"Hang on Men, they'll be set for shallow and...


Kaboom, Kabomm kaboom, kaboom, KABOOM KABOOM, kaboom kabomm, BANG BANG.

The boat is rocked violently

"... and we can expect them any time now...."

It bought a wry laugh from Willi.

"Now we're all getting a little cold trickle down our collars", says Otto without taking his eyes off the gauges and dials.

"Level up helmsmen!"

"Forty metres, Sir

Joachim suddenly bursts through the hatch like a soaked and startled hare.

"Taking water in the fore-ends, Sir! It's pissing through!"

"Fifty metres, Sir"

"Cox get all hands aft, get the weight back off the bow.

"Damage crew forward! Let them get by, you idiots!"

"Seventy metres, Sir"

LS

Time to see how deep she can go!!!:hmm:

Oh boy :o

Level up, please, level up

The shipyard certificate says 90 metres, but of course, we can go deeper :D :yep: :up:

"Reuben, send your motors hard astern. Bring those bow planes up lads."

"95 metres, Sir" , says a control hand bleakly.

I dive towards the fore-ends where the blokes there are soaked and exhausted.

"Leaks stopped, Sir!"

"Well played, Kurt!"

I rush back.

"Blow tanks!"

The rest of them are wrestling with the jammed fore plane wheel. In the end they hit it with a hammer.

"120 metres!"

"Boys, we've been deeper than this. Pump everything aft Otto, and then get the bilge out of the boat, I don't care what noise you make. We'll get out of this"

"130 metres, Sir" The tensile groans and creaks are now obvious.

"You always were a kidder, Sir" murmurs Willi.

A wry smile from Otto across the Control Room.

"Get your lucky blue mug out, Willi"

He did. Nurturing it carefully. There was nothing else to do.

It took a while. I suppose we find it harder to be gently sinking than under the constant threat of death from a destroyer.

"130 metres, again, Sir."

That was the same as last time, that mean's roughly neutral bouyancy. That's a good thing. It means we're not sinking for the moment.

"Otto, use our last compressed air. It's hard to pump out at this depth with the water pressure, so now's the time!"

LS

"All your juice to the forward gears, Reuben, and let's see!"

LS

Keep pumping out the story, I want to have something to look forward to when I return to work!!!!:up::up:

Merry Christmas LS, and thanks for the story!:rock:

Let's hope the crew and the boat don't turn out to be 'christmas Turkeys' :nope:
All the best for the festive season :up:

These next moments are crucial.

If we can expel enough water..

If the bow planes, or at least the starboard one, behaves itself , and it should given the four sweating men swearing, shouting and resorting to violence with a sledgehammer and a crowbar...

If the good old fish can just stick her sword up towards the surface, then every metre will mean a reduction in water pressure on her hull, less easy for water to get in, and easier to pump the bloody stuff out.

I looked down to see that my ankles were awash, and looked up to see a young rating clutching himself, and on the verge of sobbing. The same boy who had come up for a smoke before.

"Easy, lad; don't forget I owe you a cigarette. It's a bit damp at the moment, but we'll take our next drag back on the Wintergarten"

I gripped his shoulder and he braved a smile.

"Thank you, Sir"

"Now get back to your watch commander..."

I looked up to see the whole control room crew looking at me.

And then down at my boots where the water seemed to be receding and then slowly running aft.

"125 metres!"

A huge yell erupted, which just brought more scared faces looming in from the hatch to the rear of the Control Room.

"120 metres"

"Quiet men! We're going home, but we're not out of it yet. Keep those repairs going. We've upset a few people, and they may still be around.


I sidled up to Otto while the hands were basking in their sudden salvation.

"How does it look, Chief, she's handling like a brick..?

"She'll sink like one unless we're careful. The damage to the starboard dive plane is affecting the boat's trim, I can't do anything about that, Rollie, until we at least get to a safe depth"

"What's a safe depth?"

He looked at me grimly.

"The surface"

"Come off it Otto! It's broad daylight by now, and we've already had half of RAF Coastal Command after us!"

"Rollie", he murmured.

"The batteries are half flat, four of the cells are in danger of seawater contamination, and you know what that means. The boat is going to pitch badly as it is, but I can't tell how badly while we are forcing her upwards. One of our bow planes is wrenched out of true. You know we can't be wrestling and fighting with it in a tight spot, and the air compressors, well they've taken a hammering too but Kurt and his team are on it. But they need air to compress, and diesels to compress the air with. Without anything to blow ballast, we won't be able to dive safely or even maintain depth anymore, if we do. We have to surface and I'll do my best down here to fix things"

"But we'll be cut to pieces..."

