1943, A BUILDER IN BROOKLYNįinding Granma’s origins turns into an Easter egg hunt. This was the only successful attack against a submarine done by a surface unit smaller than a Patrol Craft Escort of 180 feet, thus the sinking is properly considered with great pride by the small but efficient Cuban Navy. The CS-13 patrol boat, commanded by Second Lieutenant Mario Ramirez Delgado, turned toward the (smoke), made good contact through the sonar and launched two perfect attacks with deep charges which annihilated U-176. Navy’s meager success to date in sinking German submarines on its own, and the unexplained decision to keep the sinking of U-176 a military secret until after the war. Two facts militate in favor of Cuba’s version: The U.S. Nonsense, Collado and his crewmates later assert: The Kingfisher arrived after the sub had been destroyed and dropped smoke on its debris. Kingfisher seaplane, whose pilot drops a smoke float on the sub’s position. Navy version, CS-13 is alerted to the sub’s position by a U.S. CS-13’s hammer-blow pings against U-176’s hull are some of the last sounds the Germans hear. A fourth charge is launched, causing a massive explosion and a big burst of oil to the surface. Actively pinging-like in the movies-Collado tracks the damaged sub and sets the course so CS-13 can go for the kill. That is believed to be Norberto Collado next to the Cuban flag.ĬS-13’s skipper orders the launch of three depth charges set to explode at 150, 250 and 350 yards. This is CS-13 the smallest patrol craft to have ever sunk a submarine. At one point, according to Collado’s 2006 memoir, he is separated from his classmates and taken to Navy physicians who test and document his exceptional hearing, including an ability to recognize ultrasonic “dog whistles.” Naïve and speaking no English, Collado worries that doctors have found something wrong with him. His instructor notes that Collado seems immune to seasickness, the bane of sailors assigned to duties below decks. Navy Sub Chaser School in Miami for having “sunk” the most subs during on-the-water practice runs. He graduates tops in his class at the U.S. Navy.Ī black man, son of a poor fisherman, Norberto Collado Abreu is sonar man on CS-13, and he has a deadly ear. The War of the Atlantic threatens to force England’s surrender, and U-boat successes are a huge embarrassment to an uncharacteristically hapless U.S. transfers to Cuba to combat the growing U-Boat menace. The CS boats are from a dozen 83-footers, built by Wheeler Shipbuilding of Brooklyn (make a mental note, reader), which the U.S. She and two other sub-hunters are escorting the threatened convoy. ![]() By May 15 she is shadowing a convoy heading north across the Florida Straits, northeast of Havana.ĬS-13 is a Cuban Navy sub-hunter-CS stands for Caza Submarino. Reiner Dirksen, prowls along the north coast of Cuba where she torpedoes and sinks two ships, a Cuban freighter and a U.S. ![]() U-176, a 251-foot German U-boat commanded by Capt.
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