CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
From: U-572 (Type VIIC)
Date: Early 1943
After it was decided to end our operations from base at La Spezia, we received orders at the end of patrol to move through the strait of Gibraltor and dock at La Rochelle. Having repaired and a new stock of provisions onboard from a friendly port we've now almost made clear through "the eye of the needle" in an uncoventional manner, using poor visibility and least guarded parts of the area to determine our route of transit.
Despite the level of constant stress due to our proximity to Gibraltor, I could not resist all the convoy activity through the bottleneck and so we sunk a couple of large tankers as well as another troops transport. The British nearly had me in shallow waters a couple of times. We sunk a V&W with a lucky aft torpedo shot at extremely close range after it caught me with my pants down at periscope depth and there is less than a 100m under keel, so once again, Davey Jones will have to come up and claim his victims.
It was a smaller patrol boat that probably spotted my periscope and radioed in for help. Impossible in this weather. A few more unplanned incidents like this one and I'll be worried about my crew. Perhaps this is the test we were warned about and I feel confident to know that my crew has lasted through most of it. But we're far from home and there are still torpedos left to win this war.
I'm ready for anything. Having spread so much death and misery, it'd only be fair if we met our end here.
U-572 out.