The crew list and photographs on this page were generously provided by Jon Walsh, CWO4, USN (Ret.), the nephew of MMC Celestine M. Urbaniak, USN who was a member of the US Navy crew of U-977. 

 
        U-977 surrendered to Argentinean authorities off La Mar del Plata on 17 August 1945 after an epic 108 day journey from Kristiansand Norway which included a 66-day continuous submerged Schnorchel run. 
        In September the boat was taken over by a US Navy crew and transferred under her own power from Argentina to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving 13 November 1945 after a voyage of some 6,000 miles.
        Chief Urbaniak was selected for the assignment because he could read and speak German and was submarine qualified.   He reported that when the US Navy crew first went aboard the U-977, they found it filthy and in poor repair (understandable after its long voyage from Norway).  They spent several weeks cleaning, repairing and learning how to operate the boat before they left for the US.
        During the long trip, the engines failed requiring an overhaul at sea.  Great technical skill and seamanship were displayed by the Navy crew in quickly learning to operate and then sail the German U-boat from Argentina to the Boston Navy Yard.
            Soon after arriving, the boat was transferred to the Submarine Base at New London Connecticut where she was prepared to participate in a Victory Tour of the Eastern Seaboard with the USS Baker (DE-190), undoubtedly some of the most enjoyable duty a sailor could have.
        For three weeks in November and December, U-977 and USS Baker (DE-190) visited Albany, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, New York; Wilmington and Lewes, Delaware; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C., affording the American public an opportunity to see a German U boat and a destroyer escort and to stimulate interest in the Victory Loan funding drive.  The tour finished on 8 December 1945.
          U-977 was then sailed to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard where she joined the the U-boats that surrendered to US authorities at the end of the war.  She was torpedoed off Massachusetts on 13 November 1946 by the submarine USS Atule.

        U-977 lies in in Mar del Plata, Argentina; rusty and weather beaten after 108 days at sea - Photograph courtesy of Carlos J. Mey - Administrator of the Historia y Arqueologia Marítima website http://www.histarmar.com.ar/

U-977 ready for her Victory Tour - November 1945

Members of U-977's US Navy crew pose for the camera (Chief Urbaniak is second from the right).   Her escort for the Victory Tour, USS Baker (DE-190), is moored outboard.

 

Below is a list of the US Navy crew of U-977
     
LCDR T. Cooper USN
LT F. Hosmer USNR
LTJG D. Colson USN
ENS W. Hoover USN
     
SC3c(T) Barnicle, H.E. USNR
MoMM2c(T) Behling, R.A USNR
MoMM2c(T) Blanck, C. E USNR
TM2c Bourdeau, A.A. USNR
PhM1c Brown USN
RM3c Butler, W.M. USNR
EM1c Cordman, M.M. USN 
CMoMM(T) Dewey, H.S. USN
TM1c Dickey, R. T. USN
MoMM3c Dutton, F. L. USN
EM2c Fox, F. E. USNR
EM2c Fraga, F. Z. USNR
StM1c Friday, E.N. USNR
MoMM1c Gray, E.H. USNR
MoMM3c Hobbs, H.A. USNR
MoMM1c Ingraham, E. G. USN
TM1c(T) Johnson, "O" "V" USN
S1c(TM) Kalen, L.G. USNR
CCS(AA)(T) Logsdon, H.K. USN
CEM(AA)(T) Madill, R. S. USN
MoMM1c Newkirk, B.J. USN
MoMM2c(T) Novinski, A.A. USN-I
QM1c O'Connell, J. A. USN
EM3c Perdew, J. W. USNR
CTM(PA) Springer, R. J. USN
TM2c Topping, F. T. USN
CMoMM(AA) Urbaniak, C. M. USN
Y1c Van Velson, J.D. USN
RM2c Violette, L.H. USNR
SM3c Williamson, J. E USNR

 

 

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