Hello, both Randomizer and Platapus!
Yep, as Platapus wrote, there may be not rational reason for "66" and I know my "theory" can easily be just 100 % bull&#¤&. However, I think Randomizer gave interesting hypoteses in his last post and as an ex member of LRRP I think I know pretty well what Rando meant.
Also, I don't know more details about 14 attacks of the one particular duck. I also suspect that 132 attack pack was really pre-war stuff but again I wouldn't be so sure it was commander training or sub school releated at all. (And I'm too pretty sure every sub school student didn't got 132 torpedo attacks.)
A bit off topic, but I think Randomizer meant winter 1939-1940 when he was talking about the horrible "ice-winter", not 1940-41. I think winter 40-41 was pretty normal in the Baltic/North Sea areas, but 39-40 was really quite harsh. For example the Jade Bay off Wilhelmshaven was so icy the boats couldn't carry out any test dives on the bay and they had to move out and go to Helgoland for diving.
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How does one find the time for 66-night attacks during the summer months where night is short at Baltic latitudes?
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A good question, but maybe it wasn't that impossible really. For example here in Finland, where I live, there is no sunset at all in the Lappland area during mid summer as - I'm sure - you know. But if you move southwards, nights become darker and longer pretty fast. (You can really notice it if you travel just from Oulu to Helsinki. Helsinki is located in the most southern part of the country and Oulu is about in the middle on the way up to north.) Then, 66 night attacks divided by 6 per night... It's only 11 nights, in theory, or maybe about 2 weeks.
So... It's always nice to find something new to study. Just think how many books there is about the U-boats, most of them repeating each other. I think many interesting parts about the "U-boat life" are still very much uncharted areas. It would be really interesting to know more details about pre-war "operational" life of the boats, drills and so on. But maybe the archives will give aswers in the future, I hope.
Greetings,
-RC-