[renthehen]

Originally Posted by Hambone307

Been several moths since I last played. Figured my failed patrol would make for a good read. I was once told that "there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but no old and bold pilots." I guess that applies to captains of a Uboot. I wish I kept a better log of how this patrol went. Will attempt to provide a decent story from memory.

Journal entry recovered from floating debris by local fishing trawler.

Aug. 13, 1943 0800hrs.

Typ-VIIC U-128 Patrolling outside Gibralter straits.

Personal Journal of KptLt. Walter Heinz.

We left Lorient a week ago to patrol west of Gibralter. Our journey to the grid was uneventful. The crew's spirits were high and everyone hoped for continuing good fortunes. If we can sink another 10,000 tons, we will win the wager back at base. I hope Albert Dietz and his old VIIB have a dry run on his patrol!

Aug 14, 1943 1900hrs.
We spotted several fishing boats and a small, coastal merchant yesterday. We were unable to attack due to the foul weather. Report was made to BDU and we continued our patrol. The weather is rapidly improving. It appears good fortunes are in our favor!

Aug 15, 1943 1000Hrs.
Today, we have set up approximately 3km north of the shipping lane. Due to our proximity to the port, air cover has been heavy during the day. The crew has expressed some concerns with the shallow water and our extended time on surface at night to replenish batteries and air. So far we have remained undetected and my command staff are in agreement that we should move further west for deep water.

2000hrs.
The hunt has been bad today. We identified a small convoy moving toward the strait. Two small merchants escorted by a pair of Black Swan class destroyers. While setting up for a shot, our periscope was spotted and strafed by a plane. No damage was sustained during the initial attack on our boat, but one of the destroyers chased us out to deep water and dropped around 50 depth charges. Several detonated in close proximity to our boat, damaging one of the seals on our drive shaft and knocking one generator loose of its mounts. He circled above us for several hours before returning to his friends. We will surface in a few hours and assess for more damage.

Aug 16, 1943 0245hrs.

The damage to our boat was moderate. The charges we took buckled some of the plates on the conning tower. Deck boards were also blown loose. Radio mast was damaged but we have been able to get it more or less operational. Hull integrity seems to be intact. One crew member suffered a broken arm. Our generator is being secured as I write this and the drive shaft seal has been repaired to the best of our ability. It is good fortune we have such competent mechanics on board. We have sent a transmission to Bdu advising them of our damage.

0400hrs.
Bdu has responded. I have been advised that there are reports of a large convoy approaching. We have been cleared to operate at our discretion.

0630hrs.
Dawn is approaching. Our doctor has splinted the arm of our injured crew member and he is able to assist our doctor. I have decided to set up south of the merchant routes. We have set course back towards the coast. I hope to stay near the Atlantic shelf and have deep water to escape to in case of another air attack.

1900hrs.
I should have listened to my officers. They wanted to dive shortly after I wrote my last entry. I refused to pull the plug. I had all hopes that we would be able to make it to our desired position without incident. Right as we arrived and prepared for dive, we were spotted and attacked by a Liberator. We made it to 25m when two depth charges detonated on either side of the hull. We began to take on water instantly. Multiple injuries were reported and my XO was knocked unconscious. Damage crews instantly began to repair our leaks. We were able to continue toward shallow water on one motor with a 15 degree up angle. Once we were in waters 50m deep, I ordered our boat to sit on the sea bed.

Flooding was under control and our damaged systems were being repaired. I was advised that both diesels were damaged, two of our torpedo tubes were leaking water and were inoperable, one of our battery banks was rendered useless. Our aft dive planes are damaged and difficult to move. Our bilge pumps have been repaired and we are slowly getting the water out of our boat. Our sonar man is currently attempting to repair the hydrophone.

While we worked on repairs, my sonarman got the hydrophone working. He called out screws closing fast. Those damn planes called in the convoy escorts. I must get back to the control room. I pray that we survive today.


U-128 failed to report in on Aug 17, 1943. British escorts reported that a pair of Liberator bombers spotted a German U boat on the surface near shallow waters and attacked with depth charges. Liberators lost sight of the German submarine and notified the nearby convoy escorts. The escorts were able to detect the submarine with passive sonar. It was assumed that the submarine was damaged and performing repairs when it was detected. The sonar operators on the British escort recounted that they heard what sounded like "hammers on metal". Active sonar was used at close range and the submarine was located near the sea floor in 50m waters. Three escorts performed multiple passes with depth charges and hedgehog ASW weaponry. After several hours had passed, the remaining escort reported debris and fuel oil in the water. The submarine was declared destroyed with all hands.

Nice report! Sorry for your loss though - onto the next one!