Brag
05-07-08, 10:04 AM
14 Oktober 1939
Lt. Kalb writes:
On the warm night of 10 October, U-45 left its Wilhelmhaven slip with destination AN13 just west of the Fair Isle Passage. Enroute, we saw a Dutch merchant and experienced benign sailing conditions. Approaching Fair Isle, a stiff NW breeze kicked up lively seas. The sighting of a British destroyer forced us to dive and Balz cancelled choir practice. In the early afternoon we surfaced, but not for long. Another destroyer appeared.
At periscope depth we listened to three destroyers and a freighter. Pressing a headset against his ear Balz mumbled. "Ooh, you hoochie woochie, relative bearing steady at 003, ooh ah. You sweet shippie coming straight toward the great hero of the Kriegsmarine, oooh, I have a stiff present for you. This demonstrates the greatness of my calculations as to where we will find shipping."
A large freighter loomed out of the light haze and Balz positioned U-45 for a stern shot. Half an hour later, the great ship sunk after being struck by one torpedo. Balz was busy plotting the movements of the destroyers and another freighter. He tossed his pencil on the chart table. "Bastards, bastards, bastards. That ship is heading northeast, we'll never catch it submerged." After banging the table with his fist, he said. "This is a moment that requires the great Balz panache. Auftauchen. New heading 075. "
I gulped. We would be in sight of at least two destroyers once we surfaced.
The sun had already set when we manned the bridge. Astern, a destroyer headed south. Ahead, on a relative bearing of 330 and a distance of 4,000 meters, a large freighter steamed at about 6 knots. We couldn't see the other two destroyers.
The destroyer we had first spotted, vanished in the growing murk. We raced the freighter, got ahead of it, and dived. Apparently the British crew never saw us. After a four hundred meter run, a torpedo from tube one finished the merchant.
Balz read the message the Funker was about to send: U-45. AN1441, 2 ships sunk 21,000 BRT, remaining torpedoes 12. "This is junk. You write like a third class hack.."
"But this is standard, Herr Kaleun."
"Standard? Mediocre Kwatch! You are our communicator to the world. You must put your heart and soul into what you write--and don't forget to describe my greatness."
#
Our great commander held the floating leviathan in the periscope's crosshairs and ordered feur! The torpedo, a superior example of German engineering ran true and delivered a mortal wound. This was confirmed shortly after by the screeching of tortured Britsh metal and the wounded ship slipping below the hungry waves to find eternal peace in the arms of Poseidon. Then, our great commander, with panache . . .
Admiral Doenitz put down the message flimsy and asked Captain Eckelbach, "Are you sure this is not some sort of British provocation?"
"It's Balz, Herr Admiral. We must relieve him of his command and send him and his twirling sweepers to Warsaw."
Lt. Kalb writes:
On the warm night of 10 October, U-45 left its Wilhelmhaven slip with destination AN13 just west of the Fair Isle Passage. Enroute, we saw a Dutch merchant and experienced benign sailing conditions. Approaching Fair Isle, a stiff NW breeze kicked up lively seas. The sighting of a British destroyer forced us to dive and Balz cancelled choir practice. In the early afternoon we surfaced, but not for long. Another destroyer appeared.
At periscope depth we listened to three destroyers and a freighter. Pressing a headset against his ear Balz mumbled. "Ooh, you hoochie woochie, relative bearing steady at 003, ooh ah. You sweet shippie coming straight toward the great hero of the Kriegsmarine, oooh, I have a stiff present for you. This demonstrates the greatness of my calculations as to where we will find shipping."
A large freighter loomed out of the light haze and Balz positioned U-45 for a stern shot. Half an hour later, the great ship sunk after being struck by one torpedo. Balz was busy plotting the movements of the destroyers and another freighter. He tossed his pencil on the chart table. "Bastards, bastards, bastards. That ship is heading northeast, we'll never catch it submerged." After banging the table with his fist, he said. "This is a moment that requires the great Balz panache. Auftauchen. New heading 075. "
I gulped. We would be in sight of at least two destroyers once we surfaced.
The sun had already set when we manned the bridge. Astern, a destroyer headed south. Ahead, on a relative bearing of 330 and a distance of 4,000 meters, a large freighter steamed at about 6 knots. We couldn't see the other two destroyers.
The destroyer we had first spotted, vanished in the growing murk. We raced the freighter, got ahead of it, and dived. Apparently the British crew never saw us. After a four hundred meter run, a torpedo from tube one finished the merchant.
Balz read the message the Funker was about to send: U-45. AN1441, 2 ships sunk 21,000 BRT, remaining torpedoes 12. "This is junk. You write like a third class hack.."
"But this is standard, Herr Kaleun."
"Standard? Mediocre Kwatch! You are our communicator to the world. You must put your heart and soul into what you write--and don't forget to describe my greatness."
#
Our great commander held the floating leviathan in the periscope's crosshairs and ordered feur! The torpedo, a superior example of German engineering ran true and delivered a mortal wound. This was confirmed shortly after by the screeching of tortured Britsh metal and the wounded ship slipping below the hungry waves to find eternal peace in the arms of Poseidon. Then, our great commander, with panache . . .
Admiral Doenitz put down the message flimsy and asked Captain Eckelbach, "Are you sure this is not some sort of British provocation?"
"It's Balz, Herr Admiral. We must relieve him of his command and send him and his twirling sweepers to Warsaw."