Book Review, Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and the Elusive Enigma Machine

by Charles Lachman
Reviewed by Lee Duckworth, HRNM docent

Author Charles Lachman’s book, Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and the Elusive Enigma Machine, provides a unique perspective of life on board WWII German U-Boats, US Navy ships, and merchantmen. The book reads like a historical novel and relies heavily on personal US and German sailor diaries as the author weaves the story from both Allied and Axis viewpoints.

Lachman gives a thorough history of Germany’s U-505 from pre-commissioning through its current resting place (Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL). He discusses the operational history of the submarine and spends a significant amount of time on each of her three German commanding officers.

The author also details the lives of US Navy sailors who were involved in the search for and ultimate capture of U-505. He devotes several pages to each member of the nine-person boarding party and his action-packed chapters highlight the drama from both sides: the hunter and the hunted.

His characterization of US Navy Captain Dan Gallery (Commanding Officer of USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60), and officer in tactical command of a five-ship task group (TG 22.3), depicts him as a “maverick” and makes one wonder how higher authority allowed him to formulate plans for capture of a U-Boat. This daring and dangerous scheme includes actions that would never be tolerated in today’s Navy: ordering pilots to self-qualify for night carrier landings; allowing his ships’ fuel to get so low that he nearly needs to be towed to port; and seemingly carrying out his own personal quest for capture of a U-Boat. All of this was accomplished without making higher authority completely aware of his actions until they were either already under way or completed.

U-505 sinking (NHHC)

The most riveting chapters of Codename Nemo contain detailed descriptions of the unmatched bravery of the nine-man US Navy boarding party. They unhesitatingly boarded the sinking U-505, not knowing if there were still armed German sailors or booby traps on board, whether they could stop the flooding in the scuttled submarine, or if they could even right her for towing. The extraordinary, risky, and time-critical actions (sometimes just having to guess which valves to turn) in their attempt to stop the progressive flooding make you feel like you are right there alongside them.

Crewmembers of USS Pillsbury, some of the first Sailors to board U-505 (NHHC)

Lachman uses scant official US Navy or German documents in his research and relies almost entirely on diaries or books written by the main participants. Deeper dives into ship’s logs and other official US Navy records might have enhanced his book. He writes little about the actual significance of the capture of the Enigma machine at this stage of the war (mid-1944). Although he alludes to its importance throughout the book, he fails to present any detail about the importance of the capture other than one paragraph where he states it may have shortened the war. This lack of the specific importance of capture of the U-505 enigma machine and code books seemingly lessens the heroics of the US Navy boarding party who risked their lives to recover these items.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable achievements of the US Navy task group is that there wasn’t a single leak from any Sailor about the capture of U-505. The fact that virtually nothing was divulged and Germany and most of the US Navy knew nothing about the U-505 capture is a real testimony to those Sailors.

I recommend Codename Nemo to readers who want a fast-paced account of the audacious plan to hunt, capture, and keep secret one of the most daring actions of WWII.