Diary of Manfred Bollmann, 8th March 1941, 00:52, U-104 “Lucky Halibut”, 300km northwest of Madeira.
Yesterday we finally found a ship to sink and we did, although it cost us four more torpedoes. Damn useless torpedoes, failing so often this patrol. We had to take two British survivors on board, there was not a single working lifeboat for them. These two visitors and the fact that the sea decided to kill us is really sinking the crew’s morale.
The sea became our enemy. We spend most of the time underwater, since the waves slow us down, threaten to damage the boat or injure the watch. They also steer us away a lot, so we have to constantly adjust our course. Course to Canary Islands! It isn’t freezing now, but still, Canary Islands should be a warm paradise. We will probably stay there a few days to check everything on the boat, reload and store the extra provisions. Not that the quality of the resources matter with our cook, he makes horrible stuff. Also, we could dump our British friends there, although the captain hopes that we could place them on a lifeboat of the next ship we sink.
Anyway, back to reality. We are making less than 5 knots on average now. And we will really need to recharge our batteries soon, or we could be trapped in one place for a looong time. The sea can stay this way for a lot longer. We are surfacing for fresh air every couple of hours, but only for a brief moment. Recharging batteries could take a few hours. That is going to be unpleasant.
Note - Bollmann's diary acts like a recap lately, or as a tool to skip times when nothing's happening. Sometimes I feel it is a hindrance to tell the part of the story twice. Maybe I shouldn't continue with the diary. Maybe Bollmann should die...
Just to justify the end of the diary. Any ideas/suggestions?