Chapter six focuses on how the US used the boat for salvage training and depth charge testing. That testing eventually destroyed the submarine and the wreck was ‘lost’ in US waters. The final three chapters focus on the record of the submarine after its destruction, the unique challenges of diving on the boat and finally the archaeology of this late war U-boat.
While a unique enigma, U-1105 provides a fascinating examination of the state of German technology at the end of the war and indirectly the race to exploit it. Unfortunately Hamilton is not able to produce this with his text. Providing interesting information on German U-boat technology, it whets the appetite of the reader but fails to go into a greater discussion of this technology. Granted, information may have been lost after the war, but it leaves the reader with the feeling that this is a missed opportunity. Hamilton does make it clear that this technology had significant implications for the Cold War. But again, he fails to go much beyond that and an opportunity to provide an understanding of its post-1945 development is lost. He does put some effort into looking at the post-war issues for this particular boat but again fails to delve much deeper. The British put a great deal of assessment into the boat post-war but Hamilton does not manage to link that into a deeper understanding of the British post-war submarine arm either. Likewise, the US took the possession of the boat, but failed to test. Why? The US, Hamilton maintained, already had enough information on some of the technologies like the snorkel but did not see the need to test the rest. Delegating the boat to salvage training and depth charge testing, this incredible technological piece of kit was simply destroyed. The author does make mention of the fact that the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) adopted many technologies from the Germans, including the snorkel, improved batteries, and hull streamlining. However, this was not necessarily a function of U-1105. Why was it ignored or dismissed? The author cannot explain that and does not seem to try. The resulting feeling this produces is that this lavishly illustrated text is incomplete or aimed simply at popular interest as opposed to historical inquiry. And that I think is a disservice to both Hamilton and this text.
While I highly recommend the text to anyone interested in German submarine technologies and submarines in general because it is unique and a fascinating read, I do so with a proviso. This text is really just a starting point if you are interested in these fields. It opens some incredible windows into late war U-boat development and exploitation. It is an interesting discussion of a mystery and raises key questions. But it cannot provide the answers. This leaves the reader wanting more.