"It's funny, hearing a destroyer up above and not having to worry about it"

Willi is back to his normal self. Confident and assured again. We all need our little ways in this terrifying life.

I've heard Otto murmur "Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, yet shall I fear no evil, for thou art by my side, my shield and comfort still.." in those dark moments when Hans has called the splash of the depth charges. He doesn't even know he's saying it, I'm sure. Because the next second he is yelling orders and rushing through the boat and cursing everyone in his way.

One of the planesmen, Siggy, slaps his hand to his head constantly when we're under attack. "It's lucky to touch wood" he once explained shyly.

Bruno chews on anything to hand. We now keep a small sack of dried fruit in the control room to keep him happy.

Christian is a pretty cool customer, but when things have got really tight, I've noticed that he turns his mother's wedding ring round and round on his finger.

Coolest of them all is Oscar, our Medic. When we're crash diving his typical response is to climb into his bunk, pull the blanket over his head, and say something like "Wake me if you need me"

That is oddly reassuring to us, because Oscar is regarded amongst the whole crew as having the intellectual brains, and if he's having a nap, it can't be all bad. Except the times when he's been rushed into service of course.

Most of the seamen and mechanics have their own habits , mascots and mantras which get them through those long submerged periods. But most of the time the fear is dissipated by the frantic action required in checking valves, putting out flames, and shoring up the pressure hull. Then they don't have time for anything except to pant and gasp and swear like sailors.

All of them believe that the Laughing Swordfish on our conning tower brings us luck. Willi certainly does.

And like his lucky blue mug, that reassures him that we will get home, I have a picture of Heidi in my cabin that tells me we must.

LS

More to read. Keep on coming!

DUMP oops, I mean Bump.

Shh!....he's busy looking at Heidis picture :p

Damn me, Siggy is tapping his skull every 30 seconds or so.

"Both hands on the wheel, helmsmen! Otto roared.

"Without all those torpedoes loaded, especially in the Bow, Rollie, it's a devil of a job to keep her trimmed fore and aft."

"That's fine, Chief just do your stuff and shift your ballast to get us on an even keel here."

Without so much initial weight even with all the men in the fore-ends, it took a disconcertingly long while to get down with so much bouyancy forward

But we have the luxury of running at high speed from our diving place, because planes can't pick us up underwater like destroyers can. The trick is the same, show them a different wake as we dive, and let them bomb in front of that, but as soon as we are at 14 metres we twist and turn and run like a scalded cat.

Like Madame's at St Nazaire, whose beloved black cat was accidentally treated, so the story goes, by an accidental spill from a maid with a hot kettle. And ran out in front of a retreating french truck. The poilus, in their haste, kicked the cat, Gigi. Madame was beside herself with utter fury. And that's when she changed the name of her establishment. So the story goes. And it's bad luck for a black cat to cross your path.

It's bad luck for many convoys which has a u-boat with the Black Cat emblem come across it's path, so the story goes!

My mind wanders sometimes..

"60 metres steady!"

"Thanks Otto"

"What below Willi?"

"Plenty, Kap, undulating but I can give you another 60 metres beneath the keel..

"All slow on electrics, let's give Hans's sonar a chance."

He's picking up fast screws close, which can only be our destroyer, and also faint ones underwater, which can only be U-213

"The Brits'll have to be quicker than that boys! Resume course at slow revs and prepare to surface in thirty minutes as to plan, Number Two"

LS

"Hmm..."

Christian is looking up bemused, as if he can see the path of their planes.

He ducks his head though the hatch.

"No splash, Hans?"

"Nothing, Sir" he shrugged.

"Periscope depth, Otto!"

I turned to Christian.

"I don't think they were meant for us in the first place, you know Christian, the flak from Keppler's destroyer may have pushed them higher, but they weren't really looking for us. If you have a wasp's nest do you kill every individual wasp, or do you destroy the nest? That's where they're going. St Nazaire to finish their work, I'm certain of it."

"Surface Otto!"

"Ausblasen schnell!"

"Thanks Otto... Viktor!"

He peered through the hatch from his radio cabin

"Yes Sir?"

"To 7th Flotilla at St Nazairre"

"Emergency air raid alert. Six bombers heading SE. To you."

"Put the grid and time in, Willi will help you with that. And send it. And keep tapping it out until you get a reply"

"Surface stations, Bruno let's get your ugly bunch out of here, and up there!"

