As experienced by Max Wermuth, 28th February 1941, 23:55, U-104 “Lucky Halibut”, 220km west of El Ferrol.
“Current depth 50.”
“Max?”
“Destroyer at 145. Slow,” I whisper the answer.
“And the cargo?”
“Engines slowed down even more. Very weak, nearly doesn’t move.”
“Good.”
The captain seems a bit happier, now that we hit the cargo ship with a torpedo. The other torpedo we fired probably exploded prematurely. I still wonder if I am going to be punished when we return back to France. I just don’t know where did the destroyer come from back then. I am quite sure I checked everywhere.
I continue to listen for the ships: “I lost the sound of the cargo ship. The destroyer is going slow. Making its way back to the left.”
“Can you hear the cargo sinking?”
“No, sir.”
Time flies by. You get used to patient waiting for hours on a U-boat. There is usually a lot of waiting involved. I lost the destroyer at the same place the cargo ship’s engines stopped. Another ten minutes passed by. Then the destroyer left at high speed.
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