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Throughout the World War II there were many submarines sunk, some from the allied side, others from the opposite one. The truth is that the use of this submarine weapon became a milestone that revolutionized the way of waging war at sea...sometimes for bad...

From all the submarines used and sunk in 2nd World War, German submarines are the most mysterious of all. Allied submarines were sunk by hundreds but you will never find the same amount of written material all over the Internet referencing to Allied submarines than German submarines: they were hated at 1000% and considered as a trophy to be taken or sunk. The truth is German submarines were advanced for their time and what some of those submarines sometimes carried, in addition to the crew, is considered a mystery even today: from special electronic equipment to gold, silver, jewlery, artworks and radioactive material even....many things lie down at the bottom of the ocean yet to be discovered.

U-176 was a Type IXC (large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities) U-boat in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. According to Wikipedia it was built at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, was laid down on 6 February 1941, launched on 12 September and commissioned on 15 December, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Reiner Dierksen. It completed three patrols, sinking 11 ships totalling 53,307 gross register tons. It took part on several raids in the Caribbean Sea as part of the widely known “Wolfpacks” that so many damage inflicted to supply oceanic lines between America and Europe by sinking thousands of ships with ten of thousands of lives lost.

Fig 1. *U-176 sails from the French port of Lorient on what would be his last voyage (http://u-boatsenelmarcaribe.blogspot.com)*

It was a regular submarine with a regular sunk history...so what is so curious about it?

U-176: the only German submarine sunk by a Latin American Navy

Less than two years from beign commissioned, U-176 submarine sank into the waters of the Caribbean Sea reached by a depth charge thrown from the Cuban submarine chaser CS-13. This history is widely known and covered in many websites dedicated to U-Boats on the Internet.

U-176 participated in two Wolfpacks Operations before being sunk, and was actively operating in waters between northern Cuba and The Florida Keys. By that time many cuban freighters and tankers were sunk by the action of Nazi submarines. Just for you, dear reader to have an idea: the freighters “Manzanillo”, “Santiago de Cuba” and “Libertad”, the tanker “Mambí”, the sailboat “24 de Febrero”, the motor ships “Mínima” and “Nicolás Cuneo” and the fishing boat “Lalita”, were sunk by Nazi submarines in less than two years. 79 cuban sailors lost their lives and only 8 dead bodys were recovered from the jaws of the sea.

Fig 2. Another picture of Nazi Submarine U-176 sailing on surface

*(http://u-boatsenelmarcaribe.blogspot.com)*

As the German submarines action increases, USA realized that Cuban support was going to be vital to face those Nazi Wolfpacks surrounding by the Caribbean Sea waters. That´s why on September 7, 1942 USA and Cuba sign an agreement under supported by the Lend-Lease Act(stating that the U.S. government could lend or lease -rather than sell- war supplies to any nation deemed “vital to the defense of the United States.”). Due to this agreement Cuban Navy was given many modern aircrafts and ships. Among those modern ships, US governement lease to Cuban government 12 83-foot submarine fighters...one of those would stand out among all the others for being the only ship in whole Latin America sinking a Nazi submarine: the CS-13.

Fig 3. The Cuban submarine chaser CS-13

*(http://u-boatsenelmarcaribe.blogspot.com)*

On May 15th 1943, the Cuban merchant ship “Camaguey” and the Honduran Hanks (both loaded with sugar) sailed from Sagua La Grande and were escorted by the Cuban submarine chasers CS-11, CS-12 and CS-13. U-176 was lurking as always but this time the story would be written differently. An U.S. Navy kingfisher aircraft operating from Cuba spotted the U-176. They decided to drop smoke float to mark them the position of the Nazi submarine. The CS-13 then located the U-Boat with its sonar, and without hesitating they attacked with 3 depth charges and the last one did the unbelievable: sank the U-176! The crew of 53 mens inside the submarine were given as lost in combat and the cuban sailors, once in land, were awarded with different distinctions.

This was the only time a German Nazi submarine was sunk by a ship belonging to any of the Latin American Navies.

