TomcatMVD
02-15-08, 01:01 PM
When once someone asked me why I wanted to become a submarine commander, I answered that my soul had always felt attached to the sea, and that I wouldn’t be comfortable with any other assignment. When that very same person said that the sea was nothing else but the playground of those who weren’t brave enough to face the enemy at land, I decided that I would live to see a day as today.
Our boat, U-47, departed from Brest on the 19th of October, heading towards grid AM23, on our second patrol since we had been transferred from Whillelmshaven.
51 good sailors and I, their Captain, put our souls at the will of the seas, for a twelfth time, and for a twelfth time, we were confident on the nobleness of our rusty boat.
I was watching some of my younger men letting loose the ropes that had retained our type VIIC for almost one month, when the Captain of a small freighter vessel docked a couple of hours ago suddenly spoke, he might have been there looking down at us from the pier for several minutes, but it wasn’t until he opened his mouth that I realized about his presence: -“Every time I come here I wish to see one of these beauties!.. I couldn’t help it but walk down to have a peek, hope you don’t mind Herr Kaleun”
-“Not at all… come in, we still have some minutes if you’d like me to give a tour through our submergible home!”
The man wasn’t expecting such an invitation, I could see, and he politely took a last deep blow at his cigarette, tossed it and smashed it with his shoes, and came aboard U-47.
Since coming through the hatch into the conning tower, he looked like a child who has just found a bicycle with his name on it waiting for him. I swear that’s just what I thought at that time, and then I laughed, happy that someone would appreciate this lady just as much as her crew.
We walked the sub from one end to the other, and I tried to be as good a tourist guide as any, at the end, the man was so thankful that he saluted me with the crispest military salute I had ever seen.
-“Hope you have a good journey Herr Kaleun, there’s a fierce storm forming on the north... seems to be one of those ever-lasting punishments!”
I acknowledged his warning, and helped him climb back to the deck, just in time for us to start our patrol.
-“Ahead slow!”
-“Aye sir, ahead slow!”
I felt her engines come to life, making the hull vibrate with their low rumble… and I felt a shudder down my spine, she was alive again.
We cruised northwards on the surface until we reached a good spot to conduct depth testing maneuvers.
-“Ahead Flank! Set planes for normal dive.”
Each man started doing his little piece before even realizing their hands were moving, and I felt lucky to have such a crew on-board.
We were quickly below 70 meters, at which point I ordered ahead one third, until we hit the 160 meters depth.
-“Maintain depth Otto, and let her run for a while… let’s keep it silent and try to hear the hull talking alright?”
Otto Tothengagen looked at me and smiled, like he always did when I referred to our boat as a live creature. He has been my Chief Engineer since our first patrol, and had always performed beyond my expectations. If I ever felt like speaking my mind out, trying to hear some advises, I did it with him, and he always had something smart to say. I wonder why we never went out for a drink and man-to-man talk.
-“Herr Kaleun? We’ve been down here for ten minutes now.”
-“Excellent, thank you Otto. Take us to periscope depth please.
We were far from threatening waters, (although when on war there are no safe places to be) but having my crew see me surface the boat without a proper scanning of the ocean through the scope just wouldn’t do.
-“Down to 3 knots please.”
-“Aye.”
Nothing… nothing but an impressive, overwhelming grey mass dead ahead, eating the horizon. Fair enough, it did look like a never-ending punishment.
-“Surface the boat! Ahead one third.” I ordered, immediately feeling bad for the watch crew.
Our way to AM23 was hellish, to say the least. Rain poured down like it needed to fill the ocean again. I went out to the bridge several times, only to witness some of the greatest thunderstorms I had seen.
-“No wonder they didn’t call this one the Pacific!”
The watch crew on duty smiled (maybe just out of courtesy) without deviating an inch from their scan areas.
-“You’re a bunch of good sailors boys… I’m glad to have you all with me.”
I know it didn’t sound right, but I just felt like I had to let them know someone cared about them.
For some crazy reason, BdU had the idea that we needed to remain on station patrolling AM23, which at this point appeared like a water desert. We had nothing to do but curse the weather, do some drills and kill the time playing cards, taking the boat down every so often, so as to comply with the manuals.
-“Sir, we have a contact! Sounds like a merchant so far. Bearing 040, doing 6 knots or so.”
We plotted an interception course and hoped for a prey to hunt down.
It wasn’t until some 20 minutes had passed, that a watchman yelled: -“Ship spotted… Herr Kaleun…”
There was something on this boy’s tone of voice that made me feel uneasy, I climbed the ladder up to the bridge, and grabbed the binoculars from the already extended hand of one other watchman. A trawler… a goddamn trawler zigzagging as if she was a desirable target for anyone. I could see her captain was having a real bad time trying to keep her from succumbing to the terrible weather.
