BUCKLEY vs. U-66
6 MAY 1944
BUCKLEY vs. U-66
Oberleütnant zur See Gerhard Seehausen was in desperate need of re-supply. Operating in the mid-Atlantic west of the Cape Verde Islands, his cruise so far had been constantly dogged by US aircraft from a nearby hunter-killer group. Forced to stay submerged for most of the last five days, the air in Seehausen’s U-66 was stale and his batteries were nearly dead. U-66 was at the end of her endurance, and her diesel tanks were critically low. She surfaced on the evening of 5 May so Seehausen could scan the horizon for his resupply boat, U-188. Unknowingly he had surfaced only three miles in front of his pursuer of the last five days, the escort carrier USS BLOCK ISLAND (CVE-21).
The sight of a U-boat at 5000 yards was too close even for a anti-submarine carrier, and BLOCK ISLAND turned away immediately. CAPT Francis M. Hughes launched an unarmed “night owl” TBM Avenger, equipped with radar for surveilling submarines after nightfall, and called his destroyer escorts, then operating miles in advance of the carrier. USS BUCKLEY (DE-51) answered from 20 miles out. At 0216 this morning, “night owl” pilot LTJG Jimmie S. Sellars painted the sub with his radar. Seehausen spotted the Avenger, but chancing that it could not attack at night, he continued charging his spent batteries. For his part, LCDR Brent M. Abel in BUCKLEY approached quietly, guiding off Sellars. The night was calm with a near-full moon reflecting brilliantly off smooth seas. BUCKLEY crept in from an angle that kept the U-boat between her and the moon. Seven miles out, Abel spotted the low silhouette of the sub against the moonlight. He called his crew to GQ and paid-out the “Foxer” towed acoustic torpedo counter measure. He fancied the U-boat skipper might mistake his approach out of the darkness for that of the anticipated supply sub.
Indeed, three red signal flares coursed upward from the U-boat–Abel’s ploy had worked! Nine more minutes ticked by until, little more than a mile off, Abel turned to unmask his main batteries. At 2100 yards his 3″ gunners couldn’t miss; the very first salvo struck the U-boat just forward of the conning tower.
The sub sprang to life, returning some erratic fire from her deck gun. Abel dodged a single torpedo that crossed his bows and closed further. He brought the full firepower of his destroyer to bear and began matching the sub’s course move for move. BUCKLEY closed now to within 20 yards and still Seehausen remained on the surface. Every available man-jack poured onto the destroyer’s decks with tommy guns, rifles, and even handguns. The ensuing storm of small arms fire cleared the sub’s deck. BUCKLEY’s three-inch guns continued to hammer the U-boat as the combatants raced on, side by side, each nearly in the other’s wake. American warplanes circling overhead had to restrain their fire for fear of hitting the friendly destroyer!
Continued tomorrow…
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 1 “A-B”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1959, pp. 132, 170.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol 10 The Atlantic Battle Won. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 1956, pp. 284-88.
Roscoe, Theodore. United States Destroyer Operations in World War II. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1953, pp. 306-07
Smith, Stan. “Buckley’s Bare-Knuckles Bout with U-66.” Sea Classics, Vol 38 (3), March 2005, pp. 30-33.
Wynn, Kenneth. U-Boat Operations of the Second World War Vol 1: Career Histories, U1-U510. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1997, pp. 46-48.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: BUCKLEY remembers Aviation Ordnanceman Third Class John Daniel Buckley, who was stationed with VP-11 at NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. He was killed while bravely repelling the Japanese attack in disregard for his personal safety. He is not to be confused with LT John Duncan Bulkeley, commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 in the Philippines in 1941-42.