Later history ... awards, final destiny, the impossibility of exploring the wreckage and a project to refloat the remains.

After the sunk, the story of a small cuban submarine chaser sinking a big oceanic Nazi submarine quickly found its place in newspapers by that time. The crew of the CS-13 cuban chaser was recognized and awarded with the highest decorations of the Cuban navy at that time. The US government also recognized the acting of the Cuban Navy through their Naval Attaché in Cuba: in his report of May 16, 1943, just 24 hours after the encounter the officer recognized the success of the cuban crew on sinking the German submarine.

One month later on June 1943, Cuban President Fulgencio Batista made public recognition of the sinking of a Nazi submarine by a small cuban submarine chaser and thanked the crew for their services. The CS-13 ship continued to patrol cuban periferical waters for almost one more year and in 1944 was sent back to the USA Navy to be replaced for new ships, technologically more advanced than the CS-13 type and capable to continue the war efforts in a more effective way. In 1945 one of the crew members recognized the old CS-13 ship, now at the service of the Peruvian Navy, when the ship where he was and the old CS-13 (now called CS-5) were docked together in a docker of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. By 1993 the old CS-13 was still rendering his services to the Naval School of the Peruvian Navy.

The German Submarine Command on May 21, 1943 recognized that the U-176 did not respond to an order placed on May 16 to report his position. According to an intercepted message by US Navy, a submarine attack was sighted on May 15 in a location near cuban north coast, so the German Submarine Command acept the fact that the U-176 could have been destroyed in this attack and should be considered lost.

The Korvettenkapitänt, Reiner Dierksen, commander in chief of that submarine, was recognized with the German Gold Cross after death.

Fig 4. *Reiner Dierksen the commander of the German submarine U-176 sunk in Cuban waters (https://www.thecubanhistory.com)*

In 1997, the son of the Commander of U-176 wrote a letter to the Office of the City Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler, inquiring if U-176 had been recovered. That letter was transferred to Cuban Navy Vice-Admiral but was never answered; at least no public records are kept or news regarding an answer to that letter have been found.

By the year 2005 a project supported by the “Association for Research and Dissemination of the Naval History of Cuba” launched an extensive research trying to find the exact location of the wreck of the U-176. The project was actively supported by people with personal interest in the finding of the exact location like Mr. Alfred Eick former Commander of U-510 and former 1st. U-176 Officer, Oswald Kulik former Head of Communications for the “Aviso Grille” (Adolf Hitler's personal yacht) and Oswald Dankward Merdert, nephew of U-176 Engineer Officer Hartwig Freiherr von MaltzanKulik, however Cuban government did not respond to several collaboration requests made by the association while was looking for appropriate permissions and trying to raise funds to carry out the task of locate the wreck.

It is curious that the suposed place where the remains of the U-176 rest has not been declared as a War Grave by Cuban government, hence you can dive freely in the place, however to explore such a deep place (800-900 mts deep) in search for the wreck, the explorer will need to use a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) with deep-sea video equipment which only companies and institutions can afford and use, and to use them to explore, it is needed a permission from the Cuban government who has totally disengaged from the matter maybe because the achievement of the sinking belong to the Republican Navy (before the triumph of Cuban Revolution in 1959) and not to the Revolutionary Navy(after 1959).

Fig 5. *23.21N, 80.18W....the position where U-176 was sunk by deep charges launched from a cuban submarine chaser in 1943. (https://uboat.net)*

Officially at the beginning of the year 2000 was stated that an international joint exploration looking for Spanish galleons accidentally discovered the wreck of U-176 and even international press released some articles telling the story of a Chilean diver who, participating in an international diving competition, saw the remains of this Nazi submarine: all news were later denied by official means of the Republic of Cuba.

The truth is that officially has not been received a formal petition from the German government regarding this wreck. There has been many associations, universities and even TV channels interested in the history, willing to finance and conduct a deep research on this matter but at the end the support of Cuban government is vital and it has not been granted at all....the final destiny of U-176 is not yet known exactly, maybe one day it will be known.