We dove, so as not to be spotted, and headed southwest.
We spent the first following 48 hours in the same conditions… and this patrol seemed to be condemned to oblivion.
-“Radio report sir! There’s an enemy convoy 80 kilometers south southwest from us, heading east, at about 6 knots, no escorts sighted!”
I guess I stood there for about 20 seconds, trying to assimilate the news… so, good old Britain had put to sea after all.
-“Ahead Flank! New course 135!” We were off to hunt once again.
We had been on a position ahead of the convoy’s estimated course for about two hours, when I saw the leading vessel’s smoke rise into the night. We were stopped, heading southwards at periscope depth, waiting for the ASW screening ships to appear. I wasn’t so fool as to buy that crap of “No escorts sighted”.
-“Karl talk to me!” I said to my hydrophone operator, -“Where are the warships?”
-“Sir, there’s none to be heard!”
He looked at me as if I was going to slap him with my cap.
-“You sure son?”
-“Seas are rough and that complicates matters sir... I… I just don’t hear any…”
-“Okay, stay sharp boy”
I started thinking about sending my radio guys back to training when I realized about it: the first ship on the convoy’s centerline, the one supposed to protect the others… was a cargo ship.
We remained in position until it sailed past us, so as to asses the situation. There were around 15 to 20 vessels, large cargoes in majority with some tankers and small freighters. We had already estimated their speed, which indeed was 6 knots as reported… but something just didn’t seem right...
Maybe because of the weather, or maybe because the shadowing boat had taken some action before we arrived; truth is that the convoy looked anything but in order. The ships were veering wildly from port to starboard and vice versa, and they seemed to miss each other barely by meters.
-“Flood tubes 1 and 5.”
I had already picked my targets, two C2 cargo ships that were going to pass in front, and astern of our boat. The torpedoes were set for a 5 meters depth, fast run, and impact pistols.
-“Tube one, fire!... tube 5, fire!”
The sound of the compressed air pushing the eels away filled the command room, and immediately thereafter I heard the torpedo rooms come to life with men reloading the tubes.
Not even a minute had passed when the first torpedo exploded, hitting the first C2 in the engines compartment section, leaving the vessel only with its momentum as propulsion. Just when I was assessing the damage to the first target, we heard a second detonation; the second cargo had just found what happens when you step on the course of a torpedo. I was swinging the scope around, just in time to see a small ship coming right at us from our 3 o’clock.
-“Ahead flank! DIVE!”
The look of surprise on Otto´s face didn’t prevent him from relaying the orders right on time. I started lowering the scope, looking the keel of the ship coming at us, and for some time a swear I started hearing the scratches between both metallic pieces before it actually happened; we could even hear her propellers above the sound of our roaring electric engines. I kept looking through the scope until I had to lower it all the way down, and I’m damned if there was space enough between it and the ship’s keel for a coin to fit in. We listened… looking upwards… the sound of the ship’s engines increasing rapidly… filling the room, until it started fading away. We were safe again.
It was decided at that point that the sea state was really bad for an attack from within the convoy, so we separated from it, and surfaced to regain an advantageous position. One of the targeted ships was dead still on the surface, while the other was sailing along with the rest of the convoy, lighting its way with an intense fire. I placed a mark on the map where the stationary C2 was, and started our chase.
It didn’t take us long to reach them again, it was still midnight. We started looking at the rows of ships trying to decide which the most valuable targets were, we felt like kids in a candy store. I targeted another C2, the leading one, with an impact torpedo that hit it right in the middle, breaking her hull in two. As the ships passed in front of us, we had time to hit another large cargo, and then went flank speed again to re-engage.
That we did… and this time, we sunk two medium tankers, breaking both of them in two, and setting the sea on fire. That’s when I placed my eyes on the already hit C2 that we had hurt on the first attack, and then I saw its precious load of tanks, sitting on its deck. There was no way I was going to let her run away!
We needed yet another run to position ourselves, after which we attacked the third and last tanker of the party, this time without worrying about being spotted, and when my most desired prey made an attempt to mask herself within the others, we dove to periscope depth, and started stalking her.
We were wolves hunting, we had tasted blood, and we wanted some more.
-“We are in a good position now, set an impact torpedo to 5 meters depth, angle is 100 degrees to starboard… flood tube 4!... FIRE!”
It was amazing to see the impressive load of battle tanks going down with the ship… tons of armored killing machines going down to the sea bottom, without ever having had the chance to kill a single German soldier. And it was then that I remembered my conversation with that man about the war at sea, and suddenly thought, that it had taken me a couple of hours to destroy more tanks than a soldier would ever dream about destroying in his entire career.
With the fog of war behind and our hunger satisfied, we set course to the marked spot on the map… that ship had a meeting with destiny… and we were bringing destiny on our tube 5.
