Interview with Gerd Thater: Part I [KTB154]

EDITOR NOTE - GERD was Skipper of U-466, a Type VW-C boat that was destroyed in the Mediterranean while dockside. Then he took command of U-3506, a new super boat, the Type XXI but the war ended before he or other XXI boats could get to sea. His U-3506 is permanently entombed in the 'Lost Bunker in Hamburg.

SHARKHUNTERS: Describe what it was like to travel with the schnorkel.

GERD THATER: I don't have any experience on a Type VII with a schnorkel. Because, as I said before, after the different extensions I got in the shipyards and the invasion started. All this was in '44 and so I never came out anymore with the Type VII boat out of the Mediterranean. My only experience I have had schnorkling is not very much because I had a schnorkel later on my big Type XXI and there I have schnorkled a little bit but, there's no more experience.

EDITOR NOTE - The sunburst emblem GERD used was also on his father's U-boat in WWI.

SHARKHUNTERS: What is the most dangerous thing about serving on a U-boat?

GERD THATER: The most dangerous thing, and for my experience, is the planes. By air; by airplanes at night. When you suddenly had a light on your neck and you get bombs and you couldn't do anything at all. During daytime it wasn't that bad because there you had the possibility at least, to shoot with our anti-aircraft guns.

EDITOR NOTE - Here GERD refers to the 'Leigh Light'. the 75,000 candle power spotlight slung beneath the wing of a bomber for nighttime ASW work.

I used to see the pilot as a human being like everybody else. And as soon as he gets higher, he is not that good anymore in throwing his bombs. This experiment I proved because I shot three airplanes down. I gave honor to my Watchkeeping Officer over us, because he advised not to dive before I was on the verge. I decided if we would die or not -- dive or not. Die too. My feeling was to shoot with our anti-aircraft guns. They have more chance than to dive too late. On one trip we shot down one four engine LANCASTER and on the other one, a LIBERATOR. And a CATALINA. So, I used to say it's better to stay surface than to go down. When you are not sure that you get down enough, then you don't have at least one minute to get down to at least one hundred meters. That you could do in a minute, to one hundred meters.

SHARKHUNTERS: Describe the diving process. How did it work? How fast did you go down?

Editor's Note: Here is an announcement for those who know GERD. I have just returned from Germany where I spent a delightful afternoon with GERD & his Gila on their patio and GERD's injuries have been greatly improved! He looks great, and he said that he will make certain to live at least two more years because he is on our Advisory Board until then. I think GERD will be with us for many years beyond that.

GERD THATER: That was depending on the training, the exercising boat had.

SHARKHUNTERS: The process of diving; how did you do it?

GERD THATER: Now, when I was on the bridge, all the officer on watch said ALARM! Then all vents were open to get water into the boat to dive. And from the shout ALARM until zero depths, periscope depths, they took in our boat, 20 seconds or maybe 22 seconds. Which means that you could be then in one minute down to 100 meters, But that was really depending on how good the boat and the crew was exercised.

SHARKHUNTERS: In retrospect, looking back, how do you feel about having been a Captain on a German U-boat?

GERD THATER: Well now, for the best time of my life. Even nowadays, I have meeting as my two crews - I put the two crews together for the two boats. After that U-466 came U-3506, that was a Type XXI. These two crews I took together and we meet every year; once every year and you should join us and what you can see that is really a big family.

SHARKHUNTERS: Why do you say the best time of your life? It seems a time filled with great danger.

GERD THATER: I think you forget the little bits of danger. And in the background you more have the idea that it's your job and you have to fill that job as good as possible. And suddenly, we were anxious too. Nobody can tell me he hasn't been anxious, that's for sure. But that is overruled, I think by the idea you had to do his duty.

SHARKHUNTERS: Do you think toward the end of the war sent U-boats were out on basically impossible missions?

GERD THATER: I didn't have any mission anymore after I left U- 466 but I think that was absolutely right. And, according to the idea that they said we were still out with the boats if we were successful or not, we had 3,000 airplanes approximately which had to look for us. And these 3,000 aircraft were not able to bomb our homeland. And so I think doing this was absolutely right to say we were - and we would leave our boats in the ocean, in the Atlantic just to make sure that these 3,000 airplanes are has to be in the Atlantic too.

SHARKHUNTERS: Was it fair to the men who had to go out in those U-boats into these impossible, dangerous situations?

GERD THATER: I think yes. But I know that quite a number of people don't have that idea. I think it was correct that we got the orders stay to stay in the Atlantic according to the fact that there were 3,000 enemy in airplanes have to stay in the Atlantic too and longer. They would have been able then, when our enemy would have found out that there are no subs outside, out on the Baltic or the Atlantic any longer, then they would have had these 3,000 airplanes to destroy the hometowns.

SHARKHUNTERS: Tell me about the bravery of the men who continue to go out into this situation at the end of the war.

GERD THATER: According to the fact that I don't have any experience because I wasn't out at that time anymore, I come in of my idea only can be what I heard afterwards, and they are absolute, I think divided in 50-50. Few people they had the same idea what I had. Other ones said it was absolutely not necessary to do that. So I am not quite sure what's right.

SHARKHUNTERS: Did you lose comrades in the U-boat war and do you think about them now? Did you lose fellow sailors, friends in the U-boat wars?

GERD THATER: Certainly. I think I lost for my friends all quite a percentage but I don't know how many friends of mine were lost. My best friend I ever had - he was killed on the eighth of May on the last day of the war in '45 in the Baltic. That was my really my best friend. But there's quite a number of friends I had who because of, as I said from my naval term, we were approximately 60 to 70 sub Commanders and, it's according to the percentage we lost during his war- - everybody can find out how many friends of mine were killed.

