Eli5: Why did early Military/Naval submarines have deck guns?
In: 2
Now that you have a better understanding of submarines, it’s time for a story from WWII; the tale of [U-123](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-123_(1940)) and a German [Submarine Captain](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Hardegen) who was welcomed in the United States decades after the war.
The submarine was on its eighth patrol, stalking off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, targeting shipping on 11 April 1942.
>>From Wikipedia:
After hitting [the tanker, SS Gulfamerica] with a torpedo, Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Reinhard Hardegen closed in for the kill with his deck gun. Noting the already large crowds gathering on the beach to watch the spectacle, as well as all the beach houses just beyond the Gulfamerica, Hardegen decided to manoeuver around the tanker and attack from the land side. **The move was quite hazardous, as the U-boat was clearly illuminated to any onshore weapons, and the shallow waters forced it to take up station only 250 metres (820 ft) from the tanker, which risked return fire from the tanker as well as getting caught in a blaze if the oil spilling out caught fire.** The highways leading from Jacksonville were soon thronged with curious people trying to get to the beach to look at the spectacle. After firing for some time with the deck gun, the tanker was ablaze and Hardegen decided to leave. Already planes were overhead trying to locate the submarine with parachute flares, while a destroyer and several smaller patrol boats were closing in.
>>Hardegen survived the war, and returned to Jacksonville in 1990, where he was received as an honoured guest. He would say of the occasion that “The town was very friendly to me.”
Eli5: Why did early Military/Naval submarines have deck guns?
In: 2
Now that you have a better understanding of submarines, it’s time for a story from WWII; the tale of [U-123](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-123_(1940)) and a German [Submarine Captain](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Hardegen) who was welcomed in the United States decades after the war.
The submarine was on its eighth patrol, stalking off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, targeting shipping on 11 April 1942.
>>From Wikipedia:
After hitting [the tanker, SS Gulfamerica] with a torpedo, Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Reinhard Hardegen closed in for the kill with his deck gun. Noting the already large crowds gathering on the beach to watch the spectacle, as well as all the beach houses just beyond the Gulfamerica, Hardegen decided to manoeuver around the tanker and attack from the land side. **The move was quite hazardous, as the U-boat was clearly illuminated to any onshore weapons, and the shallow waters forced it to take up station only 250 metres (820 ft) from the tanker, which risked return fire from the tanker as well as getting caught in a blaze if the oil spilling out caught fire.** The highways leading from Jacksonville were soon thronged with curious people trying to get to the beach to look at the spectacle. After firing for some time with the deck gun, the tanker was ablaze and Hardegen decided to leave. Already planes were overhead trying to locate the submarine with parachute flares, while a destroyer and several smaller patrol boats were closing in.
>>Hardegen survived the war, and returned to Jacksonville in 1990, where he was received as an honoured guest. He would say of the occasion that “The town was very friendly to me.”
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