Ship Models of USS Guadalcanal and Pillsbury Capturing U-505

The Escort Carrier Sailors and Airmen Association recently donated this large diorama depicting the celebrated capture of the German submarine U-505 by a Norfolk-based hunter/killer group. In this diorama are the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) with her air wing, the destroyer escort USS Pillsbury (DE-133), and the type IX U-boat U-505. It is currently on display in the museum's Battle of the Atlantic gallery.


The Association has donated ship models and dioramas to several museums and historic sites to educate the public about the role of the U.S. Navy's escort carriers and their air wings in World War II. This model is the second model the Association has donated to HRNM. In 2009, it donated a model of USS Santee (CVE-29).

Captain Daniel Gallery, commanding
officer of Guadalcanal, is shown on
U-505's tower.

The capture of U-505 is considered to be one of the U.S. Navy's greatest moments in its history. During World War II, the U.S. Navy succeeded in sinking several U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic, but never captured one. Guadalcanal and her five escorts Pillsbury, Pope (DE-134), Flaherty (DE-135), Chatelain (DE-149), and Jenks (DE-665) left Norfolk on May 15, 1944, with the intent of capturing one.

The group detected and forced U-505 to the surface near the Cape Verde Islands on June 4. A boarding team from Pillsbury stormed aboard U-505 and secured the boat from sinking. The team not only secured the boat, but also seized several dozen classified documents, including code books. A more detailed account of the action can be found at our parent command's website.

After the war, the Navy donated U-505 to the City of Chicago, where she is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry.