[ken5050]

I'm somewhat confused. IIRC..at the end of WW I, U-boats still at sea were ordered to surface, fly a black flag, and proceed to the nearest British port. Many were later grouped together and sunk/scuttled by the Royal Navy, which is why they are being found in such close proximity to each other.

As an aside, for those who might be interested, by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea." Long out of print, it's available on Kindle, and worth it. A superb read. The description, at the end, of the U-boats surfacing and surrendering, is magnificent writing.

[El Gato]

My uncle served as Naval Armed Guard on the Liberty Ship, SS William Clark. His ship was sunk in November of '42 in the Greenland sea. He survived, losing a couple of toes to frostbite, plus a life of self mediating against PTSD. But even with that he was better off than those, Navy and civilian crew, who did not survive. Or much of the crew of the U-boat, U-354 that sank them, which was itself sunk later in the war, under a different captain. The Clarke was the only merchant vessel U-354 sank.

[wildbill]

It was one of my mother’s books from the Book of the Month club. One summer when I was 11 and with nothing to do I began to read some of her adult books instead of the books that children normally read like Walter Farley’s Black Stallion or Terhunes’s books about collies.

It was a revelation in my book reading, and I realized that adults read books that were interesting and exciting. It was made into a damn good movie as well.

[Moltke]

by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea."

There's a 1953 movie based on the novel. Screenplay by Eric Ambler.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045659/

[blueunicorn6]

Was that The Compass Rose? That is a great book.

[TexasRedeye]

As an aside, for those who might be interested, by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea."

I would suggest another also. The Killing Time,by Edwyn A Grey, published by Scribner (1972). Grey notes that at least 7 of the boats "sprung a leak" and foundered on the way to England and one decided to be interned in Sweden while at least one went on to serve as a French vessel. He adds, 515 officers and 4894 men lost their lives druing the war from 178 boats destroyed by the enemy or by accident. A further 14 were were scuttled in the Adriatic or in Flanders and a total 122 surrendered in Harwich, England.

[Oatka]

As an aside, for those who might be interested, by far the best novel of U boat warfare in WW II is Nicholas' Monserrat's "The Cruel Sea."

The part that gave me a Holy Crap moment was when they were trying to put some salve on a badly burned seaman's body and the flesh was coming off in bits of charred flesh with each swipe. The salve was for mild sunburn and cautioned on applying to much lest the skin get damaged.

A good one from the othe side is "Iron Coffins".

It seemed to me that parts of "Das Boot" were taken from this book.