I put the article through Google Translate for all the non Spanish speakers like me!
They found a U-boat War in Brazil
By FREDERIC SANTANGELO
On July 19, 1943, the German war submarine U-513 was sailing near the coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil. A seaplane U.S. Army, hidden in the clouds, threw six bombs on the enemy ship and sank it. 46 men died and seven were saved, including the captain.
Almost 69 years later, a Brazilian team found the exact position of the submarine and was able to film it. They used a robot similar to those used on oil platforms. They pointed out that the U-513 is about 130 meters deep, 35 kilometers east of the coast of Florianópolis.
Vilfredo Schürmann, 63, led a team of 35 people who carried out the expedition. "We need five years to find it. For three years we made inquiries intense in the archives of Washington, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro. After our boat we need two years to find the ship, "he explains.
The divers, archaeologists, biologists, oceanographers and photographers who accompanied Schürmann had to track down an area of ​​20 square kilometers. To identify the scope of the search, were based on information found in the archives and in the statements of the hydroplane only survivor of the U.S., Will Stotts, who was a radar operator.
Schurmann explains that scanned the seabed with sonar, a device that is used to find black boxes from the plane and whose technology is similar to that of ultrasound machines. On July 14, 2011 found the submarine. Then they waited until March, during which the sea is calmer, to send the robot and shoot the ship.
The U-513 was a giant of 760 tons and 76 meters in length. He carried 22 torpedoes and 44 mines. He had a broad ability to remain hidden for long periods of time. "We saw that everything is still whole, very little is destroyed, is not covered in sand, only tilted 45 degrees," says Schurman. Now the captain of the expedition, the son of a German immigrant who left his country after the sufferings of the First World War, wants to explore the interior of the submarine. "We asked permission for the research to the Brazilian Navy. Are studying. We want to shoot inside with divers. Will face strong pressure that exists at this depth of 135 meters, "explains.
Schürmann wants to unlock the secrets and treasures that are within the U-513-like machine to send coded messages, and retrieve collection items such as radios, uniforms and cutlery.
"The history of Karl Friedrich Guggenberger, commander of the submarine, I was fascinated," says Schürmann. After surviving the sinking, Guggenberger was a prisoner of war and taken to a prison in Arizona, USA. Schurmann that there dug a tunnel and escaped with fellow prisoners, crossed the border into Mexico and returned to Germany. He rejoined the Navy in 1956 and rose to the rank of admiral. Eventually he became head of NATO forces in northern Europe. His story inspired a new adventure Schürmann, famous in Brazil for his travels around the world in sailing ships.
The U-513 was one of 11 submarines sunk by the Allies during the Second World War in the Brazilian coast. Thelmo Pontes, Brazilian historian, states that over 30,000 men died in submarines during the conflict. "Given that there were 1,200 submarines and each had a crew of about 40 men, there was a bloodbath in the Atlantic Ocean," he said.