Final thougths...by now

The history of German submarines operating in the Caribbean Sea is quite interesting and very attractive not only for historians but for TV channels, conspiracy theories enthusiats, Universities and even for bounty hunters who always see in those wrecks the opportunity to find something valuable.

The history of the death match between CS-13 and U-176 is as incredible as true and has, without any doubt, a halo of mystery covering those past events back in dark days of War War II especially because of refusal of the Cuban government to take any type of action by giving permission or collaborating in the joint effors trying to locate the wreck. Until then this history will continue to amaze us day by day and perhaps, by the time the wreck is located, the halo of mystery has faded a little, bringing some light to those souls that still lie unidentified at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.

If you are an enthusiast of historical photograph and amazing discoveries do not forget to follow me at https://coil.com/u/deyner1984 because i will be releasing soon new and impressive contents about it!!!

...and if you valuate our work and want to support good and amazing content exclusively for you, do not forget to get a Coil subscription...it is a small fee to get great content for you and learn a lot!!!

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Want to know about some curious facts involving both personnel and machinery protagonists of these events?

The longest pursuit of submarine warfare, a stuck in the deep charges launch lane that could changed this history and a sailor from CS-13 entering the history books for the second time....

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Like a storyteller, dealing with some cuban unique facts is something i like to promote to the world. Perhaps you may have already readed my article about how's to live in an embargoed country and by this moment you should be aware that cubans are inventive people and always laughing from difficulties.

There are a couple of sayings that i think unequivocally identify what it is to be an average Cuban:

Cubans think well but think late.

...and

Only the cubans laughs at their own misfortunes

Maybe you, dear reader, think that both sayings are a joke, but it happens that both phrases are true. Fortunately for me, as a cuban, i have the second skill, but i like to think i am over the average referencing to the first one **:)**

No matter what if you are under or over the average tier, it is a proven fact the inventiveness of all cubans in times of crisis. Everyone can create something, that´s for sure and there have always been times of crisis for people, places or even entire countries but in the cuban case, the combination of bad moments with creative minds have given birth to some funny and bizarre creations, completely usable though.

Cubans have developed some particular recycling techniques throughout the years, where they try to seize everything, trying to see some utility degree in almost any imaginable thing. As i said before, you can create something amazing using some recycling technique and your brain; but what about the degree of aceptance, expansion and popularity your invention could reach? In Cuba, almost everything is recyclable and when one person finds some utility for something, in matter of hours or days his discoveries went viral :)

So, as a recap, living under an economical embargo for more than 60 years has forced cubans to improvise and find new, creative ways to solve everyday problems. Let´s see then some examples showing the inventiveness of cuban people and some “famous among the foreigners” Cuba´s zero waste recycling techniques :o

❶ Recycling baby diapers

In Cuba almost all products for babies are sold in the “hard” currency the country has, called Cuban Convertible. In the case of baby disposable diapers, one package containing between 30-35 of those diapers can cost half an average salary so there is no such a thing like “disposable diapers” here. Once used, those that can be recycled(those ones not pooped :) ) are opened at one end and extracted all the content and then, they are washed and hung so the sun can dry the external material of diapers completely. Then, is usual for women to refill the diaper with some kind of absorbent fabric or cotton. The diaper is not so absorbent like when it was new, but at least the mother of the baby can take a break of washing pissed clothes. :p

Fig 1. Disposable diapers emptied, washed and out for dry. Soon will be refilled with cotton and will go back again to be completely usable.(https://www.escapingny.com)

Ahh!... it is usual in Cuba to use rehusable diapers made from some absorbent fabric, like those ones made of gauze(the fabric used in hospitals to bandage). This gauze is bent in such a way it mimics the real diapers, so baby can fit comfortably.

❷ Need glasses... sawed-off rum bottles!

If we think about it, the bottom part of most of the bottles seems to mimic perfectly the silhouette of a common and simple glass. That´s why in Cuba some small bussiness, like some snack and beverage retail outlets, cut the upper part of used bottles and turn the bottom part into “glasses”. Those glasses are a common thing in places like retail outlets selling sugar cane juice.