A´right, is my first attempt at writing, and it might be crap... I know, but I sort of liked it.
It is based on my most succesful patrol so far (58056 tons)
Thanks for reading!
Our boat, U-47, departed from Brest on the 19th of October, heading towards grid AM23, on our second patrol since we had been transferred from Whillelmshaven.
51 good sailors and I, their Captain, put our souls at the will of the seas, for a twelfth time, and for a twelfth time, we were confident on the nobleness of our rusty boat.
I was watching some of my younger men letting loose the ropes that had retained our type VIIC for almost one month, when the Captain of a small freighter vessel docked a couple of hours ago suddenly spoke, he might have been there looking down at us from the pier for several minutes, but it wasn’t until he opened his mouth that I realized about his presence: -“Every time I come here I wish to see one of these beauties!.. I couldn’t help it but walk down to have a peek, hope you don’t mind Herr Kaleun”
-“Not at all… come in, we still have some minutes if you’d like me to give a tour through our submergible home!”
The man wasn’t expecting such an invitation, I could see, and he politely took a last deep blow at his cigarette, tossed it and smashed it with his shoes, and came aboard U-47.
Since coming through the hatch into the conning tower, he looked like a child who has just found a bicycle with his name on it waiting for him. I swear that’s just what I thought at that time, and then I laughed, happy that someone would appreciate this lady just as much as her crew.
We walked the sub from one end to the other, and I tried to be as good a tourist guide as any, at the end, the man was so thankful that he saluted me with the crispest military salute I had ever seen.
-“Hope you have a good journey Herr Kaleun, there’s a fierce storm forming on the north... seems to be one of those ever-lasting punishments!”
I acknowledged his warning, and helped him climb back to the deck, just in time for us to start our patrol.
-“Ahead slow!”
-“Aye sir, ahead slow!”
I felt her engines come to life, making the hull vibrate with their low rumble… and I felt a shudder down my spine, she was alive again.
We cruised northwards on the surface until we reached a good spot to conduct depth testing maneuvers.
-“Ahead Flank! Set planes for normal dive.”
Each man started doing his little piece before even realizing their hands were moving, and I felt lucky to have such a crew on-board.
We were quickly below 70 meters, at which point I ordered ahead one third, until we hit the 160 meters depth.
-“Maintain depth Otto, and let her run for a while… let’s keep it silent and try to hear the hull talking alright?”
Otto Tothengagen looked at me and smiled, like he always did when I referred to our boat as a live creature. He has been my Chief Engineer since our first patrol, and had always performed beyond my expectations. If I ever felt like speaking my mind out, trying to hear some advises, I did it with him, and he always had something smart to say. I wonder why we never went out for a drink and man-to-man talk.
-“Herr Kaleun? We’ve been down here for ten minutes now.”
-“Excellent, thank you Otto. Take us to periscope depth please.
We were far from threatening waters, (although when on war there are no safe places to be) but having my crew see me surface the boat without a proper scanning of the ocean through the scope just wouldn’t do.
-“Down to 3 knots please.”
-“Aye.”
Nothing… nothing but an impressive, overwhelming grey mass dead ahead, eating the horizon. Fair enough, it did look like a never-ending punishment.
-“Surface the boat! Ahead one third.” I ordered, immediately feeling bad for the watch crew.
Our way to AM23 was hellish, to say the least. Rain poured down like it needed to fill the ocean again. I went out to the bridge several times, only to witness some of the greatest thunderstorms I had seen.
-“No wonder they didn’t call this one the Pacific!”
The watch crew on duty smiled (maybe just out of courtesy) without deviating an inch from their scan areas.
-“You’re a bunch of good sailors boys… I’m glad to have you all with me.”
I know it didn’t sound right, but I just felt like I had to let them know someone cared about them.
For some crazy reason, BdU had the idea that we needed to remain on station patrolling AM23, which at this point appeared like a water desert. We had nothing to do but curse the weather, do some drills and kill the time playing cards, taking the boat down every so often, so as to comply with the manuals.
-“Sir, we have a contact! Sounds like a merchant so far. Bearing 040, doing 6 knots or so.”
We plotted an interception course and hoped for a prey to hunt down.
It wasn’t until some 20 minutes had passed, that a watchman yelled: -“Ship spotted… Herr Kaleun…”
There was something on this boy’s tone of voice that made me feel uneasy, I climbed the ladder up to the bridge, and grabbed the binoculars from the already extended hand of one other watchman. A trawler… a goddamn trawler zigzagging as if she was a desirable target for anyone. I could see her captain was having a real bad time trying to keep her from succumbing to the terrible weather.
We dove, so as not to be spotted, and headed southwest.
We spent the first following 48 hours in the same conditions… and this patrol seemed to be condemned to oblivion.
