A fairly long, perhaps dramatized tale from the perspective of the XO on a brief patrol and raid. -Created from experiences in-game. Type VIIA U-Boat in 1939.
Kaleun ordered that, upon leaving Kiel, we make haste to the English coast.
Emil set course, half speed for fuel consumption, and we set off.
We traveled the long way around Danemark through Skagerrak instead of trying the channel. Emil was never fond of traveling there.
After quite a sail with nothing but high seas and the occasional swell that gives WO Dieter and his watch crew a bath up on the tower, we start getting close to England.
Dieter spots two aircraft flying off our stern, quite high up. Kaleun orders the usual dive, but the aircraft don't even move in our direction. We resurface and proceed. This happens a few times in the few hours that we spend approaching the coast. After a while, Kaleun stops ordering dives and we sail on as if we don't care. Perhaps they think we're an English U-boat headed home? Haha!
We arrive off the coast in our assigned patrol region, the seas are flat, the early morning skies cloudless, and worse, not a vessel in sight. Even with an occasional descent to 12 meters do Benno can listen a bit, nothing. A terrible day for hunting.
We rest a while in the area, occasionally sailing a course around to try and spot something. Eventually, our new Kaleun becomes impatient, and wants to raid a port. Benno, of course, did not like the idea. Emil was hesitant, his days aboard the old U-boats made him wary of some shallow water dangerous maneuvers. I suppose I was impartial at the time, I follow my orders.
Anyway, dutiful Emil plots the course to the nearest port, Grimsby. If you're not familiar with the topography as well as Emil, it is almost a sound, a fairly narrow area must be sailed in order to range in the fish.
We make headway to the port, encountering nothing on the way. We must be outside of English shipping lanes. It is unusual. We received many a radio report on the sail over thanks to Wolfi, but nothing now.
We get close enough to the point where Emil predicts a three hour sail to target, but, thanks to our Kaleun's poor planning, it is currently about midday. WO, Bosun, and myself all unanimously agree that we don't wish to perish today, so we ask Kaleun to wait until evening to mount the action.
Kaleun agrees.
We spent a few hours that day with machines stopped, all hatches open, running fresh air through our boat. The men went on deck, some even swam in the chilly English water. I wonder what they would think, with their enemy having a picnic and a bath as if on a cruise just off their shores?
Now looking back, it was a poor idea. What if an aircraft flew overhead? Would they strafe? Perhaps they'd think we were scuttling. Anyway, it was a pleasant afternoon, even Willi was out tanning on the deck. I just tried to ignore Kurt and his pin-ups. Olaf took time to make a decent meal, the boat smelled pleasantly of pork and his stew, at least for now, until we inevitably become sick of it.
The fun ended, however, and it was time to get to work. All hands returned to their stations, cleaned up as best as one might aboard our vessel, and we made sail towards the target. The time now was something around 8 or 9 in the evening.
Running lights were put on, and, as is Kaleun's habit, all hatches were closed in the event of an emergency. About an hour and a half into our sail, we were closing in on land, (Dieter swore he could see trees) a storm seemed to set in. As I was below deck, I could only feel the more intense rocking of the boat, but as Dieter described, the swells frequently had the bow out of the water, decks more awash than not, and a heavy fog rolled in, coupled with a pouring rain. No lightning, no thunder, just swells, fog, and downpour.
Kaleun insisted we proceed, so we did. We trusted his judgement. Eventually, according to Emil, we reached our destination, about 5,000 meters from the port. I, on the command scope, couldn't see a thing. Kaleun, on the attack scope, reported the same. We asked Emil to proceed in order to bring targets in sight. Word had quickly spread below decks that something was off, as no one had even reported warships in sight, but we decided it was our luck. Bad weather at night, perfect for hunting.
We sailed closer to where we thought the port was, and finally, lights are seen through the fog, and we see the outlines of merchant ships. We count at least six. Dieter keeps watch, as we are still surfaced, now no more than 2,000 meters out, barely able to see enemy vessels. We carefully crawl closer, to try to identify them better. Adrenaline was running like rivers, no one thought we would need to get this close to the enemy, especially in their own back yard.
Kaleun takes over, so I spectate through my command scope.
He quickly targets and fires upon enemy vessels, spending two torpedoes on each one. I swear to this day, those fish skipped from swell to swell like dolphins.
