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Show lewte Oli Shore mm Hull la (if Ha May 9 1941 1700 hours. Destroyed 00051 Guard by 1 cutter, the plunges to the bottom of the Atlantic sunk in one of the first American waters. Less than a year earher, the submarine, with three officers and 43 crewmen, left flensburg, Germany hometown of its commander, Capt. Helmut Rathke. In six months the fired 11 torpedoes at merchant ships and an Allied destroyer. All missed. Its last attack proved fatal for the ship and 13 of its crew. The bore down on what Rathke believed was a merchant vessel. Two torpedoes were launched. One passed its target and one misfired, exploding some 200 yards from the Coast Guard cutter Icarus. flealizinghis target was a warship, Rathke attempted to mask the location by hiding in the turbulence of the exploded torpedo. It. Maurice fester, the Icarus commander, picked the same spot to begin his attack The crew heard a hail of depth charges," according to a Navy report. The first five demolished the periscope, killing Lt. Joseph Ernst in the conning tower. Lights flickered, then went out. Later attacks killed the engineering officer, ripped the deck gun from its mount. Hope of escape was gone. The capto surface tain ordered the and the crew to abandon ship. But only the conning tower hatch managed to clear the surface. Go sing rapidly on the crippled sub, the Icarus opened fire with 30 and 50cahber machine guns and its cannon. main German sailors scrambled mto the sea while some stayed behind to set and detonate charges to scuttle the livship. Helmut Rathke, now 68 and Icarus the in flensburg, says ing sank. steamed away after the the Icarus left Accordmg to the Navy, to investigate a sonar contact, returning 40 minutes later to pick up survivors AILlTildT by Derek V. Goodwin and Greg Freiherr 2 2 at at 2 German submarine sunk by a Coast Guard cutter during World War II, still lies in the Atlantic near OVtft PHOU H,RAPH HV HIU I Morehead City, N C Below, a diver explores encrusted wreck Above, the U boat as she appeared in her heyday W 8 PAKAOI APRll U 1TJ |