Fig 2. “Glasses” made from cut off rum bottles, preserving only the bottom part of the bottle. In the photo, a retail outlet selling sugar cane juice (https://www.cubanos.guru/)

We must say that restaurants and bigger bussiness do not use those craft glasses: those are only used in small bussiness which cannot afford to buy expensive original glasses(because they´re expensive) to sell drinks or soft drinks...and those glasses are used in almost every small retail outlet selling soft drinks and typical candies known in Cuba as “timbirichis” :)

❸ Now you have glasses, but i need a funnel...sawed-off plastic bottles.

The same that happens with rum bottles recycling techniques passes with plastic bottles, but in this case the usable part is the upper side of the cutted off plastic bottle. The upper side is similar to a funnel and when you do not have an original funnel at hand you can always make one cutting off one plastic bottle and seizing the upper part as a crafted funnel.

Fig 3. A crafted funnel made from the upper part of a plastic bottle, commonly used in Cuba when people do not have an original funnel at hand or they have one, but do not want to spoil the only one available transferring liquids like oil from one vessel to another one (https://www.thriftyfun.com)

Also you can seize the bottom part of two plastic bottles to make a homemade “Tupperware” to carry some kind of foods to the beach or to store homemade coconut candy and refrigerate it...is quite simple to do this and commonly used in some parts of the country.

Fig 4. Homemade “Tupperware” made from two cutted off parts of plastic bottles (https://www.escapingny.com/)

❹ Old beer cans double as flan baking tins

...yes, as you hear it! Cubans are quite good with a couple of scissors and something to cut :)

Given the lack of bakeware in the market and those appearing being quite expensive, cubans have managed to take advantage of old beer and soft drink cans to make their own flan baking tins...By cutting off the can by the middle, people here are able to seize the bottom part as small flan baking tins where they drop the baking mix. Curiously the flan piece adopts the same form than the container presenting a cavity in the upper part that is usually filled with jams or mixtures of flavors such as strawberry, orange or even coconut or chocolate candy....delicious!!! :p

Fig 5. Typical cuban flan baked in the bottom part of a cutted off beer can (https://www.baconismagic.ca)

This curious baking pan can also be used as a freezing container if cubans want to make some delicious homemade ice cream. The only difference is that they drop into the container the homemade mix for the ice cream instead of the baking mix and the final combination goes directly to the freezer instead of the oven: what you know as ice-cream balls we know it as ice-cream cans, in home environment, of course :)

Fig 6. ...the container with homemade ice cream mix goes directly to the freezer.(https://www.escapingny.com)

❺ Other examples...we have so many!!

We have many many examples of clever recycling techniques used day after day by common people living in Cuba. Writing a blog post describing each one will take me weeks even! So i want only to mention some of them appart from those i mentioned above...just to you, dear reader, have an idea :)

✔ Chocolate candies are sold in old yogurt packaging that has been cleaned, commonly used in the eastern part of Cuba

Fig 7. ...recycling old yogurt bags as candies packaging. (https://www.escapingny.com)

✔ Disposable lighters are recycled filling them with new gas

...you can check the history here

✔ Worn out toothpaste tubes, glass jars and empty fluorescent lamps tubes are used to make lamps during hurricanes, when power is often missing.

Fig 8. Lamps made from household items like glass jars and empty toothpaste tubes. (https://www.pbs.org)

✔ When the toothbrushes are really VERY worn, they find its application for shoes. Not only for cleaning, but also for pasting. **:)**

✔ *Metal meal trays are repurposed as television antennas...*WTF!?

Fig 9. Metal meal trays are visible on rooftops across Cuba and no, rooftops don´t eat, the trays are uses as antennas. (https://www.pbs.org)

Final thougths...by now

As you can see dear reader, living under an economical and financial embargo has forced cubans to “reinvent the wheel”. We are used to throwing away unnecessary things, but cubans, given the economic situation they are going through, have been forced to be creatives and create recycling techniques that help not only cubans to bypass the disastrous economical effects of the embargo but help the environment too, so our children can grow up in a more clean and healthy country...and they gonna grow being creatives too; as the old saying goes: like father like son! :)

If you are an enthusiast of historical photograph and amazing discoveries do not forget to follow me at https://coil.com/u/deyner1984 because i will be releasing soon new and impressive contents about it!!!

