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Enchanter · 01-07-07, 07:06 AM

Personal Diary of Gerhard Linden 6 January ’40 – 22 January ‘40

After an age in dock, we were finally handed fresh orders, to patrol the same area west of England. Thus, we established a plot and made for the patrol zone.
24 hours out of dock, we met an outbound Costal Merchant. Our torpedo skills have improved considerably, and she went down with a single shot amidships.

About a day later we diverted off course to investigate radio reports of a ship in our area. We intercepted a C3 Cargo ship. Those things are impressively big! Due to the weather, I knew we’d have no opportunity to shell her, so accuracy was the name of the game. We established a parallel course until we were slightly ahead of the ship, then came in at a 90° angle off the port side. At periscope depth, with wind velocity a good 15 km/s the sea state was rough, and I pondered the settings on my depth gauges. I elected to set three alternating depths. Tube 1 was set to below the keel, at 11 m, tube 2 was set to 8 meters, hoping for a side on impact on the same line as the first, and the third shot was set to 4 meters. The varying depths took into account the possibility of a premature detonation, and as I was firing off single shots (my previous foray with salvoes not forgotten by either myself or my now concussed Weapons Officer) I wanted to allow for the possibility that the ship would be lower and slower in the water after successive hits.
Launching tube 1, we waited 15 seconds before firing off the second torpedo. I had established a close approach, and torpedo run time was approximately 30 seconds. However, as I launched the second (and shallower) fish, I was surprised by a detonation. The first torpedo, at 10m, had detonated a full 200 meters from it’s target. I was worried about two things immediately. Would my shallower shot meet the same fate? And what would the reaction onboard that target be?

Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a well placed third shot, I launched my third torpedo and began plotting my new attack position. Two successive explosions had me at the periscope in seconds, and to my delight, I observed the C3 engulfed in flame. Dubious that such a ponderous hulk would go under from two torpedoes, I began plotting my third firing position on the now dead in the water ship. As we were maneuvering however, my look outs reported that the ship had broken apart in an explosion. Although three torpedoes had been launched, the ship had been sunk by only two. Impressed by the level of skill aboard the boat, we continued our journey.

Buoyed by our success against a formidable target, we later sank a small merchant, though this now felt like small fish compared to what we had destroyed.
24 hours later we received simultaneous reports of two contacts, on opposite sides of our track! I plotted both projected movements, then elected to hunt down the faster, and nearer target. Intercepting a C2 in rough seas, we submerged to periscope depth. I tried to pretend that the sinking feeling was a result of our excursion below the surface, but the reality remains that I, and now most of the crew believe that C2 cargo ships are our bane. Two magnetic torpedoes slammed into the beast, but she hardly paused for breath. In the worsening sea state, I was unable to execute my two torpedo policy, so I ordered another torpedo into her. This time, she came to a dead stop. However, 20 minutes later she showed no sign of going under. Worrying about possible interference from a warship, I turned my stern to the target, and fine tuned the torpedo solution to slam into the weakened area of her hull, just at the waterline. A risky maneuver given the sea state and the notorious impact triggers, but I was determined to not expend any more shots against the swine. With a tremendous explosion the ship went down, but the price had been high. Four torpedoes for a medium sized merchant. This left me with a total of four torpedoes, and I had not even arrived on station in the patrol zone. I mulled this over and elected to go after the second target we had plotted. A short sprint later brought us up behind another C2. The crew, aware of my distaste for the C2 class, have taken to calling them Elephant Ships. Making my way forward to the bow torpedo room, I encountered Tug-Boat Charlie (Gotz Kals, my gunner) sitting morosely on his bunk. I queried his depressed state and he informed me that he was totally bored! We had taken down 4 ships, were plotting to destroy our fifth and he had yet to fire a single shell. I admit, I had a good chuckle at that, then sent him above to relieve the duty officer and watch the kill. Our final two forward torpedoes left their tubes from directly astern the target, 15 seconds apart. The first torpedo, set to 8 meters detonated beneath the screws, slowing the target substantially. The second torpedo, set to 10 meters passed further up the axis of the ship before detonating directly amidships beneath her! She cracked open like an egg. A beautiful, cursed little egg.

Our forward supply of torpedoes depleted, and only two stern shots remaining, I elected to enter the patrol zone, in the hope we could deal with any problems with the two torpedoes, and weather permitting, my d/g. Sadly, we encountered no contacts for the duration of our patrol, and our return home was equally uneventful.

