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Leutnant z.s Erich Wegner, commanding officer of U-55 (VIIB)
Current Date: Tuesday, August 1, 1939
Attached to: U-Flotilla Wegener, Kiel
At sea for patrol #1
Patrol Grid: AN52
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Previously, the crew of U-55 was attached to the 21. Ausbildungsflottille based in Neustadt where over a period of two months they underwent rigorous sea trials and workups in navigation, naval artillery, flak artillery, and torpedoes. The final test at the end of those two months was a simulated convoy battle where U-55 "engaged enemy escorts and merchants" in the Baltic Sea, approximately 42.61 nautical miles ENE of Neustadt. These escorts and merchants were actually decommissioned warships and merchants from the Reichsmarine that were to be used as target ships. Over a period of eight hours, the crew of U-55 sank almost every ship in the convoy and exceeded all requirements and expectations in her sea trials. The crew was granted for combat operations and was subsequently attached to U-Flotilla Wegener based in Kiel.
Then on July 31, 1939 the commanding officer received his orders which read:
COMPLETE EXERCISES AND ORDERS RECEIVED OVER RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM UNIT HEADQUARTERS. YOUR STARTING GRID IS AN-52
The commanding officer (Leutnant Erich Wegner) quickly arranged provisions and ordnance with the help of his Bosun, Bootsman Franz Muller.
The U-55 slipped from its moorings at Kiel on August 1, 1939 at exactly 08:15. The first patrol of the prodigy boat and its captain had officially begun.
Laden with anxiety and a mild sense of excitement, the crew watched from behind them as the naval base slowly slipped from view and the vast ocean gradually surrounded them.