...and if you valuate our work and want to support good and amazing content exclusively for you, do not forget to get a Coil subscription...it is a small fee to get great content for you and learn a lot!!!

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Condoms...condoms and more condoms!! The many uses of condoms in Cuba and an invention that will blow your mind! **:o**

Cuba...a rare country for some people, an exquisite delight for others...The biggest island in the middle of Caribbean Sea, with a lot of beautiful beaches, warm people, excellent climate and with hundreds of years of, sometimes, misunderstood history...i call it: HOME.

My country was one of the first ones visited by early european conquerors back in 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered it for the rest of the world:

This is the most beautiful land human eyes have ever seen!!!

...was the first phrase the Admiral of the Spanish Crown mentioned referencing to the lush vegetation, beautiful beaches and wonderful atmosphere he found when he touch, for the very first time, cuban shores.

And, not for being my home, but Cuba is a beautiful country indeed. Has changed with the pass of the years, as everything in the world changes as time passes, but that special touch, that special smell of being the very first one into impress outsiders have remained with the pass of the centuries. We´re more now as a result of a mix of spanish, african, arab, native and chinese people and we have less vegetation indeed, but Cuba still impress people coming here from all over the world.

With this series of articles dedicated to my homeland i wanna let you know my country´s history through the #vintage glass of photographers from different times who have had the honorable task of recording in a silver plate or photographic paper the wonders of this rare but beautiful island.

The photography in Cuba.

This series of articles are not intended to cover the history of the photography in Cuba but to cover the history of Cuba in old, rare and sometimes unknown vintage photographs.

But, as an article, would not been complete without a little and quick review of the history of cuban photograph...so here we go:

Photography came to Cuba back in the 1800´s century as an “imported article” from motherland Spain. Esteban Arteaga is the very first cuban photographer from wich there is some kind of official record and we found him publishing in “El Diario de la Marina”(one of the very first newspapers published in Cuba) the news of the opening of his own photographic studio in 1844, wich working object could not be other than daguerreotypes, first for interiors and studio photographs and later, for landscapes and more artistic ones.

From 1860 to 1900 photography process in Cuba takes the path of “reports photography” due to the high interest of people into seeing what was happening in cuban fields because of three wars fighted between Cuban Rebels and Spanish Army(1868-1878, 1879-1880, 1895-1989) and finally the Cuban-American-Spanish War.

From 1900 to 1940 photography in Cuba develops at huge steps: big photographic studios are built and in 1939 came into scene the first Cuban Photographic Club trying to gather the most prominent cuban photographers of that time.

Starting 1959 there is a change in whole life aspects for every cuban citizen: the war started in 1956 is over and Cuban Rebel Forces have defeated National Army...Cuban Revolution leaded by Fidel Castro begin it´s journey for history and photography will be there too to capture iconic moments of Revolutionary Leaders like Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara....years later the first color photos are already a reality in this country.

...from 1840 when Esteban Arteaga opens the first cuban photographic studio to the present days, cuban photographers have made a tremendous and laborious task capturing thru the lens the whole process of born and raise of cuban nationality...they still do...

Three iconic photos you should not miss!

As a warm start for my series of articles i propose you, dear reader, three iconic photos from two different moments of cuban history: two from the colonial era and one from the revolutionary years...ENJOY!!!

❶ “Cuba Libre!”

...or how America´s friendship with Cuba helped heal the scars of the Civil War...

Fig 1. “Cuba Libre”...the start of a beautiful friendship?

This photo was taken in 1898 mainly as propaganda for American-Spanish War. It was not a photo taken in Cuba as many people believe. It was taken in St. Louis City in a photo studio owned by photographer Fitz W. Guerin.

