Patrol 13, November 4, 1943 - January 4, 1944
1st Flotilla, Brest, France
U-94 had served us well, but she was in need of overhaul. We had sailed her for 8 war patrols, since the happy days of October, 1940, U-94 having accounted for 180,000 tons of enemy warships. After the 108 day patrol, it was decided to put her up for overhaul, then a school boat.
U-553, another type VIIC, and the boat we were to have taken over back in November of '42, had been repaired and overhauled, and became ours. In most respects identical to U-94, U-553 was built by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg. The main difference lay in her bridge and flak platform arrangement. On the bridge from the leading edge of the fairwater back to the attack periscope housing the layout was the same as U-94. From that point the bridge widened to almost double the width, with two side-by-side Zwiling 20mm flak mounts on the same level as the bridge. Below near deck level aft of the bridge, was a second flak platform, mounting a 37mm SK C/30 gun.
Bold 2 decoys replaced the Bold 1. Falke were again available and we filled the three after slots with them, and all foreward slots took TIII's.
Perhaps the most important difference was the presence of a Schnorkel. This device could be extended while the boat is below the surface, drawing air in and expelling exhaust, allowing the diesels to run submerged. This allowed the air to be exchanged and the batteries to be recharged without the need to surface the boat, a tremendous advantage.
For our 13th war patrol we intended to patrol northward in AM, AE and AF grids. Allied warships had been giving our supply ships and tankers operating in northern waters a very hard time. These ships are vital to our boats operating in the western Atlantic, and U-553 would patrol with cruisers, battleships and carriers as our primary targets.
We conned our new boat out of Brest on Nov 4, 1943 and once in deeper water, submerged, not to surface again until returning to port. The Schnorkel would be raised every few hours, to always ensure high charge and a long supply of air.
In early December we were on station northwest of Loch Ewe, in grid AM33. Fast moving single destroyers were patrolling the area, and we contacted a lone cruiser making 30 knots on his way back to Scotland. His speed prevented us from reaching attack position. One day in December we recieved a radio report of a friendly task force operating north of the Shetlands, and making 20 knots on a southerly course. We set course north to see if we could find the task force and operate together. After two weeks no contact had been made and we returned to AM grid via AF grid. Three DDs were sent to the bottom of AM grid, and two more missed, and we headed south. On Christmas day, our 4th at sea in this war, we made contact with a Tribal and Black Swan patrolling in column. The Tribal was hit with a single TIII, and the Black Swan with a Falke when he started to search after seeing his partner explode and sink.
Having just three fish remaining, we set course toward home, patrolling along the way. No attacks were executed on several contacts, and U-553 tied up at Brest, having fired 11 torpedos in 7 attacks, sinking five, after 62 days at sea.
At our 'birthday party' that night, I was informed that we were to transfer to the 7th Flotilla at St. Nazaire, our old Kameraden, to take command of a new type XXI elektroboot, U-2502.