About 100 km from home port, Fritz my Chief Engineer, informed me that our diesel reserves were down to 10%. I queried my Nav Officer, and he assured me we had a full 230 km of travel available. Thus, I left my engine running at ahead standard. Not 50 km from port, we ran out of fuel! I was furious with my Navigation officer, but the fault lies squarely with me. I should have been more cautious and ordered a reduction in speed. Nevertheless, I submerged the boat and crept into harbor on batteries at Ahead Slow. It was decidedly embarrassing.

Back in port, I was like a Seaman after my first cruise. Without pause I picked up my telephone and called the base hospital. There I spoke to the woman who had kept me smiling throughout the cruise. That evening I stopped by the hospital, and made a display to the various personnel there on how to kiss a beautiful woman! She blushed bright pink as I held her in my arms while several of the other nurses applauded and giggled. Walking out of the hospital arm in arm, with her holding onto me like she’d never let go, I felt a sense of rightness about the world, and my place in it. Several of the crew, leaving base for a night on the town whistled and cheered loudly when they saw their commanding officer walking arm in arm with his lady. Several had remarked during the patrol that I was a lot less frustrated and…well…mean.

Suzanne and I spent the evening in a small coffee shop, catching up with two weeks of history. The next morning, I was summoned to the Commander’s office and given the date of our awards ceremony. As we’d had a lack luster patrol, I was loathe to award any medals, but I did think that two of our seamen had worked well at keeping my torpedoes in prime condition. Therefore, I had them both promoted. I invited Suzanne to the ceremony as well, as most of the married or involved officers usually do. I called the promotions out and presented the men with there patches, and dismissed them. The commanding officer then called me to the front. I couldn’t believe my ears when he presented me with my promotion to Senior Lieutenant!
Until we receive our new orders, I shall oversee the refit of the boat. I’m also planning to spend more time with this amazing woman. Fritz is worried and keeps cocking his head and saying, “Hear those bells, Herr Kaleun?”
I still must have that man shot.

More news in the next entry!

Gerhard Linden
U-49 Kapt.