Published in America’s Yesterdays, p. 247, this photo became iconic over the years. By the time this photo was taken american society still have open wounds because of Civil War. Having a common enemy helped America recover from the negative effects Civil War had over social status, with Northeners and Southerners, White and African-Americans uniting to fight the Spanish. This conciliatory effect was promoted by photographs like this.

The iconic photo depicts two battle-hardened soldiers – one in Confederate grey, the other in Union blue – shaking hands. Between them, an angelic child, wearing a crown inscribed with “CUBA”, triumphantly presents her broken shackles. The scene celebrates America’s role in freeing Cuba from Spanish rule in 1898.

❷

Fig 2. USS Maine entering Havana Bay, January 1898

As tensions and severity of Spanish-Cuban War were rising US goverment decides to sent to Havana the USS Maine with the excuse to “preserve the life of US citizens visiting or residing in Cuba”. By January 1898 USS Maine makes its entrance to Havana with more than 300 officers and sailors.

At 9:40pm on February 15, 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Bay, killing 268 men and shocking the American populace. Of the two-thirds of the crew who perished, only 200 bodies were recovered and 76 identified.

The sinking of the Maine was a climax in pre-war tension between the United States and Spain and cause the entrance of US Army into the Spanish-Cuban War.

The iconic photo you can see above was taken the very first day USS Maine entered Havana Bay by an unidentified photographer wich is supposed to be some photographer from some press agency of that time.

Fig 3. USS Maine after the explosion

❸ Ernesto “Che” Guevara Iconic Photo

Fig 4. Che Guevara iconic photo taken by Alberto Korda in 1960.

Perhaps the most known photo of this social and military leader. Who has not seen this photo before?

Born in Argentina, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, wich was his real name(“Che” was a nickname), became a symbol of social revolution everywhere, mainly due to this iconic photo taken in Cuba in 1960 by the photographer Alberto Korda.

It has became one of the most reproduced images ever, rivaling with several other iconic images like Marilyn Monroe with her skirts flyin or the US sailor's kissing a nurse on Victory over Japan Day . This photo went viral long before the advent of YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook. Korda’s Che has became the apostle of anticapitalism and the ultimate icon for peaceful social activists everywhere.

Perhaps the detail most people doesn't know is that picture is only a part of the real photo taken by Korda in 1960.

Fig 5. Real photograph of Che Guevara from which becomes the well-known image shown above.

The problem was that for advertising reasons it was necessary to cut it off...and and what a great cut, we must say!!!!

The cut off image(the most recognized part of the full picture) has been featured on almost every kind of media available: from posters to clothing, from miniatures to gigantographs and from flags to homemade ornaments, there has not been any media available has escaped the printing of this image over.

Final thoughts...by now...

This is the 1st part of a series of articles dedicated to my home country history. We will explore cuban's rich history through vintage photographs passing from Colony to Republic and then to Revolutionary era. We will showcase old and rare photograms and will research carefully on the history behind. Whenever is possible, we will try to give information about the photographer and the circumstances the photo was made.

Many more series regarding vintage photos who inmortalized weird and amazing things and their photographers are coming...just follow me to ensure don't miss even one of the articles that will be published.

So if you are an enthusiast of historical photograph and amazing discoveries do not forget to follow me at https://coil.com/u/deyner1984 because i will be releasing soon new and impressive contents about it!!!

...and if you valuate our work and want to support good and amazing content exclusively for you, do not forget to get a Coil subscription....it is a small fee to get great content for you and learn a lot!!!

Photos were taken from:

* Wikimedia Commons

* https://1843magazine.com

* US Library of Congress

A gift for Coil subscribed users!!!

After a lot of research i found on the Internet this awesome motion picture filmed in 1898 by an Edison Manufacturing Co. cameraman named William C. Paley commisioned to film the U.S. war effort against Spain in Cuba.

The short film shows the wreck of the battleship “Maine” in Havana surrounded by wrecking boats and other vessels.

...so far this is the only film existing from the wreck of the Maine other resources are just photographs.....enjoy seeing an authentic rare piece of historic short film!