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.

Seventy-Five Years Ago: The Secret Capture

Captain Daniel V. Gallery poses in triumph aboard the former Kriegsmarine U-505 somewhere between the Cape Verde islands and Bermuda in June 1944.  His insistence upon hounding the U-boats night and day without a break resulted in its capture, but a fearless band of enlisted Sailors and their leader delivered the submarine into his hands. (Naval History and Heritage Command image) 

By Zachary Smyers
HRNM Educator

The same week that the world’s attention would became transfixed upon over 150,000 Soldiers and Sailors pouring over and dropping behind the beachheads of Normandy in early 1944, nine United States Navy Sailors captured a German submarine on the high seas, although they would be forbidden to tell of their astounding feat for nearly a year.  Their leader would also never live to receive the nation's highest award for the operation.

Crew members of USS Pillsbury (DE-133), who made up the the first party to board U-505 after she had been abandoned by her German crew. They are (from left to right): Gunner's Mate 1st Class Chester A. Mocarski; Electrician's Mate 2nd Class William Riendeau; Chief Motor Machinist's Mate George Jacobson; Motor Machinist Mate 1st Class Zenon Lukosivs; Signalman 2nd Class Gordon Hohne; Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Wayne M. Pickels, Jr.; Radioman 3rd Class Stanley E. Wdowiak; and Torpedoman 2nd Class Arthur W. Knispel. Lt.j.g Albert L. David, who led the boarding party, does not appear in the photograph, which has been heavily retouched to remove an errant chief petty officer who originally stood at Hohne's left, replaced by Pickels, who appears abnormally large (as do Hohne's hands).  The original photograph as well as the story of its editing can be found at the Museum of Science and Industry's article about U-505 and its capture. (Naval History and Heritage Command image)

Daniel V. Gallery as a rear admiral (upper half) (USNI archives) 

The man who came up with the plan to capture a German U-boat was Captain Daniel V. Gallery.  Gallery, a naval aviator by trade, was assigned to Reykjavik, Iceland in 1942 as commanding officer of the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Base.  Working with the Royal Air Force, Captain Gallery utilized a squadron of PBY Catalina aircraft to escort convoys bound for England.  During this time, the Catalinas conducted 70 attacks against U-boats.  Capt. Gallery became very proficient during this assignment at hunting U-boats, which was a skill set that would prove to be very valuable during his next command.  

USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60) photographed from a ZP-24 blimp while steaming off Hampton Roads, Virginia on September 28, 1944. Planes parked on her flight deck include twelve TBM/TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and nine FM/F4F Wildcat fighters. Guadalcanal is painted in what appears to be a modified version of Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4A. (Naval History and Heritage Command image)

In 1944, Capt. Gallery was in command of Task Group 22.3 which was a “Hunter-Killer” group consisting of the escort carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60), and five destroyer escorts, the USS Pillsbury (DE 133), USS Pope (DE 134), USS Flaherty (DE 135), USS Chatelain (DE 149), and the USS Jenks (DE 665). The assembled task group departed Norfolk, Virginia on May 15, 1944 specifically tasked with seeking out German U-boats. While at sea with Task Group 22.3, Gallery pioneered the idea of conducting flight operations 24 hours a day. This would impact the U-boat’s typical tactic of hiding by day and surfacing at night to recharge its batteries.

U-505 leaves Lorient, Brittany, in July 1943. Notice that the buildings in the background have been gutted from Allied bombing.  (USNI archives)   

While steaming off the coast of Africa, Task Group 22.3 discovered U-505, a Type IX-C submarine on its way back from a luckless twelfth war patrol, during which it had sunk nothing. “We had had so many air alarms at night in recent weeks that the batteries were in bad shape because of the abbreviated charging periods,” recalled Hans Joachim Decker, a machinist aboard U-505. “We simply could not stay under water for any length of time.” U-505's captain, Oberleutnant Harald Lange, decided to pass Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa to shorten the trip back to its homeport of Lorient, France, taking them right into the path of Task Group 22.3.  

