If not "Happy Times" then what were they called?
 

I've lived through the glories of the "Happy Days" with several kaleuns, racking up impressive tonnage while losing only a few boats. Now, though, it's late 1943...

We left Bergen, Norway, for our patrol just west of the British Isles. From leaving the fjord to arriving at our assigned area, I think every pilot in the RAF had a go at us. Mosquitos, Wellingtons, PBYs, TBDs, Swordfish (downed 2 of those!), Mosquitos again, and it just never stopped. Then I've been dodging hunter-killer groups. Finally found and sank three individual merchants - and one River-class escort thanks to a new acoustic homing torpedo - and I'm headed home. Seems every British pilot wants to see me off again.

So, if the good times were the "Happy Days", what did they call 1943 and beyond? I've got some choice words for it, but not sure that's what the kaleuns really called it.

first you had the happy times

then came the "crappy times"" :rotfl:

WERNER HIRSCHMANN (Chief Engineer of U-190): "The hunters of the early years had become the hunted of the latter years. The "Happy Times" had changed to what we called the "Zauergherkinzeit" or "Sour Pickle Time." We did not have any fun out there anymore."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcr...12lostsub.html

Thanks - that's an apt description of what I'm feeling.

Very apt descriptive terms for sure :arrgh!:

German seems to have such great words for things.

The only way I knew that is because I just finished Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson and they mentioned it in there. It's an EXCELLENT EXCELLENT read about the discovery of the wreck of U-869 off the coast of New Jersey. Wonderful addition to anyone's naval library. :know:

Thanks mookie, I'll have to look for the book. Sounds interesting.....:up:

Ya gotta take the good with the bad I guess

the happy times / the crappy times

I wonder how that translates

by 1943 happys days has jumped the shark....

I'm pretty sure that after the Happy Days, they called the next episode Disaster and Defeat