The U-505 is a 750 ton German submarine what was built by the Nazi regime for the Kriegsmarine (German navy). The U-boats were highly effective for Germany as they destroyed many of the ships carrying food and other essentials to Britain. Britain relied heavily on these materials form North America and German success on the seas would have meant that Britain would starve before the end of the war. The capture of U-505 on the 4th of June, 1944 proved to be highly favorable for the allied forces in many ways. The capture of U-505 German submarine meant that the allied forces now had a working Enigma code machine. Even though the allied forces had been successful in breaking enigma codes previously, they had been only marginally successful. With a Enigma machine as well as code books and the current settings for the machine, the allies could break codes as well as understand the German radio transmissions. It also gave them an opportunity to improve their tactics as well as understand the German plans for the war. The capture of the U-505 also yielded the acoustic torpedo which was wreaking havoc on the ships. The US studied the acoustic torpedo and built countermeasures that would go on to save many lives during the war. (Destroyer Escorts n.d). The US had destroyed many u-boats before the capture of U-505. However with the U-505, the allies had an intact submarine with the crew as well as the Enigma machine. The capture was kept a secret as the allies wanted the Germans to believe that the submarine was destroyed. This way they would not get a chance to change their plans and he allies could know and keep track of their future war plans. The capture and the tactic followed by the allies proved to be exceptionally useful for the D-Day landings at Normandy. Unaware that their codes were broken and that the allies could listen in on their radio transmissions, the Germans were vulnerable with their plans. The allied forces could know and expect the German action and were successful in defeating them. The D-Day success meant that the Germans lost out a lot in France and were also weakened in their stand against Russia. From then on it was a downhill journey for the Germans in the Atlantic war. Admiral Gallery as commander of USS Guadalcanal was the head of the anti-submarine task force during the war and played an important role in the capture of U-505. Having sunk submarines previously, he understood the importance of capturing a submarine and formed boarding parties anticipating a capture. His crew spotted U-505 off the coast of Africa, created enough damage to rattle the submarine crew (into believing they were going to drown) and captured them and the Enigma codebreaker.
The capture of U-505 was extremely important for the allies. If not for the successful capture of the submarine and the breaking of the codes, there were chances that the allies could have lost out in Normandy. German success would have meant that the war continued for a longer time. The discovery of the Enigma machine, the eventual breaking of the codes and the listening in on radio transmissions ( and deciphering/ understanding it) made the allies aware of the German war tactics and made them stronger. The Germans were vulnerable not knowing their plans were out there and were confident of winning as usual. In effect, it could be said that the capture of U-505 helped the allies be successful in D-Day and changed the course of the war. The capture of U-505 was a major intelligence coup for the allies against the Germans.
Works Cited
Destroyer Escorts in the Atlantic. www.ussslater.org. n.d . Web. 5 Sep 2016.