01-07-07, 07:06 AM	#8
Enchanter Bosun Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: South Africa Posts: 66 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Personal Diary of Gerhard Linden 6 January ’40 – 22 January ‘40 After an age in dock, we were finally handed fresh orders, to patrol the same area west of England. Thus, we established a plot and made for the patrol zone. 24 hours out of dock, we met an outbound Costal Merchant. Our torpedo skills have improved considerably, and she went down with a single shot amidships. About a day later we diverted off course to investigate radio reports of a ship in our area. We intercepted a C3 Cargo ship. Those things are impressively big! Due to the weather, I knew we’d have no opportunity to shell her, so accuracy was the name of the game. We established a parallel course until we were slightly ahead of the ship, then came in at a 90° angle off the port side. At periscope depth, with wind velocity a good 15 km/s the sea state was rough, and I pondered the settings on my depth gauges. I elected to set three alternating depths. Tube 1 was set to below the keel, at 11 m, tube 2 was set to 8 meters, hoping for a side on impact on the same line as the first, and the third shot was set to 4 meters. The varying depths took into account the possibility of a premature detonation, and as I was firing off single shots (my previous foray with salvoes not forgotten by either myself or my now concussed Weapons Officer) I wanted to allow for the possibility that the ship would be lower and slower in the water after successive hits. Launching tube 1, we waited 15 seconds before firing off the second torpedo. I had established a close approach, and torpedo run time was approximately 30 seconds. However, as I launched the second (and shallower) fish, I was surprised by a detonation. The first torpedo, at 10m, had detonated a full 200 meters from it’s target. I was worried about two things immediately. Would my shallower shot meet the same fate? And what would the reaction onboard that target be? Not wanting to miss the opportunity for a well placed third shot, I launched my third torpedo and began plotting my new attack position. Two successive explosions had me at the periscope in seconds, and to my delight, I observed the C3 engulfed in flame. Dubious that such a ponderous hulk would go under from two torpedoes, I began plotting my third firing position on the now dead in the water ship. As we were maneuvering however, my look outs reported that the ship had broken apart in an explosion. Although three torpedoes had been launched, the ship had been sunk by only two. Impressed by the level of skill aboard the boat, we continued our journey. Buoyed by our success against a formidable target, we later sank a small merchant, though this now felt like small fish compared to what we had destroyed. 24 hours later we received simultaneous reports of two contacts, on opposite sides of our track! I plotted both projected movements, then elected to hunt down the faster, and nearer target. Intercepting a C2 in rough seas, we submerged to periscope depth. I tried to pretend that the sinking feeling was a result of our excursion below the surface, but the reality remains that I, and now most of the crew believe that C2 cargo ships are our bane. Two magnetic torpedoes slammed into the beast, but she hardly paused for breath. In the worsening sea state, I was unable to execute my two torpedo policy, so I ordered another torpedo into her. This time, she came to a dead stop. However, 20 minutes later she showed no sign of going under. Worrying about possible interference from a warship, I turned my stern to the target, and fine tuned the torpedo solution to slam into the weakened area of her hull, just at the waterline. A risky maneuver given the sea state and the notorious impact triggers, but I was determined to not expend any more shots against the swine. With a tremendous explosion the ship went down, but the price had been high. Four torpedoes for a medium sized merchant. This left me with a total of four torpedoes, and I had not even arrived on station in the patrol zone. I mulled this over and elected to go after the second target we had plotted. A short sprint later brought us up behind another C2. The crew, aware of my distaste for the C2 class, have taken to calling them Elephant Ships. Making my way forward to the bow torpedo room, I encountered Tug-Boat Charlie (Gotz Kals, my gunner) sitting morosely on his bunk. I queried his depressed state and he informed me that he was totally bored! We had taken down 4 ships, were plotting to destroy our fifth and he had yet to fire a single shell. I admit, I had a good chuckle at that, then sent him above to relieve the duty officer and watch the kill. Our final two forward torpedoes left their tubes from directly astern the target, 15 seconds apart. The first torpedo, set to 8 meters detonated beneath the screws, slowing the target substantially. The second torpedo, set to 10 meters passed further up the axis of the ship before detonating directly amidships beneath her! She cracked open like an egg. A beautiful, cursed little egg. Our forward supply of torpedoes depleted, and only two stern shots remaining, I elected to enter the patrol zone, in the hope we could deal with any problems with the two torpedoes, and weather permitting, my d/g. Sadly, we encountered no contacts for the duration of our patrol, and our return home was equally uneventful. About 100 km from home port, Fritz my Chief Engineer, informed me that our diesel reserves were down to 10%. I queried my Nav Officer, and he assured me we had a full 230 km of travel available. Thus, I left my engine running at ahead standard. Not 50 km from port, we ran out of fuel! I was furious with my Navigation officer, but the fault lies squarely with me. I should have been more cautious and ordered a reduction in speed. Nevertheless, I submerged the boat and crept into harbor on batteries at Ahead Slow. It was decidedly embarrassing. Back in port, I was like a Seaman after my first cruise. Without pause I picked up my telephone and called the base hospital. There I spoke to the woman who had kept me smiling throughout the cruise. That evening I stopped by the hospital, and made a display to the various personnel there on how to kiss a beautiful woman! She blushed bright pink as I held her in my arms while several of the other nurses applauded and giggled. Walking out of the hospital arm in arm, with her holding onto me like she’d never let go, I felt a sense of rightness about the world, and my place in it. Several of the crew, leaving base for a night on the town whistled and cheered loudly when they saw their commanding officer walking arm in arm with his lady. Several had remarked during the patrol that I was a lot less frustrated and…well…mean. Suzanne and I spent the evening in a small coffee shop, catching up with two weeks of history. The next morning, I was summoned to the Commander’s office and given the date of our awards ceremony. As we’d had a lack luster patrol, I was loathe to award any medals, but I did think that two of our seamen had worked well at keeping my torpedoes in prime condition. Therefore, I had them both promoted. I invited Suzanne to the ceremony as well, as most of the married or involved officers usually do. I called the promotions out and presented the men with there patches, and dismissed them. The commanding officer then called me to the front. I couldn’t believe my ears when he presented me with my promotion to Senior Lieutenant! Until we receive our new orders, I shall oversee the refit of the boat. I’m also planning to spend more time with this amazing woman. Fritz is worried and keeps cocking his head and saying, “Hear those bells, Herr Kaleun?” I still must have that man shot. More news in the next entry! Gerhard Linden U-49 Kapt. __________________ Hasta la wookie...baby.