[flag4]

July 17 1940

...have just come back from AN 76/84 area. absolutley lousy patrol. found very little. and when i did torpedos failed or sailed underneath due to bad weather ( or my miscalculations ). with one torpedo left i thought of coming back only to find an Armed Trawler - so i turned on him, had him too, in my sights. he was coming right down my pipe and sent the eel out at just under 500 meters.

it slid beneath him and blew out his engines. i thought he was a gonner but no. he just sat there like a duck - and me, in my canoe, no deck gun, no eels. i surfaced a 1000 meters away and started running he caught me in his sights and started shelling me. took a little damage and dived again. 1500 meters i surfaced again - and again he started with me. i was furious. had nothing to speak of to throw at him. the arrogance of it! only a bloody flak gun.

i eventually got away unharmed, only to be hassled on the tip on Holland by something that didnt like me - another Armed Trawler. i kept running he was chasing and getting closer, but the sea was chopped up pretty bad and he was slowing. didnt like the idea of diving. then out of the blue he was attacked from the air - i think he was struck once, saw some black smoke but he caught the plane and it went down all spectacular into the sea!

by that time i had got a good distance away. i had disengaged the battery charging and went hell for leather hoping i would'nt be found, especially with low batteries and bugger all in the way of attack or defence.

we all returned safely.

now i have been sent to a CF position - cant remeber which one, but CF in a canoe!!

maybe i'll get back alive to tell you more.

IWO H. Standahl