The Battle at AN16

[Zedwardson]

2.3.40

U-27, Hans Friedrich, who is started to gain the nickname the "African Killer" for he was born in the former German Colony of SW Africa, was on his eight patrol, six days into it after fruitlessly chasing a Task Force, the Radio Room reports that a large convoy has left Scapa Flow, slowly heading West.

Friedrich looks at his maps, it would be insane to go though the gap at Scapa, but the passage between the Orkney's and the Shetlands at full speed would give U-27 plenty of time to swing around and lie in wait for the large convoy. Heading North, at AN16, the watch calls out "Warship Sighted, looks like a tribal class!"

"Scope Depth!, what is the depth under hull?"

"70 meters sir!"

Friedrich sighed, he needed to avoid this ship if he could, as there was little or no depth for safety.

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The HMS Nootka was sailing south, when a sharp lookout warned the captain that he saw a U-boat dive, The British commander nodded, the U-boats where giving the British hell, but this U-boat was out of position, and he wanted to get a kill.

Head towards the dive point, zig-zagging, don't want a electric to ruin our day

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the sonar operator indicated that the ship was approaching fast, and the whole crew heard the ping reverberate throughout the boat.

"Scope up, prepare for a crash drive"

Hans looked in, 1000 meters away, the ship was zagging, bad gyro angle, but this was desperate times.

"Open door one, FIRE!"

700 Meters

"Open door 2, Fire"

650 Meters

"Open door 3, FIRE!"

500 Meters

"Open Door 4, Fire! CRASH DIVE!"

U-27 electrics hummed to life; dive planes seeking the depths of Neptune as it hurled itself to the muddy bottom, as one by one, the torpedoes missed, the pings hitting the hull. The crew tried to slow the decent, but left a glancing blow on the bottom, as U-27 sat in the Mud of Scotland.

"Depth charges in the water."

Hans turned to his XO, Emil Michel and said "better get the damage control teams ready"

The first two depth charges shook the boat, the third and fourth hit the boat hard, damage reports coming across the boat. Friedrich dare not go silent, as the rear of his boat was filling with water. Luckily, his crew was excellent, and shored up the damage, and began to de-water, going from section to section keeping any one section going to crisis mode. The crew was so busy that they almost did not notice the pinging, and depth charges headed their way, once again the boat rocked, and more crew was called in to help the damage, Friedrich had to call a all stop, as the rear of the boat was dragging, causing further damage. Ordering a all stop, the boat settled on the bottom, for once thankful that it was not deep enough to crush the boat.

While majority of the crew worked on pumping out the water, the crew worked at getting the Front torpedoes loaded, they were nearly complete when the order for running quiet was sounded, the worn crew hitting bunks as U-27 tried to slowly crawl away from the circling hawk of the HMS Nootka.

Depth charges fell, the boat shook, but it slowly glided a few feet above the bottom, trying to sneak away, when suddenly light bulbs burst and the boat hit the bottom once more.

The crew once again went to damage control, quickly fixing the problem, but Emil had bad news, the aft section was looking rather dire, and he wasn't sure how many more depth charges it could take.

Friedrich just nodded, "well if today I die, I want to die on my feet, and not at my knees to the limey navy"

"Secure from silent running, your torpedo men better get busy, I want those fish to fly! Flank speed, Scope depth!"

U-27 awoke from its slumber, rising from the deep, a bone in its teeth as it rose quickly, scope rising up and breaking the surface.

Hans quickly turned his scope and found his hunter, it was at 160 degrees, Hans knew it was a bad shot, but he wanted to make sure no chance went to waste.

"Open tube Five, FIRE!"

"Hard to starboard, NOW!"

"Tube one loaded sir!"

Hans nodded, he had one ace in his sleeve, if only if he can have enough time to use it.

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"Commander, steam wake on our port side!"

"Hard to starboard! Full speed!"

The commander of the HMS Nootka smiled as he saw the torpedo miss behind him, a poor shot, He ordered a slow turn so his men could find the location of the fire, and then ram the bloody bastard."

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Hans watched as his boat slowed so slowly, he heard the electrics engines, badly damaged in the depth charge attack, groan as Emil helped the mechanics get the most out of the engines.

"Tube 2 ready sir!"

Hans smiled, he had a pair of Aces, he hoped it would be enough.

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"Sir, Scope spotted on our Port side, looking right at us, about six knots! 750 meters!"

"Full Port, Close the range and run the Cheeky Kraut over."

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Finally his boat was facing the right direction, Hans looked into his scope, and gulped, he knew the next thirty seconds of his life could be the last ones.

"Open tube one! Zero degrees on the rudder!"

Hans felt the boat smooth out, the boat was calm, ready, he didn't hear the noises of the boat, it was him, and the tribal, looking at each other though their respective optics.

700 Meters, a good shot as the HMS Nootka hauled over to face him

"Fire Tube one!" "open tube two!"

The boat shuddered, he watched as the gyro angle read zero.

"Fire two."

Friedrich smiled, it was all up to fate, and he hoped he didn't have a dud.

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"Sir!"


The British commander saw the tracks as well as anyone on the ship, crossing each other tracks, one headed towards the rear, the other right on, there was no way to avoid this blow.

"Bloody Hell"

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TORPEDO IMPACT!

TORPEDO IMPACT!!!

Friedrich smiled, he heard the cheers of the crew, the sudden singing of "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" ringed though the boat, but what made him truly smile was the flames on the hunter who had become prey, as it quickly fell into the depths, stern first.

"Men, Lets go home"


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This is based off a actual encounter that I had this afternoon, one of the most tense actions I have dealt with, as I have become attached to Mr. Friedrich and his crew. I had truly thought that he would not make it though the encounter.

Hans Friedrich was awarded the Knights Cross after this action.