08/23/2026
On June 4, 1944, a group of American sailors pulled off one of the craziest stunts in military history.
It was one of the most exciting days of World War II.
A group of American warships was hunting for enemy submarines off the coast of Africa.
They found a German U-boat named U-505.The Americans attacked with underwater bombs.
The damage forced the German submarine to rush up to the surface.
The German captain ordered his crew to leave the ship.
He also set up bombs to sink the boat so the secrets inside would stay safe.
But the Americans did something completely surprising.
Instead of just watching it sink, they sent a small group of brave sailors over in a tiny motorboat.
The sailors jumped onto the moving, slippery submarine.
They knew it could explode or sink under their feet at any second.
They rushed inside the dark tunnels.
Water was pouring in, and the engines were still running.
Working fast, they turned off the valves to stop the leaks and stopped the bombs from going off.
They saved the ship and proudly raised the American flag.
This photograph captures that exact amazing moment.
You can see the American sailors standing on the wet deck of the captured submarine out in the middle of the ocean.
The best part of the story was the secret treasure inside.
The sailors found a working Enigma coding machine and secret codebooks.
This let the Allies read enemy messages for the rest of the war.
To keep the secret, the military kept the capture completely hidden.
The German sailors were sent to a secret prison camp so Germany would think the submarine sank.
Today, this giant piece of history lives right here in our city.
You can walk right inside it at the Museum of Science and Industry.