On June 4, 1944, the first boat from USS Pillsbury (DE 133) approaches U-505, which is still underway, though abandoned by her crew. Pillsbury's boarding party faced the risk that the submarine might blow up at any moment, in accordance with the usual German abandonment tactics. (Naval History and Heritage Command image) 

Utilizing F4F Wildcat fighters from the Guadalcanal, sonar, and depth charges from the destroyer escorts, the submarine was forced to surface.  Once on the surface, the U-505 was hit with heavy gunfire from .50 caliber machine guns, anti-aircraft batteries, and strafing runs by the F4F Wildcats.  The fire from the destroyers wounded Lange and killed a radioman named Fischer.  Lange gave the order to scuttle the submarine, and the majority of the crew went into the water.  

Members of the salvage party from USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60) use a small handy-billy pump to dewater the partially scuttled U-505. The submarine's freeboard was extremely low at this time, with only some of her fairwater (conning tower) above the surface. Note the twin 20mm anti-aircraft machine guns, and the seashell insignia on the fairwater's side. (Naval History and Heritage Command image) 

A nine-man boarding party from Pillsbury made its way to the U-505, led by Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert David, who along with two other men entered the sub’s conning tower hatch and made their way to the control room. David and his men gathered up secret codebooks as well as U-505’s Enigma cryptographic machines. Further exploration inside the submarine led to the discovery of 13 demolition charges. These were disarmed by David and his men, and an additional boarding party of ten men from the Guadalcanal were able to prevent the submarine from flooding. Men from the Guadalcanal attached a cable to the U-505 and began to tow her to the nearest friendly port.

A Boarding party from USS Pillsbury (DE 133) works to secure a tow line to U-505's bow. (Naval History and Heritage Command image)   

U-505 was the first foreign man-of-war captured by American forces since the War of 1812. Fifty-nine German sailors out of a crew of 60 spent the rest of the war as POWs. Despite the tremendous success of the capture, Capt. Gallery was threatened with court-martial and his entire task group was ordered not to mention a word about the U-505. The Navy did not want the Germans to know that the U-boat had been captured along with all the secret codes. The American public would not learn about the U-505 and its capture until after the war.

Captain Daniel V. Gallery, Jr., and Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert L. David. Photographed on board USS Guadalcanal (CVE 60) in June 1944. Lieutenant Junior Grade David led the boarding party that took control of the German submarine U-505 after it was forced to surface by Guadalcanal's task force on June 4. This capture of an enemy warship on the high seas was the first by the U.S. Navy since 1815. Lt. j.g. David joined the Navy in 1919 and spent two decades as an enlisted Sailor before being recalled to active duty and earning his commission.  David was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership and bravery during this action. (Naval History and Heritage Command image) 

After having kept the secret of the capture safe, Task Group 22.3 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, and Capt. Gallery received the Distinguished Service Medal. For leading the daring capture of U-505, which at any point could have ended with his death and those of his men, Lt. Albert David from the Pillsbury was selected to receive the Medal of Honor; the only one awarded in the Atlantic Fleet during World War II. Sadly, he did not live long enough to receive the nation’s highest honor. David died in Norfolk after suffering a heart attack on September 17, 1945, and his widow, Lynda Mae David, received the medal from President Harry S. Truman during a ceremony at the White House on October 5.

Gallery Hall Fleet ASW Training Center San Diego (faswombudsman.com) 

Captain Gallery eventually made admiral and retired from the Navy in 1960 after 43 years of service.  The tactics that he developed for hunting submarines in Iceland as well as with Task Group 22.3, proved instrumental in anti-submarine warfare.  The combined efforts of aircraft working in conjunction with surface ships such as destroyers are still taught by the Navy at commands like the Fleet ASW Training Center located in San Diego, California.   

U-505 as it appears today at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. (MOSI Chicago)

Today, people may visit the U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry, in Chicago, Illinois.  it arrived in 1954, and it moved indoors, into the building that surrounds it, in 2004.  This ensures that many future generations will be able to see the U-505 and get a firsthand glimpse into what living conditions were like for a German U-boat sailor during World War II.  

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.