(Story) U-46 puts to sea again

[Laughing Swordfish]

The note paper is damp and scibbled quickly by Jimbun, Viktor's one-on-one-off side kick in the radio cabin shift.

I think he had some American parentage, and I'm sure Cox has the roster of real names somewhere, but since he joined the boat, like so many others, including me, his nickname has stuck, god knows where it came from, and he has learned well from Viktor, proved a dab hand at morse code. Communication is vital in our game, and even a Kapitan can be waved away impatiently by a lowly seaman when he is concentrating on an incoming message.

I have to squint hard at the soggy sheet of paper.

"U-287 to:
U-46
U-631
U-475
U-119
U-292
FdU

Surfaced away from enemy contact. West and rear of convoy will confirm grid. Heavy depth charge. 10 hours submerged. Pressure hull damage, some flooding, electrical and engine problems. Five severely wounded. Two torpedoes...."

'What does this last bit say, Jimbun?'

"I can remember it Kaleun. He's saying "Permission to break contact and try for home"

He looked at me expectantly. Everyone in 7th Flotilla knows someone or other on another boat.

We are now that lead boat in this wolf pack that is forming. We are in the best position to strike, but our comrades are trying to limp home having done their bit.

"Anything from the other boats Jimbun?"

"Nothing Sir, or from FdU, signals were choppy anyway, and that wasn't the steady hand of Ehrlich that I remember on the morse key".

He looked up again, the other officers and seniors around were silent.

Do we pursue the attack as Uncle Karl would no doubt want, or do we break off and help out Enzel and his crew and get them back to St Nazairre safe....?

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

Hope you had a great Christmas, my fellow U-boat men, and a very Happy and Prosperous (and dry!) New Year!

Laughing Swordfish
(Raoul de Bunsen)

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Laughing Swordfish

Hope you had a great Christmas, my fellow U-boat men, and a very Happy and Prosperous (and dry!) New Year!

Laughing Swordfish
(Raoul de Bunsen)

To you also Raoul






Jimbun

[Rhodes]

Have a Happy New Year Raoul de Bunsen, with many adventures of the U-46!

[Laughing Swordfish]

To get whereever he is now, Enzel must have ducked his boat down deep and let the convoy pass over his head. It's a good trick that we've used too. By slinking away under the merchants, any noise they might make is partly disguised by the convoy propellors, and the escorts manouvering is also hampered to some extent, by the columns of friendly ships that they also don't want to drop any depth charges too close to either.

But at some point, they got to him anyway. Reading between the lines of the message, I can picture the terror and frantic activity, the blackouts lit only by sparks until power is restored, the smashing of anything breakable, as the boat runs ever deeper and the depth charges nearly find their mark. The sudden gush of a burst valve, and the splashing around as any slight breach of the pressure hull is desperately shored up. Being hurled off your feet by a close one, faces streaked pink by a mixture of blood and water framing wide staring eyes, and wildly soaked and dishevelled hair. We have been there ourselves, and inwardly I still shudder to think of those moments that I cannot, must never, share with Heidi.

But Enzel is a cool one, he's out of the immediate danger, but a long way from safe. He's a sitting duck where he is, we are all well within Allied air cover, and I'm not sure if he dares diving again until he can effect repairs.

There's only so much one boat can do for another in distress, much less in convoy action, but we could lend a hand with the wounded, and provide some rudimentary escort back, with our pop gun up top and still some eels left in the locker. Even take the whole crew off, or at least give them our life rafts if it came to it.

At the same time, we have worked up a nearly perfect attack position, 45 degrees to starboard of the leading ship and closing according to Christian. Four torpedoes in, with their magnetics armed and set. Ships carrying arms and fuel and ammunition and supplies that will hurt our country.

It is Otto that gently breaks the silence around the radio cabin.

"Your orders, Sir......?"

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

I looked around to my seniors, and not a few ratings drawn away from their stations or even damp bedding huddled around the radio cabin. The water still dripping off the peak of my cap to my nose.

