17. Albert David led the capture of an intact German U-Boat
In 1815 the United States Navy used boarding parties to take possession of enemy vessels which had surrendered, or in the case of the enemy still resisting to force a surrender. Boarding was a common naval tactic in the age of sail. By 1944 it was all but unheard of, capital ships with big guns, such as battleships, could engage their enemies while they were barely in sight, the fire control system taking into account the curvature of the surface of the earth. On June 4, 1944 the cry of “boarders away” was heard on an American warship, USS Pillsbury, for the first time since the War of 1812 and the last time in its history, when American sailors captured a German U-Boat, U-505, off the coast of West Africa. The U-Boat had been forced to surface by an anti-submarine task force led by USS Guadalcanal.
Nine US sailors led by Lieutenant Albert David lowered a boat from USS Pillsbury and boarded the German submarine, which had not surrendered and the crew of which were preparing to scuttle. The Americans overwhelmed the Germans, removed explosive charges designed to sink the vessel, and realigned the control system to prevent flooding. The submarine was then taken under tow. The capture of the German U-Boat was an intelligence treasure trove, and the crew was kept incommunicado to prevent the German Command from learning that the boat was in American possession. David was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions preventing the Germans from destroying the submarine, though he died of natural causes before he received it, and it was presented to his widow by President Truman. The submarine today is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.
