German submarine U-166 was sunk on July 30, 1942, in the Gulf of Mexico, 72 km (45 miles) from the Mississippi River Delta, off the coast of Houma, Louisiana, by the SS Robert E. Lee. A torpedo from U-166 hit the SS Robert E. Lee, which took about 15 minutes to sink. One officer, nine crewmen, and fifteen passengers died as the vessel went down. 404 survived.
And history here is even more interesting. I do hope you will continue to read. I give you help with the vocabulary.
We need to go back to early 1942. At that time, the United States had greatly increased their naval presence in the Atlantic and presented a challenge to German U-boats who previously had patrolled with little resistance. Consequently, the U-boats were sent to less militarized areas to patrol and harass. The Nazis turned their attention to the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy traffic from New Orleans and the steady flow of oil from the region made the waters a prime target. The Gulf Coast was unprepared to defend against Nazi submarine attacks. The Nazis felt they could significantly undermine the American war effort if they could successfully disrupt the free flow of oil.
On July 30, 1942, PC-566 was escorting the Robert E. Lee, which contained survivors from a previous submarine attack, back to New Orleans. After the Robert E. Lee was attacked, the captain of PC-566, Herbert G. Claudius, retaliated. According to Claudius, he witnessed debris and oil float to the surface and saw no sign of the submarine. Although uncertain, he thought he had sunk the German submarine. However, the Navy felt his story was certainly untrue, especially since Claudius had not yet received anti-submarine training and sinking a German U-boat was a daunting task. Claudius was removed from command.
The U-166 and the SS Robert E. Lee were discovered in May of 2001 during a pipeline survey. U-166 was the only submarine successfully sunk in the Gulf throughout the entire war.
In December 2014, researchers had found sufficient proof to confirm that it was indeed Claudius who destroyed the German submarine. The Navy posthumously awarded him the Legion of Merit, a prestigious military award for extraordinary achievements.
In total, German U-boats sank over 70 vessels in the region, many alongside Louisiana's coast. The American people, for fear of panic, were not informed that the Germans were so close to their coastline.
Jane ...who apologizes (s'excuse) for this difficult text, but so interesting, n'est-ce pas?
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sink-sank-sunk = couler
off the coast = au large de la côte
crewmen = l'équipage
the vessel went down = the boat sunk
to harass = to trouble by repeated attacks
flow = circulation
prime target = une cible de choix, une cible principale
to undermine = to weaken gradually or by degrees
disrupt = perturber
steady = here means "continuous", "regular"
free flow = libre circulation
tug boats (remorqueur d'escorte, bâteaux pilote) escort big ships
to escort back = les accompagner pour le voyage de retour
retaliate = riposter
untrue = not true
since = here "because"
a daunting task = une lourde tâche, une tâche monumentale
removed from his command = être relevé de son commandement
a survey = a study
indeed = certes
posthumously = after his death
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