As the following story was some leftover Sea
Biscuits I was gnawing upon whilst grinding out my Veteran's Day rant earlier
this November, when motor racing typically comes to a grinding halt...
Funny how we react to things, Eh? As I'd been
seeing the "Teases" for this television show on the History Channel
for how many months? Or was it years now? But I DON'T Do Reality TV Shows!
Yet just having finished the book Pirate Hunters,
when I heard the name John Chatterton mentioned whilst Channel
Surfing and once again landing on this TV Show, I had to watch! Beginning my
voyage early 2016.
As Chatterton "Dove" Borehole 10X, a
200+ foot deep drilled hole on the legendary Oak Island of Nova Scotia. Although
Chatterton was lowered to the bottom of the hole on a Bosun's Chair inside the
approx. four foot diameter caisson to look for the missing treasure, which
aired sometime between late Jan/Early Feb 2016 - on The Curse of Oak Island TV
Show...
According to John Chatterton's website's Borehole
10X Dive plan, the steel caisson is actually seven foot diameter and 185-feet
deep before apparently transitioning to a smaller drilled portion extending
down to the 10X Chamber's bottom at 210-feet...
As I regaled Y'all about Messer Chatterton's
exploits after having listened to the very enjoyable Pirate Hunters
book just over a year ago.
Therefore, I was eager to read the earlier novel by
Robert Kurson titled Shadow Divers, which took quite a Bitamyte 'O effort to finagle
from my local library, which pleasantly ordered a CD Audiobook copy for Mwah to
christen...
Shadow Divers begins with
Bill Nagle, captain of his 65 foot Dive boat the Seeker, one day exchanging slips
of paper with a commercial fisherman in what in the trade were known simply as
"Numbers." Giving the Loran coordinates to a known wreck object, or
fishing hole.
As the Seeker made the journey to this
unknown wreck object, after making a few passes, Nagle told his divers the unknown
object appeared to be laying low at a depth of 230 feet, which is Doria
territory ladies!
As in the
ill-fated Andrea Doria, for which Nagle made his name in wreck diving circles
after salvaging the ship's bell...
As John Chatterton and Dan Crowell are
sent down to explore what the mystery object is, before Nagle sends more divers
into the water. For which the duo quickly recognizes is a sunken submarine!
VIDEO: One of Our Submarines - Song
Between 1939 to 1945, Germany produced 1,167
U-boats, of which 757 were either sunk, captured, bombed in ports or foreign
locations or lost in accidents.
Of the 859 U-Boats sent to the Frontlines,
648 were either sunk, captured or destroyed;
A more than 75% loss rate!
And during the Seeker's first outing in 1991,
one of its divers dies, as Dan Feldman is found by his dive partner on the
bottom whilst exploring the then mystery sub quickly nicknamed as U-Who?
With his regulator out of his mouth - and
dead, for which his partner naturally freaks out and ultimately Feldman's body
is lost in the North Atlantic for six months before a fishing trawler inadvertently
recovers his remains.
But what German U Boat is this mystery Sub?
As the crew originally believed it to be either the missing U-550 or U-521?
Which Chatterton says it's not either of those Nagle!
Later, a surviving German U-Boat Captain
writes Chatterton, saying he thinks it's his lost Captain friend's U-851...
Then Chatterton, in his usual renown Yeoman
knack of finding hidden objects, recovers a Silverware tray. Which includes a knife
having the name Horenburg
carved into its handle.
For which three German sources respond there
was only one Horenburg
in entire German U-Boat service. He was Funkmeister Martin Horenburg who served
upon U-869, which was sunk off Gibraltar.
Upon more research, Chatterton and now diving
partner Richie Kohler, who were originally diving adversaries from rival Diving
"Gangs," Err Clubs; but ultimately become friends, forming a bond
over their six year partnership to ultimately corroborate the U Boat's
identity, during a period when both men experience divorces due to their diving
passions - before later co-hosting the television show Deep Sea Detectives...
As both John & Richie originally thought it
was either of two U-Boats, having discounted the sister U-157, believing it's
either the U-158 or U-851.
