Word: subs
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...recent morning Liberator B for Baker sighted a surfaced U-boat, bright in the moonlight. Immediately he released depth charges. The sub fired back with cannon, then dived. For 2 ½ hours B for Baker searched for it. saw nothing. Then suddenly R for Roger sighted it again and dove to attack from 60 feet. But Roger's bombs stuck, and on his second try shells from the battling sub wrecked his hydraulic system. Over & over he circled to keep watch on the sub while his gunner slithered in oil trying to fix the bomb releases...
After three hours Lieut. Kenneth Wright, pilot of U.S. Navy Liberator E for Edward, sighted Roger circling the sub, came roaring down to plant his depth charges astraddle the U-boat in face of its heavy gunfire, circled and came back for strafing. Said Lieut. Wright: "We saw a big explosion. A moment later its bow submerged and it started trailing oil. We saw a dead man in the conning tower. When we left after 75 minutes the U-boat was down at the stern and still trailing...
...sub hunters flew alone, and they flew far: sometimes 1,250 miles out over the Atlantic. Said Colonel Roberts: "These boys took an awful beating. They averaged twelve or 15 hours of flying every three days. The bombers average about seven. . . . Just try locking yourself in a closet for 15 hours with somebody giving you a sandwich once in a while and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it was like...
...turret gunner fired directly into the conning tower of the sub, killing its anti-aircraft gunners. The bombardier released his depth charges, which straddled the sub, sinking it in half a minute. The survivors, stunned by the swift attack, were picked up later by a destroyer...
...plane (C-87) made the first round-trip run in twelve days. Outboard, it carried 8,300 lb. of fuel pumps, starters, magnetos and other critical replacements for the China-Burma-India theater. The return load was mainly damaged parts for rush repairs at the 300-odd depots and sub-depots...