[VonApist]

First of all thank you all for the kind words. They give me motive to keep writing.

Here's the update.

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A deafening sound reverberated throughout the hull of the U-boat. The bow was suddenly raised and the boat rocked violently throwing sailors and officers on the floor.

The emergency lights flickered, went off and then on again in a blink. Multiple explosions were heard from below the hull. At the same time the chilling sound of twisting metal came from above as the conning tower, the Uboats softer spot, started to yield to the hudrostatic pressure of the deep.

Panic gripped the crew and Stephan could hear shouts of agony, mixed with obscene curses and muffled prayers. All at the same time.

Gerald moved first to secure the Zentrale's hatch. Seconds later the rush of water could be heard, breaching the upper conning tower. Close.. Too close.

Stephan checked the depth gauge.

169m. But their bow was now up! He didnt care how this had happened.He would think about it later. He only had a few seconds to take advantage of the situation, before the boat slipped stern first towards the ocean's abyss.

"Chief. Ahead Flank. Rudder zero degrees. Level Planes. Give me all you got" Stephan shouted on the top of his lungs to be heard over the commotion, as Albert rushed to the controls to gain prescious seconds.

"Everybody get a grip of yourselves! Crew to stations! I dont plan to die today. Move your butts sailors. On the double. " Stephan barked in an effort to rally his crew. Dont let panic settle. Be on top.

The humm of the electric engines filled the room. The lights were still flickering. Come on. Come on.... Come ON Stephan mumbled to himself as he felt the boat moving slowly ahead, eyes stuck on the needle.

169m....the needle was stuck

Another barrage of explosions was heard from below. This time, further to their starboard.

169m.... the sound of twisting metal has stopped but the hull groaned from fatigue.

169m Come on you son of a b**ch Stephan cursed under his breath. The helmsman had resumed their positions and the Chief was now near him, eyes glued on the depth gauge

And then... the needle moved. Everybody held their breath.

168m
167m


"Speed 2 knots" Gerald reported, we are moving up sir!llll

A collective sigh of relief. Then the first muted laughter, followed by an explosion of celebrations. Sailors patted each other's back, hugging. Fists in the air. The tention of the past minutes, which seemed an eternity, was now released violently. Absolute fear was transformed into absolute joy. In less than a minute...

Stephan turned to Albert. "Chief damage report. Set depth 140m. Turn to silent running, max RPM at 75 as soon as we reach it".

"What the hell was that" Gerald enquired. "How did THAT happen?"

"I think that we have to thank the Brits. Their hedgehog barrage somehow missed us and the force of the explosion somehow pushed or bow up."

He turned to the crew, which was still celebrating. "Boys. Keep quiet. We have escorts looking for us on the surface. We are not out of the woods. The next one to make a sound, will be in my report. And trust me gentlemen, no-one wants to be there for the wrong reason"

"Jorg. Report warship contacts."

The Chief had returned to the Zentrale with his damage report. "Conning tower damaged. Some dents in the torpedo room. Wouldnt go deeper than 150 again. Just to be on the safe side. I gave the order to put up the wooden beams in the torpedo room and the engines for that extra meter of depth"

At that time Jorg's head protruded from the sonar box. "Two escorts on top of us Sir".

148m

"Ok Chief. Silent Running. Max PRMs 75. Maintain current depth. Rudder 10 degrees to port. "

He turned to the crew. "This is it gentlemen. You know the drill. Utmost silence. Lets try to get the hell out of here".

With this, it seemed that the crew collectively held its breath. The men turned their heads up towards the surface expecting the inevitable depth charge attack. They were already as deep as possible. Now they had to remain silent, undetected. And hope that their damaged hull would make it through.

Every little sound, every little creak of the hull, now sounded magnified. It felt as if the men could hear the heartbeat of the sailors sitting next to them. As if the sound of their collective heartbeat could betray their position to the escorts above.

Jorg took of his headset and whispered, agitation in his voice

"Depth charges in the water, sir"

(To be continued)