Albert Leroy David
Reminiscent of the movie U-571 starring Matthew McConaughey, Lieutenant (junior grade) Albert Leroy David led a boarding party on June 4, 1944, that climbed aboard the U-505 and down the conning tower hatch to an unknown situation. After assessing the situation, the boarders bundled charts, code books, and papers, disconnected demolition charges, closed valves, and plugged leaks before the boat could sink. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his role in capturing the enemy German submarine. The following is the story of Albert Leroy David and the capture of the U-505.
Albert Leroy David was born July 18, 1902 in Maryville, Missouri. Albert enlisted in the Navy on September 30, 1919. He served on the USS Arkansas (BB-33), USS Rochester (CA-2), USS Preston (DD-327), USS Delaware (BB-28), USS Utah (BB-31), USS Texas (BB-35), USS Trenton (CL-11), USS Cincinnati (CL-6), USS Salt Lake City (CA-25), and the USS Dobbin (AD-3). He was transferred to the Fleet Reserve on August 10, 1939.
Less than a month after Germany invaded Poland, his brief retirement ended when he was recalled to active duty on September 27, 1939. Albert was assigned to the Submarine Repair Unit, San Diego and served in that unit until his promotion to Ensign on June 15, 1942. After receiving his commission, he attended the Naval Training School for diesel engineers at the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin. Who knew at the time that Albert Leroy David would use this knowledge to lead the boarding party that captured the U-505, the first successful boarding and capture of an enemy warship by U.S. sailors since 1815.
After a short stint at Naval Training Station, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, Ensign David returned to sea duty in 1943. Ensign David reported to Orange, Texas as a member of the commissioning crew of the USS Pillsbury (DE-133). The Pillsbury’s first duty was as the flagship for Escort Division 4, escorting convoys into Casablanca and Gibraltar. Pillsbury then reported to Task Group 21.12, consisting of the USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) and four destroyer escorts, on hunter killer patrols to destroy enemy submarines operating along or near convoy routes from the United States to Europe.
On the night of April 8, 1944, planes from Guadalcanal attacked a surfaced German U-boat, the U-515. The U-boat immediately submerged for deep evasive tactics. The Pillsbury attacked with hedgehogs and depth charges forcing the U-boat to the surface where the USS Flaherty (DE-135) and the Pillsbury sank the U–515. Six officers, including the Captain, and fifty-seven of the crew were captured.
With the crew of the Pillsbury’s appetite for anti-submarine warfare whetted and a brief stop in Norfolk, VA for repairs, the Pillsbury and the Task Group, reconstituted as Task Group 22.3 left Norfolk in May with a special mission to “bring one back live.” For two weeks they searched unsuccessfully for a U-boat, even steaming as far south as Freetown, Sierra Leone. On Sunday, June 4, 1944, the USS Chatelain (DE-149) made sonar contact with the U-505. The Task Group bore down on the submarine forcing it to surface. The German submarine was heavily damaged with its rudder stuck and slowly taking on water. The Commanding Officer of the U-505 was wounded immediately after he opened the hatch. Many of the crew of the U-505 started jumping overboard while others were attempting to scuttle her. The German crew removed an eleven inch sea strainer cover behind the periscope housing in an attempt to sink the boat before it could be captured. The boat was now sinking fast.
The USS Chatelain and the USS Jenks (DE-665) picked up survivors, the USS Pillsbury sent its whaleboat to the U-505, where Lieutenant (junior grade) Albert L. David led a nine-man boarding party onto the submarine. By the time the boarding party arrived, the sub's stern was submerged and the ocean waterline almost reached the top of the conning tower. Not knowing what form of resistance they might meet below, the boarding party climbed down the conning tower hatch. Motor Machinist's Mate 1st Class Zenon Lukosius saw the water pouring in through a sea strainer. He immediately searched for the strainer cover and re-secured it. The boarding party then searched the boat for scuttle charges; quickly yanking the wires on the charges as they were discovered. The quick action of the boarding party and the ingenuity of the Task Group salvage teams enabled the U-505 to be towed to Bermuda so the U.S. Navy could study her military secrets. (The U-505 now resides in Chicago, IL at the Museum of Science and Industry.) The secrets of the U-505 were vast. David's party captured all of the enemy code books, equipment including a new type of torpedo, and maps. The Germans were unaware that the U-505 was captured before it could be scuttled. Therefore, they did not change the communication codes. Unlocking these codes allowed the Allies to sink almost 300 U-boats over the war's final 11 months.
Albert Leroy David died September 17, 1945 of a heart attack three weeks before the Medal of Honor could be presented to him. David's widow, Lynda Mae David, was presented his Medal by President Harry S. Truman on October 5, 1945, in a ceremony at the White House.