Grand Central Station in New York City is a city unto
itself. It is larger than an aircraft carrier. It has its own system of electricity
and steam to power itself with. But the most important generators of all were
housed 10 stories below street level to save the cost of the land which would
have been required. These dynamos are the ones which power all of New York’s
vast subway system.
When World War Two rolled around this “cheap skate” move
took on a new significance, as the Nazi’s did actually plot to destroy the dynamos,
using of all things, sand! This short film tells the meat of the story in only a
few minutes time. It’s worth watching. They actually landed in New York by U-boat and were caught just as they were about to execute their plan.
I was raised on stories of the blackouts in New York during
the war years. My mother and father spoke often about the U-boats 10 miles off
shore at Coney Island, and the oil slicks from sunken merchant vessels washing
ashore at Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Even the superintendent of our apartment
building was an ex German POW. He had served out his time in the war working on
a farm in North Carolina. After the war he sent for his wife; Katje; and they
came to New York shortly after the war ended.
For more about this story see the following link. It was
provided to me by an old shipmate who prefers to remain anonymous;
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