Close to Home: Exploring a German U-Boat Sunk off U.S. Coast (1940-1942) | Nautilus Live

Nautilus visits U-166, one of two U-Boat wrecks in the Gulf of Mexico. The boat was sunk early on in World War II, sinking only four ships before being destroyed by a U.S. Naval vessel next to its final target, the Robert E. Lee, in 1942.

[evanmcqueen]

The U-Boat still has all 52 of it's crewman onboard... very eerie

[JonMichael]

This is amazing footage. U-166, an IX-C boat, wasn't even two years old when she was lost with all hands. A sister IX-C, U-505, can be seen in the Museum Of Science and Industry in Chicago. Only 54 were built. I have an old Polaroid photo (1954) with my father standing in the foreground as U-505 was being cradled across Lake Shore Drive.

[ConnMtenor]

One of the Operation Drumbeat boats- the US was so badly unprepared for WW2 that there was no blackout on the coast and no antisubmarine patrols to speak of. For about two months German U-Boats ranged the US coast and the Caribbean at will- sinking ships within sight of people on shore. One U-Boat actually positioned itself between the merchant ship and the shore to avoid hitting civilians who were watching from the shore, before shelling the ship it intended to sink. Many of the ships sunk were vital tankers and it was a crisis point in the Battle of The Atlantic. Eventually, the USN got its act together, strengthened its defenses and the sinkings tailed off but not before a lot of men and ships were lost. According to records, the PC 566 did not sink it, it was sunk by aircraft on the 30th of July, 1942. From the hatches being closed we can safely assume that U-166 managed to dive before being depth bombed and sunk. A nasty way to die, I'm sure.

[vonjager]

It is so sad, seeing the top hatch in the conning tower still securely dogged. All of these men went to their graves here.

[rohnerw]

Sad and Sobering. Split in two. A horrific and sudden death to her and her crew. Yet also, very interesting. She is astonishingly well preserved. The worst seems to be that the wooden decking has been eaten away. Very little growth or as much metal degradation as I would expect for something being exposed at the bottom as long as this boat has been. Lack of oxygen for the reason as to the state of preservation? Or something else?

[TheAirplaneDriver]

Interesting side story....It was determined in 2014 that U-166 was actually sunk by US Navy PC 566, not the Coast Guard Widgeon seaplane as originally thought. Apparently the Captain of PC 566 was removed from command after the engagement with U-166 as the Navy thought he had botched the attack.

[BrianAchterberg]

40, 000 men served on U Boats, over 30, 000 never returned.
My those sailors Rest In Peace in their iron coffins. 😢

[kiwikeith]

This is the best video and audio I have encountered so far in watching underwater exploration videos on YouTube. Great definition. Well done.

[gmacs]

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden, R.I.P

[patrickleonini]

Wow, some people have no sense of the value of life in celebrating death. Enemies or not, they were human beings, with mothers, fathers, siblings, and maybe children back home. War is a fool's errand, one that we as humans are yet to former foes.

[warrenchambers]

The U-166 must have made a very speedy decent. The retractable antenna is still extended and seeing it bent back like that tells me they made a crash dive and what ever damage they had took them to the bottom.

[jeffsmith]

Outstanding footage here, hard to believe it is so very clear...

[samspencer]

The U-Boat U166 is Type IX and the commander was Hans-Günther Kuhlmann.
They begin the journey the 17:th of June 1942 and sanked four ships of 7595 ton together.
U166 was sunk 1:st of August 1942.
The german U-boat crews was the most bravest men during WW2.

[Birdbike]

Had no idea this was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico! Dang. So close to the mainland. I just love your channel. Just found it accidently yesterday.

[freddymarcel-marcum]

Talking about human remains, those U-boats quite commonly have entire compartments still sealed and airtight if they're not too deep. When I was in the US Navy I had a few drinks with a retired deep sea diving dude, the guy's who breathe helium and dive to 1000' on a daily basis, insane. Anyhow, he said back in the 1960s they started finding all kinds of stuff in the Mediterranean, planes, ships, and submarines with better SSS. According to him, he and a crew torched a part of a U-boat from something like 200', which is kinda deep but you could do it with scuba. They haul it on board, it's the aft torpedo room, they open the hatch, he said it was like cold rotten meat, it stank but there they were, four sailors, still in uniform, slumped on the deck. He said they were well preserved enough if he were handed a photo of one of the four he'd recognize him.

[cocodog]

in the sub's last few moments, the crew knew they were under attack, crash diving as fast as they could. standard emergency dive procedure was for all available sailors to run to the bow torpedo room, leaving all the bulk head doors open.

the first few depth charges were close and probably fractured the pressure hull, but not fatally so. the bang sounds inside the boat must have been terrifying. the one depth charge that landed on the front deck blew the the torpedoes up and that huge blast blew off the bow. those crew in the torpedo room were the lucky ones, dying instantly.

now with no lights, the boat diving an extreme angle and with a bad list, the survivors in the engine room would have had a few seconds to realize they were doomed. in the pitch black, water poured in through the open doors that facilitated the run to front of the boat.

and those few seconds lightly felt like a life time...no one will ever get me in a submarine.

[mickcarson]

Those poor men fought a senseless war. May they R.I.P. in their million year sleep. ⚓

[robertmcgowan]

40, 000 men served in the u-boats less than 10, 000 returned

[cerij]

Stands testament to brave young men, even though they were the enemy it's still sad.

[vilo_h]

Treat it respectfully, it’s a war grave.