"We are going in. Of course we are. This is a U-boat, not some coastguard vessel Bruno....!". He had virtually been hanging on to my shoulder,

"Get upstairs and help Christian, that's where I need you."

(His brother-in-law is on U-287)

He looked at me.

"Do it Bruno! I need you up there and out of the way here. Make this attack happen with Christian, he's been up all day, I need Willi down here with me,"

"But.."

"But nothing ..I need the Navigation Officer right here with me, to plot a reciprocal route, I need you and the Number one to pick out the best targets and get in under 1,000m range without being found, so we can sink something that even you should be able to do at that range, and then double back for Enzel and his boys.

"We're going back to them , Kap?"

"Yes if we can find them, as soon as we've put a fox in amongst the chickens. As soon as I have heard four explosions, we have done our duty, and you can send Christian down and take the Bridge."

I raised a palm as the Amis do, but with the thumb tucked in

"Four hits, Bruno, we are in great position and closing"

He met my gesture with his usual grin and at the turning from the bottom of the ladder,with four fingers of his own, but he used two hands.."

And then he was gone up to the bridge.

Cheeky bastard as always! But I know he will deliver now.

Viktor is out of his sodden bunk fretting over the radio, but young Jimbun has it, although it makes sense for more than one person to listen into a faltering morse signal.

"I remind you that you are at battle stations men!"

They sheepishly return to their post, as if we couldn't be depth charged ourselves at any time.

"Try everyone again, maybe we can relay, but keep on bashing it out to U-287. A rough grid would do, and we'll get them to fire a flare if it comes to it"

So now it is the two best signallers in the Flotilla, me and the 3rd Watch Officer against the daylight that explosions will bring...

LS

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Bump!

[Laughing Swordfish]

Willi and I have worked out a search pattern for Enzel after our attack run, which basically means hot-footing it back West-South West and looping around, rather than racing ahead for another strike.

Above us, murmerings from Christian down the pipe manouevre the Swordfish this way and that looking for an opening, and closing the range.

U-475 and U-292 are in contact and closing somewhere to the North, which is good news. We should also have Anders in U-119 prowling along in front and to the East ready to pounce, and also to keep in convoy contact after we go in. Of course the Royal Navy will have something to say about all our plans.

An urgent order barked down from Bruno, brings our helm sharply to port, and Otto is already calling for more speed, even before the order is telegraphed from bridge to engine room.

Again there is that sense of excitement and tension, as U-46 answers her call, swerving round wonderfully, and gathering up for the sprint.

I have to be up on the Bridge. As I find myself doing more and more, I glance into my cabin to the photograph of Heidi pinned on a bulkhead.

Its not there.

Darting through the green curtain, I find it where it has fallen on my bunk, and lovingly pin it back up again.

Perhaps the sudden swerve of the boat into the attack dislodged it. An omen? I have to dismiss those sort of thoughts from my mind.

But all the same,
I press my fingers to my lips and then to hers, before heading for the ladder.

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

Hi guys, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. I've had to put away my toys for a while, most recently being mobilised by the Army to provide security for the Olympics, but back again now, so standby tubes one to four!

LS
Raoul de Bunsen

[Jimbuna]

Good to have you back matey

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

Roll on the next installment LS!!! Just keep it in the PG rating area, avoid the R rated stuff!

LS, don't listen to him!
In the immortal words of an overly YTP-ed Michael Rosen:"it's time to string you up from the wallbars!" *flop* "*smack*nice!"

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Laughing Swordfish

"What news of U-217?"

Ummm... Well, on patrol she mysteriously mutated into a type VIIC!
(U-217 was a VII D!)

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Laughing Swordfish

You got me there Steeltrap, but we can still whip you at a proper sport like football!

LS

We call it soccer. And nobody plays it, because we have proper sports like rugby. Look up Aussie rugby players and you will see the strongest people on earth.

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

That's really creepy.

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Scars = HAWT

I'm just sayin'.

Thankyou