“It is a Brazilian old crate and will turn away”

structural conditions and decision-making process in the sinking of submarine U-513

Abstract

The article refers to the case study of the sinking of the U-513 by an American Mariner seaplane of the aviation group VP-74 on 7/19/1943. The documentation of that unit deposited with the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA II) in Maryland (USA) was consulted, as well as documents from other US Navy organizations available in digital repositories, allowing to shed new light on how, in a context each increasingly hostile, German submarine commanders expected to inflict losses on the Allies, while striving to avoid being destroyed. Based on the information gathered, we can understand the assumptions that guided the submarine's last combat action, as well as the options it chose at the critical moment when it was attacked and sunk by an enemy aircraft.