By the end of the war, Allied navies had 175 warships and 3,500 merchant vessels.

More than 72,000 men were lost, combining the casualties of sailors and merchant seamen.

U-Boatsnormally did their deadly work with 24 torpedoes.

USS Buckley DE-51 in June 1944

USS Buckley, DE-51, shown during June 1944, just a few weeks after her battle with U-66. Image: NARA

By 1944, many U-Boats had their deck guns removed and replaced with additional 20mm or 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

Some small arms were carried, based on crew preference and the captains approval.

A few7.92mm Mauser 98k rifles, coupled with a small amount of9mm MP-40 SMGsusually made up the supply.

US Coast Guard crew with small arms during WWII

A USCG crew draws small arms from their weapons locker: M1903 rifles and M1928 Thompson SMGs. Image: NARA

A wide variety of pistols could be found among the U-Boats officers.

Buckley located her on the surface, opened fire, closed quickly and then rammed the sub.

Men begin swarming out of submarine and onto BUCKLEYs forecastle.

Damaged U-505 before boarding by US Navy personnel

The damagedU-505before boarding by US Navy personnel. While not the same as the U-66, it is similar in design. Image: NARA

Machine gun, Tommy gun, and rifle fire knocks off several.

Ammunition expended at this time included several general mess coffee cups which were on hand at ready gun station.

Two of the enemy were hit in the head with these.

German Luger

The classicGerman P08 Luger 9mm pistolwas one of the primary sidearms of the Kriegsmarine. Image: NARA

Empty shell cases were used by the crew of 3 gun #2 to repel boarders.

3 guns could not bear.

BUCKLEY suffers only casualty of engagement when man bruises fist knocking one of the enemy over the side.

US Navy sailor with 1911

A sailor shows off his trusty M1911 .45 caliber pistol. Several M1911’s were used during the fight with U-66. Image: Author’s collection

The boatswains mate in charge of the forward ammunition party kills a man attempting to board with .45 pistol.

Man falls back over side.

Midships repair party equipped with rifles, manning life lines and picks off several men on deck of submarine.

Sailor firing .50 caliber machine gun on US ship

The water-cooled version of theBrowning M2 machine gunused by the Navy and Coast Guard for anti-aircraft work. It also worked on subs. Image: NARA

Chief Fire Controlman uses Tommy Gun from bridge with excellent results.

Sub draws ahead rapidly, maintaining speed of about 18 knots.

Five prisoners are disarmed and taken aft.

Survivors of the U-66 aboard the USS Buckley

Glad to be alive: Survivors of the U-66 aboard the USS Buckley. Image: NARA

Sub strikes Buckley a glancing blow and bow of sub rides under Buckleys after engine room.

Personnel on deck have a clear view into conning tower which is a flaming shambles.

Man on deck of sub attempting to man gun disintegrates when hit by four 40mm shells.

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Torpedomen throw hand grenades, one of which drops through subs open conning tower hatch before exploding.

20mm guns continue raking fire.

Sub slowly draws aft on starboard side with bow under Buckley, scraping along ships side.

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At the end of the fight, the Buckley picked up 36 survivors.

As for me, Ive been in fights, but Ive never been shot.

Ive been hit with fists and sticks, and even a beer bottle.

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But Ive never been hit with a well-aimed coffee mug.

The crewmen were far too busy slugging and shooting U-Boatmen to take pictures.

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