Balz Launches in to patrol 4 (03 June 1940)

[Brag]

It is dark in Vigo. Red lights are on inside the U-52. The officers are gathered in the Zentralle. Balz walks in wearing a tea cozy on his head. "Are we ready, men?"

"Jawhol, Herr Kaleun," Bernard says.
"What's that bulge in your pocket?"
Bernard pulls out a contraption with two copper wire coils. "It's a pulsating destroyer magnet."
"Where did you get it?"
"A Cockney at the Los Marineros Bar sold it to me. It's guaranteed to attract destroyers and even Black Swans."
Balz frowns. "Can you shoot yourself with it?"
"No, sir."
"Then throw it away." Balz readjusts his tea cozy. "My head now receives English Vibes. Einz zwei, hoochie-woochie.We will set course to 280, go 200 kilometres out and under my capable command, sink a ship or two. And we're going there fast to take advantage of the good weatherr. Brilliant thinking from my part. Ja?"

Ten minutes later, U-52 sneaks out of Vigo into the cruel Battle of the Atlantic.

LT. Otto Kalb writes:
03 June 1940
200 kms. WNW of Vigo
We dove for a sound check and immediately made contact with two merchants. Apparently Balz's tea cozy works. 20 minutes later, Balz raised the periscope and told us two French ships were in sight and we were on perfect intercept.
"Auftauchen. Gun crew on deck."
on the flat sea, U-52 raced at 15 knots but the gun crew, dressed in fould gear refused to come out of the hatch. The watch crew came out dressed in foulies. "We can't man the gun in heavy seas."
"You idiots are nuts!"
The ships vanished from view and we got pelted with rain.
"For the love of GWX, ffat is dis?" Balz bellowed.
Thunder rattled our ears and the sky immediately was covered by heavy cloud.
In two hundred meter visibility we did manage to get behind the large French freighter and brought it to a halt with one torpedo on the stern. We dove and waited 'til the next morning for it to sink, while Balz muttered, "Non Schmops Kapop boom-boom, Non Schmops Kapop . . .