“U-505” By Rear-Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, USN (Ret.). In June 1944, Captain Gallery was the skipper of the American carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60). The small carrier was operating in an Atlantic Task Group and aided by the destroyer USS Pillsbury (DE-133). Two pilots from Guadalcanal sighted the submarine running under the surface, and splashed the sea with gunfire to point out the contact to USS Pillsbury, USS Jenks (DE-665), and USS Chatelain (DE-149). Their depth charges blasted a hole in the outer hull of the submarine. Her inexperienced German captain surfaced his boat and ordered the crew to abandon ship. The Pillsbury lowered a boarding party and quickly captured the still-running U-505. It was the first enemy ship captured by the U.S. Navy on the high seas since 1815. The U-505 was towed 2,500 miles to Bermuda and revealed some of the German Navy’s most guarded secrets. U-505 is now permanently displayed at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. This exciting and true story tells of a brave and historic adventure on the high seas. Paperback edition, 317 pages, 18 page appendix, no photos or maps.
Good Cond $12.88
The Author:
Daniel V. Gallery was born July 10, 1901. He saw extensive action during World War II, fighting U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic, where his most notable achievement was the June 4, 1944 capture of the German submarine U-505. After the war, Gallery was a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction.
At the age of 16, Gallery entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated a year early, in 1920, and competed in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp on the U.S. wrestling team. Gallery was an early naval aviator. He flew seaplanes, torpedo bombers and amphibians. In the late 1930s, he won at the National Air Races in a race-tuned Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo plane.
In 1941, while the U.S. was still neutral, he was assigned as the Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Great Britain. In 1942, Gallery took command of the Fleet Air Base in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions against German submarines. In 1943, Gallery was named captain of the new escort carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60), which he commissioned. In January 1944, he commanded antisubmarine Task Group out of Norfolk, Virginia, with Guadalcanal as the flagship. January 16, the task group sank the German submarine U-544. On April 9, the task group sank U-515, commanded by famed U-boat ace Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke (Lone Wolf The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke). After prolonged depth charging, the submarine was forced to the surface among the attacking American ships and the surviving crew (including Werner Henke) abandoned their vessel. The deserted U-515 was hammered by rockets and gunfire before she finally sank. The next night, aircraft from the task group caught U-68 on the surface, in broad moonlight, and sank her with only one survivor.
On June 4, 1944, the task group crossed paths with U-505 off the coast of Africa. The experienced antisubmarine warfare team depth charged the U-boat that shook-up the sub so badly the captain believed his boat to be heavily damaged and ordered the crew to abandon ship. Gallery immediately ordered a boarding party to capture U-505 before she could sink. And U-505 became the first foreign man-of-war captured in battle on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812.
Gallery was given command of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) in September 1945. He relinquished command of Hancock a short time later, on 10 December 1945. After promotion to rear admiral, Gallery became Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations. He commanded Carrier Division Six during the Korean War. Gallery’s final command was the Tenth Naval District in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from December 1956 to July 1960. Gallery was forced to retire from the Navy in 1960 when he was found medically unfit for service. He died at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center on January 16, 1977, at the age of 75.
Other books by Daniel V. Gallery:
Other books of interest:
The Destruction Of Convoy PQ-17
Iron Coffins – paperback edition
MEMOIRS: Ten Years And Twenty Days
U-Boat Commander – By Prien
U-Boat Commander – By Cremer
