I was a submariner on SSBN 599.
It was a luxury liner compared to what these brave men did.
I have nothing but respect for these incredible brave men, most of whom died in their boats.
I’m glad I’m not still on a boat and glad I didn’t have to face these people during the war.
In the early '50s I served on two WWII fleet boats - USS Cobia (SS245) and USS Picuda (SS382).
I came aboard the latter as she was being converted to a Guppy (snorkel) boat up in Kittery, ME. Nearby the U-505 was moored and they let anybody go aboard.
I had the same reaction as you. Our boats had air conditioning, hydraulic systems and nine watertight compartments. The U-505 had no air or hydraulics and only five compartments. You'll see vids of the crew hauling down on a lever to open the deck vents to dive - our guys just flipped a lever. We could still surface with one flooded compartment; they had no window of survival if one of theirs flooded.
We ended up with a grudging admiration for the guys who went to war in those boats.
Brave men? Are you serious? These bastards were serving an evil regime that sought to dominate the world F**k them.