LS

Christian's watch is over. Bruno's lads are already topside.

He throws his cap tiredly onto the chart table.

""What's up, Number One?"

"We're not wasps, Kap"

"What?"

"We're not wasps. Wasps have no purpose in life. They come and ruin your picnic. I hate them. They sting you when you least expect it and...."

"Time for you to get some sleep, Christian...."

"...butterflies! we could be butterflies! Everyone likes them!"

"Come on Christian you haven't slept in hours, get your head down. Bruno has the bridge, and we'll be in to L'orient soon.

My Number One is asleep in his bunk in five seconds flat. He'd stood the watch all the way up from St Nazaire.

Otto has the Control Room, Reuben is working the engines. Bruno has the bridge with Willi guiding him in towards port.

The destroyer is blinking back at us, roaring back on a northerly course at 25 knots. Not only that, those six bombers are now five. Keppler's AA crews managed to bag one of them them as they went overhead. Those cloud-punchers did us proud!

"Through Sir!"

Victor interrupts my reverie and hands me a hastily scrawled message.

"7th Flotilla on full air alert, Sir, they acknowledge!"

"Thanks, Victor"

Heidi should be up at Kerneval which is miles away, and it was only a follow-up raid on the docks as far as I could guess, but just like every serviceman, I wanted to look after her as much as possible. She worries about me, hell I worry about her!

Oscar came through to the control room.

"You could do with some sleep yourself Rollie"

"What?"

"Bruno and Willi are perfectly capable of docking this tub. We do need you on your best form for the next patrol. I heard your conversation with Christian, though..."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It's not a pleasant image but we really are like wasps, you know? We spoil the party and sting without warning. Isn't War fun?"

"But..."

"Bed! Doctor's orders! The boat will sail itself"

When Oscar's right, he is definitely right......

LS

Salute :up:

A rough hand shakes me awake.

"L'orient, Sir".

Willi is none too gentle in pulling my blanket aside.

"Christian is stirring too, Sir. It's midnight and we're surfacing into the port."

We had agreed that we would sit outside till dark, submerged for as long as it takes, and come in under quiet of darkness. I suspect Z33 without the stealth option that we have, sailed right in and their crew are even now having beers and a fish supper. Good luck to them.

The quiet orders of Otto to Reuben around the corner and the steady throb of the diesels on low revolutions and the gentle conning directions from Bruno down from the bridge, tells me we're in good hands.

Christian is already up there with Bruno. When I arrive, we are virtually docked, men fore and aft are casting lines, in one of their bunker pens.

"Kapitan on the Bridge!"

And everyone snapped to attention and saluted.

"What's this about, Bruno?"

"New Port, Kaleun! Every officer must be piped ashore!"

"Balls Bruno! Stop winding me up. There's no officers even here. Except there are these big long things called torpedoes that the dock gangs are already swinging over. Joachim is in charge of the eels. I want 14 properly checked and greased.
Cox that looks like the provisions piled there. Get it stowed. Also that water bowser, the Chief will want us to refuel and.."

"You don't have to remember everything Sir. I'll get the replen done. By the next tide."

"Thank you Cox, if you have the time or you can trust someone to do it. Let's have some crates of beer brought down to the boat. Myself and the First Officer are attending orders, we'll be back in a couple of hours, but noone else is to stray ashore. Oh and Cox..?"

"Yes Kaleun?"

Some other boats from the 7th are in. A lot of boats are based here from the 10th Flotilla. Old rivalries aside, there won't be any trouble from the U-46 crew, will there?"

"They'll be as well behaved as always Sir"

"I turned, sighed, and joined Christian for our briefing.

LS

Once more, unto the breach.:up:

There's quite a few commanders around the table, a lot from 7th Flotilla, not just me and Max, and there's a fair bit of joshing before the orders group is called to order.

"I hear you guys have been kicked out of your little nest, Rollie....!"

"...bet your Swordfish isn't laughing now..!"

"..come running to us, and taking up our berths...

"..Hey Max give us an oink, we hear you piggies are famous for it."

Max leaps to his feet, which is his way, but Christian is too quick for the old fellow, and calms him back into his seat.

I rise.

