Has anyone ever read..

Melanie Wiggins. 1995. Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.

It is about German U-Boats in the Gulf of Mexico during WWII

What the Germans called the happy time, and they sunk hundreds of ships. Americans did not turn off the lights in their cities so the boats were lit by the back ground lights and were sitting target. Ike said of US Admiral King he almost lost the war single handed.

Yeah, there was a thing on the History Channel about them. I was amazed. I never knew that they got that close.

Oh...I knew about that....I learned it from..uhh....95' in the newspaper about the rig found an U-boat in Gulf of Mexico. It is very interesting. It is U-166 is the only U-boat lost in Gulf of Mexico.

Yeah, that was it, the U166. That was what the History Channel program was all about. I just never knew they got that close or were so active. That's why I was asking if anyone had ever seen that book.

I don't know if it's mentioned in the book, but I was in a Legion post with an older guy who had served in the Merchant Marines. They were making trips to South America for Bauxite and running a gauntlet every time they shipped out. He said that was scarier than when he quit and joined the Navy. I'm about ready for another book buying trip so I'll put this one on my list.

I also read where some areas on the East Coast were shelled by a U-boat or boats.

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

What the Germans called the happy time, and they sunk hundreds of ships. Americans did not turn off the lights in their cities so the boats were lit by the back ground lights and were sitting target. Ike said of US Admiral King he almost lost the war single handed.

Your're refering to Operation Drumbeat in 1941. Thats true, but another reason for the Kreigsmarine success was because the US hadnt yet developed proper anti-Uboat tactics. No convoys, No Hunter Killer groups, no marinetime patrol, and far too few escorts. Also toys like 'FIDO' anti-submarine mine (in reality a guided air dropped torpedo) was still on the drawing board.

I was told that there was a book called Torpedo Junction that is pretty good in explaining this time in WWII

mmarsh.......The Americans had all the advice they needed on lessons learnt by the British, they also had given to them all the Ultra radio intercepts that the British had got from the Germans but a certain American Admiral chose to do things his way