[VonApist]

Ten minutes later, there was a knock. “Come in” the captain nodded to the head protruding from the, now half open, sliding door.

Wolfgang Eizenholtz, U-53’s second in command, entered the tiny Kaleun’s cabin.
At a towering 1.90 with a deep voice and icy blue eyes , Woflgang was hard to ignore. He was eager to get a U-Boat as a Kaleun and run his own shop. But he didn’t show it. At least most of the times.

“Are you feeling better Wolf? Franz told me you had some issues back there”.
“I am ok Stephan”. ‘You know how Franz loves to overreact. It was just a bad stomach. Nothing else. I am pretty fine now” Wolfgang replied, slightly annoyed.

Typical Wolfgang. Too competitive to concede even the slightest case of diarrhea. Wolf was considered a veteran amongst second officers, having completed 6 patrols, 2 of which with the legendary U-47 of Gunther Prien – a fact that he was quick to remind to any poor soul that might have forgotten. This was his second posting. Well, he was lucky. Prien went missing in March 1941 with all hands.

Nevertheless, He is a very good second Stephan thought. Ambitious he might be but he would never question an order. He needed an experienced second next to him. And at the end of the day: Better ambitious and experienced than complacent and amateur Stephan concluded.

The crew respected Wolf despite his love for discipline (or maybe because of it) and his degree in Mathematics made the calculation of firing solutions so much easier. Especially in demanding situations of tight angles or bad weather. Or both…

“Glad to hear this Wolf. Helmut from U-72 reported heavy British warship activity near our patrol grid. We should be there in approximately 7 hours. Weather is awful, gale force winds and visibility close to zero. I want to recharge our batteries as soon as possible in order to continue our trip submerged. Otherwise we are blind. Tower watch is useless unless something is closer that 250m - which is too late and our hydrophones won’t pick up anything in this weather while surfaced. I need you in top shape. You’re one of the boat’s greatest assets” Stephan acknowledged, patting Wolf on the back. “Let’s go to the Room”.

In the command room they found Franz chatting with the Chief Engineer.

“Stephan, I was just updating Franz. Batteries are more than 90% charged, should not be long now. And I’m also glad to say that the minor oil leak from Diesel 1 is now fixed” Herbert reported, wiping his greasy hands with a cloth.
“When we return to base I want to run a full check as it was the second time this week that it leaked for no obvious reason and…” His phrase was suddenly cut by the excited voice of Heinrich:

“Kaleun! Sound Contact! Two fast screws approaching! Bearing 295 and 290! Medium Range!”
“The one at 295 must be a Black Swan Destroyer, cannot yet identify the 290 yet but it’s a warship all right! My best guess is they are at 1000meters, closing fast” the sonar man added.

“Sheisse” Stephan cursed under his breath. “Franz, report depth under keel. And bring Alois and Karl down from watch now! Move it”.

“Depth under keel 240m sir” Franz reported while shouting for the Bootsman and the young sailor to descend from conning tower and to secure the hatch.

“Do you think they have spotted us?” Stephan asked Wolf.

“Judging from their speed and course, I wouldn’t bet against it” the U-boat’s second-in-command replied. "Lets turn the boat towards them to provide for a smaller sonar target".

Stephan nodded in agreement. “Combat stations. Stop recharging. Switch to Electric Engines. Speed Ahead Flank, Rudder full left , depth 200m, DIVE, DIVE, DIVE” U-53's captain barked at the helmsman.

At the very same moment, Alois who had just finished securing the tower hatch preparing for the dive, slipped on the wet ladder, lost his footing and clumsily hit the command deck with a loud thump.

“The Wet Barron has landed” Franz joked, seemingly oblivious to the critical situation, only to receive an angry glare from the soaking wet Prussian Bootsman.