U-27, Patrol Report.

[Steel_Tomb]

Having started a new DiD campaign after a long break, I thought I would finally try my hand at some writing. I hope you enjoy it! There may be more to come .




Patrol Diary, U-27 Type VIIB Unterseeboot.


September 2nd, 1939

We set sail from Wilhelmshaven this morning at dawn. So many years, so much training… and it comes down to this moment.

The invasion of Poland began yesterday, and from what state radio has being saying the Pole’s are falling apart. It will be a great day indeed when all of Germany is finally united. However, something trouble’s me… I can’t describe it or explain the reasons for it, but I feel that dark days are ahead.

The men were visibly excited about putting to sea. I welcome the enthusiasm, but I felt the need to remind them this was no training sortie… we sail to war.


September 4th, 1939

The first victory! All was quiet, a seemingly uneventful day until this evening. I was settling down on my bunk, when I was summoned by Heinrich; my watch officer. He had spotted a ship on the horizon, how I do not know… it was pitch black out there. Luckily, she was steaming right for us! I ordered the men bellow and dove to periscope depth.

For nearly twenty minutes we watched her, I peered through the periscope briefly every few minutes; giving readings to my weapons officer. The atmosphere was electric, the crew obviously aware that we were about to make our first contact with the enemy. I identified the vessel as a small Coastal Freighter, she was completely oblivious to our presence. For such a small ship, normally I would have used only one torpedo. However, I was acutely aware that this was our first contact… and the crew would expect a result. I ordered Helmut to prepare a salvo of two torpedoes. The bow caps opened, the order was given… and it happened.

We fired our first shot’s in ager.

From that moment on, there was utter silence. You could have cut the air with a knife, everyone listened to the subtle ticking of the chronometer… waiting for that moment. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion, and then another. There was thunderous cheering throughout the ship, I congratulated Helmut on a job well done. We surfaced some minutes after, but she had already sunk. I ordered Heinrich on watch for the next few hours and came down to my cabin.


8th September, 1939

Today has been the worst of my life. We’ve had more victories, yesterday we sank two ships. HMS Duncan, a C&D class Destroyer and the S.S. Sea Falcon totaling about 3500 tons. And just a couple of hours ago we caught a tanker, our forth victory. Perhaps we got complacent…

We were sailing on the surface, I had ordered Heinrich to take some rest as he had been on watch for most of the night. I placed a young man, Bootsmann Kurt Decker up on the conning tower as his relief. Everything seemed normal, calm if a little cloudy. I was discussing our route with Alfred when all hell broke loose.

I don’t know who it was, but it was clear. ALARM! FLUGZEUG!

Everyone rushed to their diving stations, I remember praying that we would get bellow before the enemy were upon us. It was too late though, Kurt was the last to make his was down. We were strafed, Kurt was hit. The medic did everything he could, but Kurt’s injuries were too severe. He bled to death on the mess table. I can’t help but feel personally responsible for his death, I had sent him up there… and now he was dead. Crew morale has taken a severe hit. Everyone, myself included have now realised… he is just the first of many who will not see their families again.

I have tried to find the words to comfort the crew, but nothing I can say will stop the sense of loss.


12th September, 1939

Thing’s are returning to normal, if any of this can be called normal! The men are coming to terms with Bootsmann Decker’s death, and seem to be even more determined to do their duty and take the fight to the British. We also have one more victory in the log. A Tramp Steamer, S.S Havildar. She was steaming NNW, we had spotted her from afar despite the rough seas and were waiting at periscope depth. We fired a single torpedo, but nothing happened. I don’t know if we missed, or if it was a dud. I had already prepared another salvo and we sent two more fish, just to be sure. One detonated prematurely, the other finding its mark. Looking through the periscope I saw a tremendous explosion, the ship seemed to jump out of the water before settling slightly beneath the waves. We waiting for her to sink but she was quite stubborn and seemed determined to stay afloat. We surfaced and lined up our last shot. Just after the order was given Heinrich cried in alarm, there were men jumping overboard into the flames. The fourth fish impacted and broke her back. After that it was only mere minutes before it slipped beneath the waves.

I had seen the suffering poor Kurt went through as he bled to death, I know the English are our enemies… but I could not let fellow sailors drown in those icy seas. I ordered the helmsman to approach the ship and make preparations to take on survivors. We were getting close when the sky seemed to light up, everyone scrambled down the hatch at once. I turned briefly and saw a destroyer bearing down on us. I felt regret that we couldn’t save those men, but the lives of my crew come first. I only hope that they were picked up by another ship, to drown is a most unpleasant way to go.

As I write this, we are silently making our way S.E. Having exhausted our compliment of torpedoes, we will make our way home at dawn tomorrow.


14th September, 1939

We are home! And what a glorious feeling it is! We slipped into the harbor at Wilhelmshaven just after four o’clock to jubilant crowds. The nurses in particular were most welcoming! I have received a recommendation for our efforts, but I feel it is the rest of the crew that should receive the applause. I shall not spare any more time to this diary. There is a bar to go to!

[Steel_Tomb]

17 views and no comments? Is my writing truly that bad!?

[Brag]

Your writingt is pretty good! .
On responses, most of the people visiting are lurkers.

I would have liked to know where the action took place.
Keep writing.

[Steel_Tomb]

Thanks Brag! Coming from yourself that compliment is great!

Reading it, I suppose I was a bit bland on some finer details. Started off west of scapa, moving down the english coast towards dover area and home to base.

Will do another write up for my next patrol. Any recommendations on changes to my writing style or content?

Must proof read better next time already found a couple of typo's and incorrect bits of grammer... like present tense instead of past.

[Brag]

When writing more than a brief message, it's a good idea to write the original draft in Word or Notepad, save it for a couple of days, proof it and let it out. Letting the reader know where the action takes place adds realism and drama to the story.

Looking forward to your next patrol.

[KL-alfman]

looking forward to your next patrol-log!

[Jimbuna]

Just come across this ST and it looks and reads fine to me.

I'm no writing expert like Brag here but his points of advice sound valid to me and should assist you in making what is already a good read even better.

SINK EM ALL!!