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WWII U-Boats
U-858
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Class: (Type IXC)
Text courtesy of uboat.net
Surrender Details: Surrendered at sea to the US Navy on 9 May 1945. Arrived at Fort Miles, Delaware on 14 May, before being moved to Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 May
Time in US Navy: Allocated to the US Navy as a war prize. Selected as one of the few U-Boats in which the US Navy had a medium-term interest, being given a minor re-fit at the New London Submarine Base in the latter part of 1945 prior to its use in trials in the first half of 1946. After that U-858 was berthed at Portsmouth until it was declared surplus to requirements.
Final Disposal: Sunk on 21 Nov 1947 by Sirago (SS-485) off Cape Cod, Mass
Text courtesy of Derek Waller
| Click On Image For Full Size | Size | Image Description | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 0850102 | 2.15k | Original Caption: "German U-Boat, U-858, surrenders to U.S. at rendezvous off Cape May, N.J., after being escorted there by DE's for 1000 miles. Boarding party from ATR-57 goes aboard. Blimp provides coverage overhead. The 4 stack destroyer Pope (DE-134) is in the background. | National Archives Identifier: 179036570 Local Identifier: 80-GK-14619 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov, via Daniel Hacker. | |
 | 306k | Colors fly proudly at her flagstaff as U-858, first German submarine to surrender to the U.S. in American waters, is brought to anchor behind the breakwater at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, 14 May 1945. Shown: Standing high on the conning tower with megaphone is Commander Williard D. Michael, USN, head of the charge party which brought the U-boat from a U.S. Navy patrol craft stands in the background as Sikorski HNS-1 helicopter hovers overhead. | Photo # 80-G-320321 now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com. | |
 | 1.17k | U.S. Marines search members of German submarine, U-858, 50 miles off Cape May, New Jersey as the submarine is turned over to representatives of Rear Admiral Milo F. Braemel, Commandant of the Fourth Naval District, by units of the Atlantic Fleet to whom she surrendered. | Photo # 80-G-700486 now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com. | |
 | 399k | Surrender of German U-boats, WWII. Surrender of German U-boat, U-858, 700 miles off the New England Coast to two destroyer escorts, 10 May 1945. Shown: American submarine personnel take over. Crew members on board are lined up at right to be searched by U.S. Marines | Photo # 80-G-320309 now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com. | |
 | 333k | Crew of German submarine, U-858, which surrendered to units of Atlantic Fleet are transferred from a DE to a U.S. tug which met the U boat and her escorts 50 miles over Cape May, New Jersey. They were taken to internment at Fort Miles, Delaware Bay. Photograph released 10 May 1945. | Photo # 80-G-700488 now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com. | |
 | 406k | Lieutenant Thilo Bode, Captain of the German submarine U-858, aboard the tug which met the U boat and her escorts off Cape May, New Jersey. Photograph released 10 May 1945. | Photo # 80-G-700489 now in the collections of the National Archives, courtesy of National Museum of the U.S. Navy via flickr.com. | |
 | 214k | U-858 in Groton, late 1945 while she was undergoing a "minor refit" prior to operational tests in 1946. The "drydock" in this photo appears to be a semi-mobile wooden structure, most likely having pontoon like ballast tanks attached underneath. Portsmouth would have had little use for such a structure, as it had a permanent built-in drydock. Groton, however did not have a drydock at all, but instead had a marine railway in which a submarine was winched up an inclined railway on a roller cradle and out of the water. Being a busy place, Groton would have benefitted from having the additional drydock capability that this structure would have provided to the smaller training submarines of the O and R classes during the war years. Note a O-class submarine in the background. | Photo i.d. & text courtesy of David Johnston (USN, retired) USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com | |
 | 883k | This photograph shows four German submarines at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, which were surrendered off the coast of Portland. They are probably the U-805, U-858, U-873 & U-1228. | National Archives Identifier: 7330125 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 1.07k | Unloading Concealed Material from German U-Boat, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. | National Archives Identifier: 38329973 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 752k | Two German U-Boats Being Unloaded, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. | National Archives Identifier: 38329965 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 926k | Two German U-Boats Being Unloaded, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. | National Archives Identifier: 38329961 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 648k | Captured German U-Boat with Submarine Snorkel Fully Elevated, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. | National Archives Identifier: 38329977 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 881k | View of Submarine Snorkel on Deck of German U-Boat, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. | National Archives Identifier: 38329971 Photo courtesy of catalog.archives.gov | |
 | 614k | This photo from an airship, offers a good view of U-858's cut-away bow. This feature improved the diving time of the Type IX boat. | USN Photo # C320310 courtesy of uboatarchive.net | |
 | 641k | Four photo PDF of events surrounding the surrender of the U-858 & commemorative medallion on the 70th anniversary of the event, 1945-2015. | Photos courtesy of Tommy Trampp. | |
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