I wouldn't say it is impossible, but it strikes me as unlikely (Though do keep in mind that I am nothing but a guy with an above average interest in history; I'm mostly throwing out my thoughts here to have them vetted by those more knowledgeable than I!)

a) To listen to the radio, the German sub would've needed to keep an aerial above water; this would create a wake which could've been observed, with obvious consequences for the sub. I doubt a commander would have taken that risk.

b) I also doubt he'd risk surfacing near a foe armed to the teeth so shortly after cessation of hostilities - what if the battleship hadn't been notified yet? Or, just as bad - if they had, but assumed the sub hadn't been, and acted accordingly, just to be safe?

c) Further, in the last days of the war, Dönitz (head of the Kriegsmarine) ordered all vessels scuttled, rather than having them fall in enemy hands. I have no idea how many submarines were still operational and on patrol come V-E Day, but presumably most would have been scuttled or headed for South America by then.

So, while I find it unlikely, I wouldn't rule it out, and would love to know more about the incident.

"ordered all vessels scuttled, rather than having them fall in enemy hands"

The Cruel Sea ends with a corvette passing some tied up U-boats - given that Nicholas Monsarrat served in corvettes (as described the in Three Corvettes) I don't think he'd have got that detail wrong.

They where scuttled in the harbour I believe

> presumably most would have been scuttled or headed for South America by then.

My presumption (and I don't know, I'm guessing) would be that most uboat crews would want to go home and would surrender to the (preferably non-Russian) forces.

South America might be an option if you've been a war criminal (think: concentration camp commandant), but I'd imagine not so much if you're a regular German soldier.

Just that - if you were a bona fide war criminal, you'd like to disappear yourself from Europe - but you'd need some assistance in doing so. U-530 and U-977 ended up in Argentina after the war, for instance - who came with them is still disputed. (That being said, I don't buy into the 'Hitler escaped to Argentina in a submarine!' idea - but that some of his henchmen might have? Absolutely.)

a) True, but most uboats needed air anyway. They were viewable by air. (Sure there was a snorkel [1] but they couldn't endure hours using it).

b) "I also doubt he'd risk surfacing near a foe armed to the teeth so shortly after cessation of hostilities"

Ok. This. I would say, yes, they would risk it on the German side. Germans were known to run to American troops for safety. The 'bad war' wasn't between the US and the Germans. The Germans weren't dumb they knew if they surrendered to the US they would have international rights and be treated like POWs.

c) Sure. But that left each vessel to their own devices. I would imagine many surrendering to the US (but still have arms on board).

"I have no idea how many submarines were still operational and on patrol come V-E Day"

I would say not many. Many due to gasoline restrictions. Being a Uboat wasn't hard, it was being an axis allied gasoline tanker that was hard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_snorkel

Being on a Uboat (or any sub for that matter) must have been absolute horror. I think das boot (the uncut version) does a good job of conveying the insane boredom and long days or months with no communication with the outside world.

Also, the fact that your home also has an insane chance of being your coffin..

Chicago’s Museum Of Science and Industry has a Uboat on exhibit. The first uboat captured by allies during WWII in fact. I went inside it and yeah, it’s pretty depressing. :)

Similarly, the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX has a Japanese midget submarine that was part of the Pearl Harbor attack. It's astounding how small it is -- if my memory serves me correctly, I wouldn't have been able to stand up in it.

Edit: here it is: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/DS...

kinda cool! would love to visit suchs a thing sometime, sadly going to the states is a bit of a large expense to see a uboat..

You can find the occasional showpiece U-boat several other places -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_submarine_museums

a) While they needed the snorkel if they were to run at any speed submerged (as it enabled the use of the main, diesel propulsion plant), sneaking up on the enemy was often done on batteries (slow; limited duration; no trace on the surface) - but if you were following (as opposed to lurking in front of) a surface ship, you'd definitely have to run on diesels.

The downside to this, of course, being that you'd announce your presence to any competent lookout on the ship you were following.

b) If I was German, I'd definitely prefer to surrender to a western power; I do think it may have been a bit rash to announce my presence in such a spectacular fashion with all the risk that entails, when I could as well have slipped a couple of miles away, surfaced, draped some table linen from the conning tower and radioed my intent to surrender and request instructions; much better than getting rammed or blasted out of the water for my trouble.

c) Three out of four U-boat crewmen got killed during the war, so it could be argued that being on a U-boat had its own risks - besides, this late in the war, the tankers would hardly have had any fuel to ship anyway - the Germans lost their oilfields (primarily in Ploesti, Romania and Maikop, Russia) prior to the endgame and largely relied on synthetic fuels, available in limited quantities.

That being said, I agree with your assessment that the U-boat force had ceased to be a serious threat way before the spring of 1945 - fuel shortages definitely being a major factor.

> but presumably most would have been scuttled or headed for South America by then

I saw a programme a couple of years ago about a port in Northern Ireland which had quite a few U boats moored after the war.

There is a picture here from Lisahally https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205160207

There were also over 30 which surrendered in Loch Eriboll, Sutherland. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/7479898/Mas...