It's HOW deep?

[Brag]

Originally Posted by Der Schatten

The 4th patrol was a total washout,,,,,constant rain and high winds, low visibility and low moral. The bread went moldy in three days, and the salted bacon moved on it's own accord. Only ships spotted were friendlies and neutrals.....everyone was secretly glad to see the fuel guage work it's way down to "time to head home". U-53's ('the Black Cat") 5th patrol started on a fine spring morning, the newly recieved type VIIC hummed out of Kiel like a thorough-bred waiting to be let loose. After reaching AN55 (and sinking a tramp steamer on the way) we picked up a message of a convoy headed our way. We headed to the cut off point with high expectations. Arriving a day ahead of time, we played cat and mouse with two Armed trawlers who must have had this grid in thier patrol zone (that wont do!) and since we had on board two shiny new electric torpedos we thought we would clear the area before the convoy got there. The first shot was an easy one, set up was perfect and the trawler went down quickly after taking the torp right in the engine room. The second was more difficult (a nice way of saying "lucky") since the trawler turned into what should have been a botched shot....she exploded and broke in two. No need to say it, but the crew was in fine spirits (previous problems caused them to not like the electric torpedos much!) and ready for action. After setting up where I thought the convoy should be appearing, we transfered rested men to the vital positions, charged the batteries and put everything in order. The convoy was picked up at about 18 Kms and we made final calculations..........one of the last things I did was a quick "depth at keel", just to make sure (I'v been burned on that one before!), and you could hear the hearts drop to the deck when we all heard "Depth at Keel.....17 meters!"..........17 meters? During the positioning for the two trawlers and getting in line for the convoy, I had moved out of that "deep spot" in AN55.
Descretion always is the better part of valor, so they say. At least that is what I said when faced with tangling with probably 4 or more escorts in 20 or so meters of water. It was nice to have the upgraded engines on the VIIC as we surfaced and got the heck out of there at flank speed. The bad mood was temporary, as this patrol already tasted blood and we were seeing targets....it should only be a matter of time till we have our chance.......and the next time we may have all the cards in our favor. The crew was singing "Lily Marlene" as we headed north to better (and DEEPER) hunting grounds.

Good judgement, Herr Kaleun