U-Boat: Merchant Ship References

[rstern]

Can any of you knowledgable gentlemen tell me what reference book (or books) was carried on U-boats during WWII to aid in the identification of the merchant ships they were attacking? I surmise from the frequency with which accounts of U-boat operations mention COs looking up their targets in a reference book (because accuracy in making claims of sinkings was stressed by Dönitz), that such a reference was commonly found on U-boats. There were two major references on this subject available at the time in English - Lloyd's Register and Jane's Merchant Ships of the World. Was there a German equivalent of these books or would they have been able to find the Lloyd's or Jane's? Was this book provided by the Kriegsmarine or did the CO have to obtain it on his own?

Thanks

[Grosser Kreuzer]

rstern,

There is a photograph in one of the very early "Warship Profiles" concerning a specific u-boat, whose number I cannot recall off-hand with the bridge "team" reportedly studying a copy of "Talbot-Booth" (T-B) to try and identify a British merchantman they had recently sunk. The author was the boat's former captain IIRC. The "team" are reported as consulting "the cunning book."

I cannot be certain but it may be that a copy of "T-B" was provided to each u-boat "officially:" as a digression, the German Navy had an official 5 language Naval Lexicon (and very good/useful it is too). It is not known whether or not "T-B" remained in print throughout WW2: perhaps someone else can enlighten us.

Hope this is will give you a "start."

GK

[Grosser Kreuzer]

rstern,

For further information: the details of the Reference I remembered was "Warship Profile No 8." The subject u-boat was U 107 of which at one time Dönitz's son-in-law was in command. The author of the Profile was Dr Jürgen Rohwer.

GK

[rstern]

I have happened upon what I believe to be the best answer to this question, using a hint in Gannon's Drumbeat. It appears the most common reference used to identify merchant targets was Erich Gröner's Die Handelsflotten der Welt, published by Lehmanns Verlag in an edition for distribution to the Kriegsmarine with the approval of OKM. Look at http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTBNotesGroener.htm.

It also appears in some cases, U-boats carried a copy of the Lloyds Register, though how they obtained this is less clear. Possibly through Sweden.

[Grosser Kreuzer]

Hello rstern,

A good piece of investigative work if I might be so patronising. It might have been that the book identified in my post of 12 Nov as a copy of T-B was mis-identified and that it was in fact a copy of "Gröner."

I cannot comment on the possibility that a copy of "Lloyd's" was carried: maybe, however, IIRC "Lloyd's" does not have pictures in it whereas T-B does.

GK

PS Concerning the quote "the cunning book" in my post of 12 Nov: that should have read "a cunning book." That suggests that any one of the books that we have mentioned here, could have been a "cunning book," however, I am now going round in circles, sorry.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I know from information shared with me by my grandfather (USN Commodore) who has been in submarines very early that the german captains in merchant raiding often carried lexicons that they had made themselves with profiles and silouettes done from memory as many of the ships on common routes were very well known, or their types were. I do not know for sure what other references were used, he had several of them from German naval sources but he donated all of his books after his death, and i did not see them at an age to remember much.

[rogi]

Each German submarine has a handbook "Die Handelsflotten der Welt" by Erich Groener with data and pictures of merchant ships from all countries.