"Thank you Comrades of the 10th Flotilla, for your warm welcome. It's true we are temporarily homeless. But our boats are our home. I was under the impression from our Flotilla tonnage reports (which I have never if barely read), that the reason we're here is to make better use of the torpedoes that keep being returned unfired here"

Well that did it....And I told the boys not to fight.

LS

"Achtung! Stillgestanden!"

The Flotilla Commander strode in.

"Gentlemen, you are all officers in the Geman Navy, save your aggressive spirit for the sea, not dry land. If you want a proper fight, join a panzergrenadier regiment.

A leutnant that I had just been tussling with nudged me and murmured

"His son was killed on the Russian Front three days ago"

"We have work to do, Gentlemen, firstly welcome to the boats we have from Seventh Flotilla, I can see you have already greeted each other in typical U-boat fashion. You will be extended every hospitality and service while you are here. That won't be long. We need you back out of here in 24 hours, that goes for our 10th flotilla boats which should already be ready for sea. We have boats coming back in, and new boats arriving around the British Isles, so I want you all the hell out of here!"

He tossed a sealed envelope at Max."U-213. that's yours, U-46 that's for you. You'll both be going down to Gib. Don't worry, not through the Straits themselves, you are to lay in ambush here and here."

He threw two more envelopes out.

"U-100 and U-666 get the mid Atlantic. You will find expected convoy routes in your packets, but basically just sink and report anything you see"

He turned to the rest of the Commanders around the table. The 10th flotilla guys.

Heinrich, Toby, same as before we'll have you hanging around the Clyde, and picking up the Liverpool traffic that these 7th Flotilla buffoons might have missed"

This time there is laughter all round the table.

"Same for you Wendel, and Jess, we want you to patrol outside the Bristol Channel here. You both have Type IXs, and therefore longer range; you are to respond to any contact you receive either down to a Gibraltar run, or up to here at the North West of Ireland or even if we get a firm and continued sighting from our 7th Flotilla friends out in the Atlantic, get the hell over there and form a wolf pack.

"Everyone happy? I'm famished, I've been up half the night, Im sure you have too. Let's talk the details through over a spot of early lunch"

LS

Fantastiche :up:

"Come on, gentlemen, these cracked crabs won't eat themselves! Better tuck in. Next time you come across a crab it might be eating you! More wine!"

Flotilla Kommandant Durmann was the perfect host. And as the food came and the wine flowed so did the details of the plan. (Max and I already had our plan for going south together), the smile slightly faded from his face when he saw young men, now best of comrades and swapping stories..young men still full of life if even for the moment.

"Sir?.....Sir, I was so sorry to hear of your son..."

He looked at me distractly, as if from a distance. As if from a Steppe a long way away.

"Do you have any children, Kapitan?"

"No Sir, no parents either"

"Sometimes best that way in this line of work. You know...it's de Bunsen isn't it, U-46?"

"Yes Sir"

"Oh yes, they call you Rollie, because you fall down in the snow!"

"That would be me, Sir"

"Well Rollie, I suppose anyone my age would tell you that now is a bad time to have children, especially in this business. He was called Roland, only 21, almost named like you...I have two other boys over there, one younger, one older, neither of them know yet. And his Mother is still crying. God help me, there are times when I now pray for just one, either of them to make it back in one piece".

LS

"Who are your boys with, Sir?"

"The Sixth Army. Already working their way in to Stalingrad."

"Well they tell me they're the best, Sir. If anyone can pull it off it's those guys."

"It's starting to get cold again. Dietrich sent me a picture of them all posing for the camera wearing women's furs underneath or around their combat uniforms. Looks funny doesn't it?"

"Heinrich tells me in his last letter that he doesn't think the Italians or Rumanians have their heart in it. He's constantly watching his own regiment's flanks and even their rear. If we can get over and control the Volga, then the game's up for Stalin... but I don't like it."

"Now the Ami's and the Brits are fighting their war through Ivan. That last C2 type ship you sunk had at least 25 sherman tanks or trucks, or half-tracks on it; it must have. All eventually heading to Murmansk.

(It was actually going to Bristol, but the point is moot given it's current location on the sea bed)

"You know in front of Moscow last Winter, we had entire proud and famous panzer divisions who could muster less serviceable tanks than what the Amis are sending on one ship"

"Kapitan, it's up to us to even up the odds. Drink your wine and load your torpedoes"

LS