SHARKHUNTERS: Do you think about these people today? Do you still think about the people who were lost in the war?

GERD THATER: Yeah. Certainly. Certainly. I'm still having different meetings and then you always remember on that that day when they were lost.

SHARKHUNTERS: Tell me about taking on supplies from the milk cow.

GERD THATER: We had during the war, especially in '43, we had so called milk cows.

U-469, the one that supplied GERD, was commanded by Oblt. z.S. Emil Claussen, was lost on her first and only patrol into the Atlantic. She did not live long after she supplied GERD's boat.

From there we can get food, oil and spare things what you wanted. And on one of my trips when I went to the Brazilian coast, I was able to get oil and some new food from South American crew that was at that time - I still remember the numbers was U-469. And there I got everything I needed but it was after I had left the harbor in la Rochelle two weeks later so it was not too much that I had to get. I didn't need torpedoes.

EDITOR'S NOTE - The Mich Kuh or Milk Cow was the Type XIV submarine tanker that was built to rendezvous with Front Boots in specified areas, to give them supplies of all kinds. Some even had a doctor aboard. They would usually remain in a specified area such as off the Azores or the Canary Islands to meet with Front Boots. The era of the Milk Cow was short lived, as they were a top priority target of the Allies ASW. If you sink the Milk Cow, many Front Boots could not remain on station any longer.

I just need very little quantity of oil. But what was good, I got new, fresh food. Because after 14 days, that was gone, what we had. First we had got there some fresh foods. But they were the only experience that I made with a Milch Kuh. On another trip I got some oil from a Type VII-C because I had to go home according to engine trouble. And I didn't have oil enough so I could get from another boat who just came out from harbor. So now I had to get home.

SHARKHUNTERS: Are these personal battles or are they pretty impersonal battles? When U-boats are attacking convoys, or when the S-boats are attacking the U-boats, does it feel pretty impersonal?

GERD THATER: No. No. I think we - we were hiding against sailors. And we always had the feeling soon - at that time, it was an enemy. But, on the other end we were sure when we could have to go to get out of the boat, that they would have at least try to get us, uh, out of the water. Because that was what we normally - - would normally did too if something happened that's it to us.

SHARKHUNTERS: Explain that? You say that's what you normally do too.

GERD THATER: I know quite some occasions where subs were saving some pilots which were shot down. And they had done that for example. But on the other hand there were other experiences too, which are not right that what happens that for example, one of our Skippers shooting down survivors from a shipment he sunk. But on the other hand, later on after he did that in the south of the Atlantic, he went around Africa and the Indian Ocean and there he was sunk by air - by airplane. And then the German subs man were sitting in there, one man little small boats, they were shot by the airplanes. And so even that happened too. But I think that was a not a normal thing.

SHARKHUNTERS: What is the experience of the Captain on the submarine or Watch Officer firing torpedoes at a large ship?

GERD THATER: Depending what we were shooting. When you're shooting just a single torpedo, you never that sure what you hit. But when you were shooting four torpedoes at once, the possibility to get successful is much higher. So, you never could be sure when you should - when one torpedo that it will hit, but you very could, more or less could be sure, when you shoot four or five at once, that you will hit. And then later on when we had these torpedoes which are going after the noise, then you always had a success.

SHARKHUNTERS: And what is the experience of watching a ship like this sink?

GERD THATER: It's just a mechanical act.

SHARKHUNTERS: Can you hear a ship sink from a submarine?

GERD THATER: Hearing the ship? Certainly. You even can hear that is turbine or a normal engine or a diesel engine. That you hear correctly in your machine you have for that. And when we sunk that destroyer, he was - that destroyer, he had from our men who was responsible for that. We didn't have seen a destroyer before. And then we were just going after that noise which I got the direction from down from the boat. Then we turned around in front of him because now we knew his course and we are going just in front of him, and then to figure out his speed which I could have; now I could figure out right away and the distance we are staying. He was running 12 knots. With what we found out, I could shoot my torpedo.

SHARKHUNTERS: Could you hear a ship sink from inside the cell? Can you hear it hit and can you bear it sink?

GERD THATER: Yeah.

SHARKHUNTERS: Tell me about that.

GERD THATER: That makes a noise and then you - you hear the noises from the boat when the ship is sinking and that it breaks. That you hear correctly inside the boat.

At right is the front of the German U-Boat Memorial. From the left are Adolf Schmidt, AA boat Skipper; Ernst Gdthlinq' veteran of V-26; Otto Westphalen, Knights Cross winning Skipper of U-960 Volkmar Kbnig, midshipman under Otto Kretschmer; Gerd Thater, Skipper of U-466- Woldemar Triebel, I.W.O. U-078. These men are all Members, and all will be joining us in north Germany. In the middle is the SHARKHUNTERS Memorial Wreath.

SHARKHUNTERS: In what way today do you pay your respects to friends that you lost in the war? Do you think about them?

GERD THATER: Certainly. Certainly. Certainly. We have, for example our Ehremnal. We have a big stone, remembering to the all the people who were lost during the war who were killed during the war. We have a - I don't know what you call it, the place where we honor all boats which were lost during the war. We have our special signs and Bronzes. Everyone is on these bronze places and, when Mariners come to Kiel, they always go there. That's important and, they their wreaths there. You always remember to these - to these people which were lost during the war and were killed.

SHARKHUNTERS: GERD, many thanks for this great insight into the life of a U-boat Skipper. See you again in a couple months.

EDITOR'S NOTE - SHARKHUNTERS has sent $6,000 so far to this beautiful memorial and send about $1,000 each year to help defray the costs of maintaining the grounds. It really is beautiful.

Don't forget - the tape of this interview, uncut and in its entirety, is available from SHARKHUNTERS. Order Tape H-72. It's just $30 (plus $5 shipping).