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Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505

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German vessels like the U-505 were not true submarines but were what the author calls, "submersibles" because they were designed more as surface ships capable of submerging for several hours when necessary. That fact figures prominently in Hans Goebeler's fascinating account of what life aboard a German U-Boat was like. Throughout the book you never forget that he was an enemy sailor doing his duty to try to sink Allied ships but he is a sympathetic character in that the reader will be able to readily identify with him and will consider what he would have done had he been born in Germany at that time.

U-505 experienced a lot prior to her capture by then-Captain Dan Gallery's task force of destroyer escorts and we learn of it all through the eyes of a nineteen-year old sailor whose affection for his boat nearly all of us can understand. He does not try to paint himself as a better man than he really was, and relates his life as he lived it, warts and all.

After he retired, Goebeler moved with his wife to Chicago to be near the U-505, now a museum ship at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. He conducted many reunions, both of German submarine veterans and of the ships that participated in the capture and many where the former enemies attended together. Goebeler died in 1999 before his book was published but his collaborator, John Vanzo, a professor of political science and geography at Bainbridge College in Bainbridge, Georgia has done an excellent job of bringing it to life for the reader. This is a very good book and I recommend it highly.

During WW2, this author completed every single war patrol aboard the German submarine U-505. Towards the end of the war it was the author himself - as a very junior crewman, who had the final task of trying to sink his U-Boat after it had been forced to the surface by enemy fire. It was a gallant attempt that was thwarted only by an equally gallant American Navy which finally captured the submarine intact - complete with all it's operational codes.

In 1954, Han Goebeler read an article which informed him his beloved U-Boat was now part of an exhibition in Chicago and promptly moved with his wife to be near the machine that once meant so much to him. It wasn't long before he would be found giving personal talks to visitors. Over the years he also brought former adversaries together in reunions.

This book is his story. From those early beginnings in the Kriegsmarine until his death in 1999, he recalls just about everything that ever happened to him. He was not a Nazi, nor was he a demon or monster - just an ordinary man who was called upon to serve his country as did what any of us would do - he served. It is a moving story in which the reader will soon become gripped by the reality of life - and death!, on board a German U-Boat at time of war - although there is much to it than just that.

Rest in Peace Hans Goebeler - you earned it.

NM

Machinist Second Class Hans Goebeler often heard this and other teasing remarks from his crewmates aboard the U-505 because he read English literature to improve his mastery of the language. You could venture a guess that Shakespeare and Robert Louis Stevenson had nothing to say about U-boats but to history's benefit Goebeler certainly does. Part memoir and part operational log, Goebeler's Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505 conveys the glories, struggles, and capture of the only museum-exhibited Type IXC U-boat in existence today.

By February 1942 the Battle of the Atlantic was turning against the U-boats. Goebeler was fresh out of the enlisted sailor's U-bootschule. He was assigned to U-505, which had just arrived in Lorient, France from the yards in Germany and was being readied for service. It was the beginning of a strong bond between the patriotic young German and his submarine, a remarkable life-long association that would see him as the U-505's crewmember, failed executioner, and ultimately her defender.

Written with the capable assistance of writer JohnVanzo, this book is notable because it is provides a non-officer's perspective. Goebeler was assigned to the diving manifold station, which made him a fixture in the control room. On a U-boat, anyone not stationed in the control room or bridge could only find out about combat events second hand. Being stationed within sight and sound of the U-boat's nerve center allowed Goebeler to witness the captain's decisions and actions. Goebeler dutifully kept diaries, notes, mementos, and reminders of his service aboard U-505, which, along with subsequent research and a copy of the ship's log, served as the core for this book. www.subsim.com/books Full Review

Accurate, highly detailed, and well-written, Steel Boat, Iron Hearts is worthy to fill that space on your bookshelf between Raiders of the Deep and Iron Coffins.

I have read many many submarine books. I rate this one as one of the best of the best.

Writen from a crew member's perspective who served under three different commanders about life as a U-boat crewmen.

The writer pulls no punches when talking about fighting for Nazi Germany. Why and how he felt about Hitler. Lots of in debth detail about life on shore leave including the details about the night life ... and all the details with whores, French countrymen, French resistence, Army Core and what it was like during the air raids of their sub pens. Not to mention the war patrols and being captured.

A real, no BS account from the sounds of it. Absolutely loved it.

This is an excellent book written in great detail by a man who served as a enlisted sailor in WWII. Not only does he decribe the boat but also his life and thoughts about the war. He takes you from training to the boats capture to the release from the POW camp. Very easy to read, you will not want to put this one down.

I found it hard to put this book down once I began reading it! This is the first WWII submarine story I've read of the German's perspective...have read several dealing with the U.S. boats so it was interesting to read about the U-Boats! This book is told from the angle of the sailor himself and his personal experiences aboard U-505 and is well worth the read! I hope to some day visit the U-505 in Chicago and see this unique piece of history first hand. Buy the book you won't be the least bit disappointed!

I've been reading and collecting books on WW1 & WW2 submarines and U-boats for over 30 years and feel like I've read accounts from almost every perspective. This book, however, was really good and was one of the most authentic U-boat books I've ever read.
The author is one of the very few survivors from a U-boat in WW2. The big headlines, of course, scream that the U-boat was captured in battle, but there is much more to the story than that. This young crewman was with the boat for over two years, thru several war patrols. He writes from the perspective of a young crewman who, fortunately, was stationed in the control room where most of the day to day action was. He heard everything and watched the good and bad captains and officers.
If you only read one book this year, please read this one. It is well written, well punctuated, and is intensely intresting.
I highly recommend this book to everyone!

Life on a U-boat seen not through the eyes of an officer, but rather through that of an enlisted sailor. Goebeler offers us not only a look at life aboard the boat, but also to how the average crewman responded to various leadership styles. I consider this book an invaluable resource to aspiring officers and NCOs.

An absolute must read for any student of military history. Very rarely do we have the opportunity to see the honest recolections of war from those who lost.

I had the honor of meeting the author several times before he died. An increadible man, he never pulled his punches when speaking about the war. And I must say a crash course he gave me on military leadership when I was teenager served me well when I later enlisted in the military myself.

I have read many books about U-boat war in the Pacific, but this one was very special. I could compare it with Wolfgang Hirschfeld book.
I must say the stories told by members of the crew other than the Captain are very
intresting and give the reader diferent view of the life on the boat.

Hans Goebeler's "Steel Boat, Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life aboard U-505" was originally self-published in a paper edition in 1999. This new revised hardcover edition includes additional text and photos and provides "Steel Boat" with the national exposure it deserves. The author made every patrol about U-505, which was captured in June 1944 and is today preserved and can be visited at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. In addition to being a fast-paced and compelling account of the terrifying life experienced aboard WWI submarines, Goebeler's book is the only full-length memoir published by an enlisted man from the Kriegsmarine, which makes it doubly valuable as a historical source. Goebeler was a keen observer, and he worked in the control room, where the key decisions were made about U-boats. While on duty there he witnessed the suicide of the boat's second skipper during a depth-charge bombardment. Goebeler makes no apologies for the war, and writes candidly about his service, including his time in France drinking, carousing with prostitutes, and fighting. His memoir is well written, entertaining, and useful. Includes a Foreword by Keith Gill, U-505's curator. ISBN: 1-932714-07-3; 22 photos, 3 maps, index, HC. d.j. 288 pages. $32.95. Highly Recommended.