After two more divers die, a father & son
duo, as the son gets trapped underneath a metal cabinet that falls upon him
when trying to dig out a piece of canvas with writing on it, which he believed
would identify the submarine.
the young man (and father) ends up getting
the "Bends" as he gets nitrogen narcosis upon both divers misfiling towards
the surface. As his father frantically follows him upwards - with both divers
failing to make any of the necessary decompression stops...
Afterwards, following these tragedies,
Chatterton & Kohler conclude that the U-Who is neither of these missing
submarines, as the unidentified wreck is only 250-feet long, while the U-851 is
a "super D-9" version that is listed at 287ft. While it's not the
U-158 either, since it's missing any deck guns.
Chatterton then subsequently finds a piece of
crumpled aluminum with schematic diagrams on it and the words D-9 Bremen during one
of his countless dives to the U-Who.
Researching
this class of U boats, the duo discovers that of the
52 possible D-9's built, 30 were never sent to the east coast of the Atlantic, leaving 22 possibilities,
of which the number's ultimately whittled down to two possibilities, with both
divers firmly believing it's the U-857.
Then there was Richie's contact at Scotland
Yard, confirming that U-869 was ordered to 70-miles off New York and then
didn't receive it's new communicae to change course to Gibraltar, which all
records claim is where it was sunk.
As the U-869 prepares for its maiden war
patrol, stretching into February of 1945, several of the enlisted men gather
for a going away party late '44, and all begin to cry... Why?" We're Not
coming Home, we're all going to die. Since towards the latter years of the war,
Submariners expectancy of death was more than 55%!
Naturally, all 56 members of the doomed U-869
are not portrayed in the book, but Captain Helmut Neuerburg is, while the most
touching example of a young man wrestling with the complexities of war is shown
in the portrayal of First Officer Siegfried Brandt, better known by
the crew and friends simply as "Siggi," who becomes
thoroughly disgusted with his leaders, especially that shrill 'lil man named
Adolf! Becoming increasingly sarcastic about the Nazi's...
Siggi' unselfishly gives up his earned Shore
leave time as the Sub nears its war patrol departure - to be divided between
the married crew members aboard his Submarine. Which is just one act of his
apparent kindness, and why he was so loved by his crew...
Commander Neuerburg was a most interesting man, who
actually began his military career as a flight instructor in the Luftwaffe
before needing to choose between going into combat duty or training for U-Boat
duty, which will take a further year's duration, allowing him more family time
with his wife and two young children.
His U-869, laid down at Bremen,
has it's coning tower affixed with the Olympic rings insignia, denoting Neuerburg's Military
class of 1936.
A further definition of Neuerburg's character
is portrayed by his resolute firmness that none of his crew will use the Hitler
salute when aboard his submarine, despite it being against regulations...
And his Last Baby Book entry, dated Nov 3,
1944 is most touching, along with portraying the real Germany at the end of the
War, especially the psychological toll upon it's civilians, as Neuerburg notes how
his three year old son Jurgen
no longer wishes to sleep alone during the nightly
bombings...
The Wrestlers Sea...
Ironically, Symbiotically or whatever Y'all
want to call it? As I muse frequently 'bout swimming in the Seas 'O Synchronicity...
As I attempted launching this story, I came upon news that Argentina is
currently in search of one of their three submarines, the San Juan, and its
crew of 44 Sailors, which had been missing for two days when I first heard the
news. As the submarine was reportedly purchased from Germany in the early 1980's,
and it's fate doesn't look good after having been missing for more than a week
now...
Acknowledgements
The "Facts 'N Figures" upon the U
Boats during World War II were gleamed from Robert Kurson's first novel, Shadow
Divers, which I thoroughly enjoyed the Audiobook version of. As well as his
second novel Pirate Hunters, for which the movie rights have been sold to, but
hasn't been released as far as I know. As both books are New York Times
Bestsellers and definitely worth a read!
Author: Robert Kurson
Shadow Divers, 2004
Pirate Hunters, 2015