USS Omaha (CL-4)-- Part 5: Rescuing the Sailors from the U-177

This was quite the busy ship.

The Omaha was again on patrol with the USS Memphis (CL-13) and USS Jouett (DD-396) on 6 February 1944 when the ships were given orders to be on the lookout for  the survivors of a U-boat which had been sunk earlier that day.  A yellow life raft was later spotted by lookouts on the Omaha and proved to be those survivors of the U-177 which had been sunk by a Consolidate PB4Y-1 Liberator.  

The U-177 had been sitting on the water with some of its crew sunning and swimming.  Their commanding officer and fifty other crewmembers had gone down with the ship.  The 15 prisoners were sent to sickbay for treatment of shock and exposure and supplied fresh clothing.

Until the Omaha put into Bahia on 15 February, the Germans were put under guard on the ship.

On 4 July 1944, the Omaha got underway for the European Theater of operations.

--GreGen