SMGP-1443 Zenon Lukosius signature, USN U-505 salvager

A tough signature to come by! This one is well executed in gold marker on an American Souvenir shop U-505 Postcard.

Zenon B. Lukosius (August 24, 1918 – August 12, 2006) was an American World War II veteran who was a member of the U.S. Navy crew that captured the German submarine U-505, in 1944. This was the first time that the US Navy had captured an enemy ship since the nineteenth century. More importantly the Americans captured a code book that enabled Allied forces to more frequently pinpoint other German vessels.

On June 4, 1944, Lukosius and eight other men were assigned to Task Group 22.3, which was to board and secure the U-505 submarine. Six of the nine men sent, including Lukosius, survived.^[4]

When the crew descended to capture the submarine, fleeing German crew members had opened a valve in the control room in an attempt to sink the boat before the Americans could salvage it. It was suspected to contain booby-traps that might scuttle it or impede its capture. There were however, no such traps and the Americans managed to close the valve that was allowing water to enter.^[2][4] This was the first time that the U.S. Navy had captured an enemy ship, since the nineteenth century. More importantly, the Americans found a code book which filled a gap in Allied cryptographers’ understanding of German communications: a special code for geographic positions.^[5]

For the successful capture of the submarine, Lukosius received the Silver Star