-“Radio report sir! There’s an enemy convoy 80 kilometers south southwest from us, heading east, at about 6 knots, no escorts sighted!”
I guess I stood there for about 20 seconds, trying to assimilate the news… so, good old Britain had put to sea after all.
-“Ahead Flank! New course 135!” We were off to hunt once again.
We had been on a position ahead of the convoy’s estimated course for about two hours, when I saw the leading vessel’s smoke rise into the night. We were stopped, heading southwards at periscope depth, waiting for the ASW screening ships to appear. I wasn’t so fool as to buy that crap of “No escorts sighted”.
-“Karl talk to me!” I said to my hydrophone operator, -“Where are the warships?”
-“Sir, there’s none to be heard!”
He looked at me as if I was going to slap him with my cap.
-“You sure son?”
-“Seas are rough and that complicates matters sir... I… I just don’t hear any…”
-“Okay, stay sharp boy”
I started thinking about sending my radio guys back to training when I realized about it: the first ship on the convoy’s centerline, the one supposed to protect the others… was a cargo ship.
We remained in position until it sailed past us, so as to asses the situation. There were around 15 to 20 vessels, large cargoes in majority with some tankers and small freighters. We had already estimated their speed, which indeed was 6 knots as reported… but something just didn’t seem right...
Maybe because of the weather, or maybe because the shadowing boat had taken some action before we arrived; truth is that the convoy looked anything but in order. The ships were veering wildly from port to starboard and vice versa, and they seemed to miss each other barely by meters.
-“Flood tubes 1 and 5.”
I had already picked my targets, two C2 cargo ships that were going to pass in front, and astern of our boat. The torpedoes were set for a 5 meters depth, fast run, and impact pistols.
-“Tube one, fire!... tube 5, fire!”
The sound of the compressed air pushing the eels away filled the command room, and immediately thereafter I heard the torpedo rooms come to life with men reloading the tubes.
Not even a minute had passed when the first torpedo exploded, hitting the first C2 in the engines compartment section, leaving the vessel only with its momentum as propulsion. Just when I was assessing the damage to the first target, we heard a second detonation; the second cargo had just found what happens when you step on the course of a torpedo. I was swinging the scope around, just in time to see a small ship coming right at us from our 3 o’clock.
-“Ahead flank! DIVE!”
The look of surprise on Otto´s face didn’t prevent him from relaying the orders right on time. I started lowering the scope, looking the keel of the ship coming at us, and for some time a swear I started hearing the scratches between both metallic pieces before it actually happened; we could even hear her propellers above the sound of our roaring electric engines. I kept looking through the scope until I had to lower it all the way down, and I’m damned if there was space enough between it and the ship’s keel for a coin to fit in. We listened… looking upwards… the sound of the ship’s engines increasing rapidly… filling the room, until it started fading away. We were safe again.
It was decided at that point that the sea state was really bad for an attack from within the convoy, so we separated from it, and surfaced to regain an advantageous position. One of the targeted ships was dead still on the surface, while the other was sailing along with the rest of the convoy, lighting its way with an intense fire. I placed a mark on the map where the stationary C2 was, and started our chase.
It didn’t take us long to reach them again, it was still midnight. We started looking at the rows of ships trying to decide which the most valuable targets were, we felt like kids in a candy store. I targeted another C2, the leading one, with an impact torpedo that hit it right in the middle, breaking her hull in two. As the ships passed in front of us, we had time to hit another large cargo, and then went flank speed again to re-engage.
That we did… and this time, we sunk two medium tankers, breaking both of them in two, and setting the sea on fire. That’s when I placed my eyes on the already hit C2 that we had hurt on the first attack, and then I saw its precious load of tanks, sitting on its deck. There was no way I was going to let her run away!
We needed yet another run to position ourselves, after which we attacked the third and last tanker of the party, this time without worrying about being spotted, and when my most desired prey made an attempt to mask herself within the others, we dove to periscope depth, and started stalking her.
We were wolves hunting, we had tasted blood, and we wanted some more.
-“We are in a good position now, set an impact torpedo to 5 meters depth, angle is 100 degrees to starboard… flood tube 4!... FIRE!”
It was amazing to see the impressive load of battle tanks going down with the ship… tons of armored killing machines going down to the sea bottom, without ever having had the chance to kill a single German soldier. And it was then that I remembered my conversation with that man about the war at sea, and suddenly thought, that it had taken me a couple of hours to destroy more tanks than a soldier would ever dream about destroying in his entire career.
With the fog of war behind and our hunger satisfied, we set course to the marked spot on the map… that ship had a meeting with destiny… and we were bringing destiny on our tube 5.
A´right, is my first attempt at writing, and it might be crap... I know, but I sort of liked it.
It is based on my most succesful patrol so far (58056 tons)
Thanks for reading!