We have a field day. No one bothers to be silent, Kaleun sinks ship after ship, with the crews scurrying to load as fast as he can fire. Before Kaleun knows it, he's burned though our fore torpedoes, nothing but empty tubes now. He orders crew to the deck for firing with the deck gun, but as they get up to the tower, and down onto the deck, one man is nearly washed over by a well placed wave. They soundly refuse the action, now thoroughly soaked. Kaleun says he sunk four vessels, putting two fish in each. He, in hindsight, understands the refusal of orders in an effort not to drown, so he has Emil plot a course to Heligoland.
On our sail out, only Dieter stays out, he tells his other watch to go dry off. We are just passing into the narrow sound in which all shipping must sail to enter port when suddently, bright light breaches the open hatch to the watch deck. Kaleun darts up the ladder, Dieter is hollering about something.
Everyone goes cold- there is a destroyer, not 1,000 meters off our port side, around 10-11 o'clock. The weather blinded us, and evidently them too, as they hadn't seen us until now. Dieter saw them at about the same moment, but they brought their lights around to illuminate us against the dark waters and night.
Without briefing from Kaleun, "Gefechtsstationen-" the men move quick, Kaleun and WO nearly fall down the ladder, screaming, "crash dive!"
Bells ring, footsteps are heard fore and aft, and before we know it, we are underwater, I've never seen it done so quick. Just in time too. We all heard the reverb of their guns trying to hit our hull. Luckily, they must have been snap-shots, and they missed.
Kaleun adjusts the depth order down to periscope, as we're running in shallow waters at emergency ahead. I was on the scope when I saw the destroyer coming around our stern, far quicker than we'd be able to evade them. I know we all heard the pinging too. Kaleun asks me to lower the scope and he orders all machines stopped. We naturally stay silent.
We just sit. We hear distant splashes. It suddenly crosses my mind that, due to the weather, it could very well be possible that our conning tower is being exposed every time the swell drops.
The pings get louder, the destroyer closes. Suddenly we feel the shock waves. We know what's happening. They're gentle at first, but increase in intensity. Benno cries. Poor fellow.
Suddenly, the whole vessel rocks like mad. I vividly recall smashing into the bulkhead, and I am sure that gauge recalls my head. I don't know what happened elsewhere, but there was water spraying from pipes, lights flickered, and I swear I heard screaming over the rest of the din, not to mention what sounded like metal on metal.
In hindsight, I am glad we didn't settle on the sea floor during our dive. I've heard that the sands offer a suction that will hold ships down. The pinging stopped, the explosions become more distant once again. Emil reports we descend a bit, closing the distance between us and the seafloor.
I let Kaleun take care of the command room and run back, opening hatches to see the status of the other rooms. Willi, to my dismay, is standing knee deep. Flooding happened fast. I report by yelling, and Joseph issues his orders. Repairs are underway, thank goodness. Benno and Wolfi are being periodically sprayed by sparks, but they seem alright. Benno say's he's injured, but he looks alright.
We sit still, although slowly sinking deeper, (our overall depth was shallow) whilst repairs are made. We hear the pings, but the destroyer never gets close enough to cause further damage. Thank god. I don't think the engine would be able to take much more. Willi said that starboard shaft was broken, starboard diesel engine and a battery were also a bit waterlogged.
Eventually, flooding became controlled, but the thought around the vessel was that we needed to surface. Battery was not in good shape, and I don't know if anyone reported on underwater propulsion. In fact, I never even checked back there.
Kaleun checked above again, the destroyer wandered off, listening for us. We had to surface, so we did. The weather held, we were invisible at this distance. Kaleun ordered "emergency ahead", and we hauled out of there. Not surprisingly, we did not make great headway. The weather, combined with only one shaft turning really slowed us. We sailed out, but because of the water aboard, and the sub-par hull integrity, we never went back under on this patrol. We sailed to Heligoland to refit, then made way back to Kiel for a repair, and some well earned time off.
I recall, while report writing, that some of the newer fellows switched over to dock work. I guess this isn't for them.
In summary, four merchants sunk at anchor in bad weather, suffered damage and injury from well placed charges, also may have suffered impact from destroyer hull on the tower.
Such is life aboard a U-Boat?
I imagine Kaleun will take us back out in a few weeks. It was certainly a learning experience for him. I hope Dieter will have improved his eye-sight too. Maybe we can sail to America next time. I've always wanted to see New York.
