U505

June 12, 1940-The keel of the U505 is laid in the Deutsche Werft shipyard in Hamburg.

August 26, 1941-The U505 is commissioned as part of the Fourth Flotilla. The U-505 went on an 18-week shakedown cruise in the Baltic Sea.

January 1942-The U505 joins the Second Flotilla, and sails to Lorient (France) after the training cruise is completed.

February 1942-The U505 left France for three months of merchant raiding.

March 5, 1942-The U505 sinks the British Benmohr.

March 7, 1942-The U505 sinks the Sydhav, a Norweigan merchant vessel.

April 3, 1942-The U505 sinks the American West Irmo, followed by the Netherlands Alphacca on the next day.

May 1943-The U505 is forced to return to Lorient for minor repairs.

June 1942-The U505 left Lorient for convoy raiding in the Caribbean Sea.

June 28, 1942-The U505 sinks the American Sea Thrush, with the American Thomas McKean on June 29th.

July 22, 1942-The U505 sinks the Colombian Roamar

July 1942-The U505 is forced to return to Lorient, since the captain had developed an appendicitis. The captain was replaced and U505 set out again for convoy attack duties. In late October, the submarine was given a Metox radar detecting system, which the captain decided to use in the place of personnel watches.

November 9, 1942-The U505 sinks the British Ocean Justice, the submarines final success.

November 10, 1942-The U505 is hit by 4 depth charges dropped by a patrol plane. The resulting explosion destroys the aircraft and the U505 is damaged enough that it is unable to dive, and much of the crew is injured.

December 12, 1942-The U505 arrives for 6 months of repairs. However, the submarine did not return to duties for another four months, because of a string of sabotage attacks.

October 1943-The U505 finally leaves port for the open seas. While at sea, the commander, Oberleutnant Peter Zscech, committed suicide with his service revolver during a depth charge attack, the only known U-Boat commander to commit suicide at sea. First Watch Officer Paul Meyer guided the ship back to Lorient (France), arriving on November 7.

December 25, 1943-The U505 sets sail, but doesn’t get far, since the propulsion motors burned out.

March 16, 1944-After almost 3 months in drydock, the U505 again heads out to sea.

May 24, 1944-The U505 returns home after an unsuccessful hunt.

May 30, 1944-The captain of the U505 orders a change of course to avoid a suspected hunter-killer group, but unknowingly turns toward the group.

June 4, 1944-The U505 hears propellor noises, and the captain orders the ship to periscope depth. Instead of a merchant ship, the U505 spots 3 destroyers steaming toward the submarine. Decoys launched from the submarine drew the destroyers first attack, but the second attack was a direct hit. The explision flooded the aft torpedo room, forcing Oberleutnant Harald Lange to abandon ship. The crew is evacuated, but a boarding party from the USS Pillsbury boarded the crippled submarine before the scuttling could be complete. The hull of the U505 was repaired by the boarding party, and the flooded was controlled.

June 19, 1944-The U505 is towed to Bermuda, and the captured crew were sent to an isolated Prisoner Of War camp. The American crew was ordered not to speak about the U505 until after the war, and as a result, Germany did not change the radio codes, which were identical to those aboard the U505.

May 1945-The U505 takes a war bond tour along the Atlantic coast, followed by the Gulf coast.

September 1945-The U505 is moved to the Portsmouth Naval Yards in New Hampshire after Japan surrendered.

1954-The U505 is towed to the Museum of Science and Industry by passing through the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. There, the sub is pulled to the museum by equipment sponsored by Chicago businesses.

September 25, 1954-The U505 is dedicated to American sailors that died at sea. The U-boat remains at the Museum of Science and Industry even today.

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