"60 metres!" is the cry from Braun, to more joy.

"Better or worse than being back down there...?"

You're right Otto, my friend. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire.."

He smiled.

"You mean, the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea..."

LS

"Up to 12 metres, Chief. Give me my periscope"

Well the planes are gone, but do they talk to the escorts?

"Anything, Hans?"

"Nichts, Herr Kaleun!"

"Good. Gentlemen..."

The seniors are sitting around the wardroom, even Bruno who could sleep through a depth charge at 20 metres if you let him.

"...we're going back in. Back to St Nazaire, I mean. But we're not as seaworthy as I would like the U-46 to be. In other words, and having discussed it with the Chief, we're going to have to take a chance on the surface, right across the Biscay Bay.

Howls of protest.

"Shut up, men! Emerson just made it out here on the surface, and...

"More by luck than judgement, the young whippersnapper!"

"Well, Willi.... we have both. This is the Laughing Swordfish, your judgement and her luck!

I slapped him on the back.

"Cut us a not so obvious course home, please Willi.

"Bruno take your boys up for this watch, take anyone else you need. I want eyes in the sky. Where are the machine guns, let's have them mounted on the...........what?"

Bruno coughed in embarrassment.

"Those two MG34s with the pivotal mounting sir.."

"..Yes..?"

"We lost them to some guys from U-342, I'm sure that ace came from the bottom of the pack"

"Bruno, I despair. You will take the watch with me, and when the jabos come, feel free to spit at them"

LS

keep it comming:)

Great stuff LS :rock: ...thanks :up:

"Ok, surface!"

I push the periscope away.

"All speed diesels! Get those air compressors running. Pump out, and Bruno why are you still here. I want you and your gang straight up there as soon as the Chief gives us surface. Joachim, get Jurgen and the best gunners in the garden. Bring the 2cm ammo up."

Bruno pops the hatch, and it does fling itself open, as the stale air rushes out and clean Atlantic sea air is sucked in. There's no better sensation for u-boat men than that.

"Up! Up!"

Bruno is first, and I'm second; the rest of the watch scramble up, and Jurgen spills out to man the AA gun with two extra loaders. One of them being Dieter. He's a disciplinary nightmare, but never one to duck out of a fight.

"Keep looking lads!"

"So Bruno..."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Tell me about these machine guns. How long have we been gambling away Kriegsmarine hardware?

"Every now and then, Sir, how else do you think we got that case of American Bourbon, and the crate of pineapples"

"What case of Bourbon?"

"Oh..."

"Never mind, Bruno.." I sighed.

"When we get back" (it's always good to say 'when we get back' and not 'if we get back' in earshot of the crew)..

"...You and the QM will get our machine guns back from them"

"Bit tricky, Sir"

"Why?"

"Because it would be a long swim. They're on the seabed along with all those card sharps that sailed in her. Last month, Konig's boat".

My God, Hans has gone. I need to pay more attention to the blackboard.

"Well ok, Bruno but no more of it. Have Willi draw me up some papers to sign, and we'll requisition two new ones.

"Yes, Sir"

"And Bruno...."

"Yes, Sir?"

"It's chilly up here, is there any of that bourbon left..?"

LS

So far, so good.

I call for the Cox onto the Bridge,

"Kaleun?"

Fetch young Muller up here, and whoever is his closest friend. Also I'm going to need some dry cigarettes, but I know you can do that.

"Yes, Sir!"

LS

Janni Muller and his best mate Vogel, join me on the bridge.

"Hey Muller, you're not in any trouble. It's ok to be scared when we come under attack. We're all a little bit worried sometimes, but you can take it from me, that you won't die on the U-46, at least not before me.

Vogel, come and sit here too. You're both from Leipzig, nicht wahr?"

"Yes Captain."

"You know, you guys should come up here more often. It's a dangerous stretch of the ocean just now, but it's nice to have a breath of fresh air now and again,"

"I almost forgot! Here's the cigarette that I owe you. Take one too, Vogel."

We lit up, sitting on the 20mm ammo cases, and smoking contentedly.

"When we get back in, you will both come and drink at my table in the Chat Noir. It's the least I can do Muller, for spotting those planes, and Vogel, for keeping the electrics running when we most needed them"

"We're definitely going to make it back, then Sir?"

"Count on it lad!"

LS