U-Boat Commander Starts Over - Musings of Sorts

[Majestik 909]

Well, after a long career aboard U-796 XXI, and over 400,000 GRT, the war ended. So, I started new career aboard U-196 IXC, based out of Penang, June 11, 1943. First mission was a supply drop to Manila through many small island chains. Had to make almost the entire run surfaced...aircraft everywhere. Its a wonder we survived. Sank 13 freighters on the return trip, many in shallow passages, attacking with deck gun and blaring music over the Gramaphone. One ran aground to avoid us, probably by accident. Well, 40,000 GRT isn't a bad start I suppose.

The crew did a nice job of shooting down one pesky aircraft. I passed out cans of black bread, beer and cheese as a reward. In retrospect, the combination may prove at bit much for our CO2 scrubbers!

I forgot how fast the batteries run down on the older boats! I think the XXI has spoiled me.

Waiting for nightfall...sk

R.H.v.H - U-196

[Majestik 909]

June 12, 1943 - Hours pass...sitting in a deep pocket just outside Darwin at 18 meters in daylight....every now and again, i take a look around....just fishing boats....small freighters, most of them look as if they could be sunk with a slingshot...waiting for a nice, fat fish to come along. I take no action against small boats.

This odd thing happened to us last night. While attacking a lightly armed merchant. I came by close and looked through the scope just as my gun crew was firing the coup de grace, and I actually saw one sailor drop to his knees on the burning deck as if in prayer. How wish I could order sailors to abandon their ship before final attack, but I find no mechanism that permits this. At least the island clusters afford them safety.

Waiting....

R.H.v.H - U-196

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Majestik 909

I passed out cans of black bread, beer and cheese as a reward. In retrospect, the combination may prove at bit much for our CO2 scrubbers!

Methane power your IXC. Silent but deadly.

[Majestik 909]

Yes, Torplexed!

My dream since childhood is to one day either commission or build a full scale Typ XXIII u-boat and sail it all around the world, as a sort of museum cruise....

[Majestik 909]

Update - On June 13, 1943, ordered back to Penang. Given command of U-847 - IX-D2. Received immediate orders to patrol grid quadrant SZ off Darwin. 10 days of patrol chasing contacts that turn out to be nothing more than fishing boats! Only one T3 tanker sunk in 10 days of intense patrol.

Scout aircraft provide good updates, but no heavy tonnage appears to be afloat in this region. Things are quiet indeed.

Considered hiding in Torres Straight, in hopes of intercepting task force, but shallow depths make such an exercise perilous.

May cruise SSW towards Fremantle in hopes of finding targets.

Running surfaced at flank speed by night and watching radar for contacts. Battery life isn't bad on IX-D2. I can get almost 5 hours out of a single charge at flank speed.

As always....waiting....SK

R.H.v.H - U-847

[Majestik 909]

June 24, 1943 - 1815 - 150km NW of Sandy Cape - T3 tanker, unescorted, flying American standard, 10 knots, course 270 - first sighting 2,200 meters of target's port bow on heading of 260 with about 800 meters of lead - closing in for deep, close-range shot just above bilge keel....

R.H.v.H - U-847

[Majestik 909]

1825 - coffee cools all too quickly in this magnetic cup. Target course and speed unchanged - still closing - observation indicates Kennebeck class tanker - large numerals '68' on bow - heavy armament visible - 21,000 GRT, 11.2 meters draft - G7a torpedoes set to high speed, magnetic pistols, depth 7 meters, spread 2 degrees -will recalculate final firing solution when range to target is under 500 meters.

Closing.....R.H.v.H - U-847

[Majestik 909]

1843 hours - target makes abrupt course change to 013 - reposition for optimal port side attack, slightly behind port quarter - range to target now 417 meters - recompute manual solution - range 417m - speed 5 degrees - length 500 feet - spread angle 5 degrees - angle on bow 162 degrees to port - gyros set to 000 - depth 8 meters - fire tubes 3, 4 & 5 at 15 second intervals.....at 30 knots, G7a covers 50.6 feet per second - time to first impact 25 seconds.....

[Majestik 909]

1844 - our feather must have been discovered - gun crews open fire with small caliber automatic weapons, short of our position - 3 or 5 inch aft turret fires one shell over us - torpedo #1 impact - large column of water rises near port forecastle - gun crews remain at station, appearing to fire wildly, possibly due to tracks from G7a's and not our feather - torpedo impact #2 - water column rises amidships, vessel takes a list to port and loses 2 knots quickly - gun crews continue to emit unaimed fire - torpedo impact #3 - aft of the flying bridge - large water column rises with simultaneous huge discharge of smoke/steam from ship's funnel - likely a hit to port boiler room - list begins to correct as ship settles by the stern - 6 feet of freeboard visible - fire and smoke erupt from ventilation funnels fore and aft - ship settles evenly and appears to have stopped sinking - I continue to observe from periscope depth....

[Majestik 909]

1859 - circle around submerged to starboard side - ship is low in the water, yet on an even keel - guns have gone silent - small fires are visible from ladderwells, but flooding appears ti have been arrested -

1903 - a tremendous explosion from the forward hold erupts skyward with orange light and ejection of debris - force of explosion forces starboard rail underwater and ship appears to bend downward amidships - more violent explosions - likely from stored munitions - bow and stern halves separate and begin to sink rapidly - less than 2 minutes from initial explosion to complete disappearance - surface and commence rescue operations - no lfeboats or survivors found - final position - Long 129 10' East x 11 32' South - 12,000 GRT

1933 - Head southwest to resupply from Milkcow before moving to grid KW

R.H.v.H. - U-847

[Rockin Robbins]

Well done!

[TorpX]

A nice, systematic approach.

[Majestik 909]

Sunday, June 27, 1943 - 2010 hours - 1,000 nm West of Fremantle - Rendevouz with tanker, replenish expended munitions and supplies - new Eniga rotors and Thetis M codebooks - morale is high - I keep the Gramaphone or radio on whenever possible - news reports on something called Zoot Suit Riots taking place in Los Angeles California - crew transfers mail to tanker - head as ordered to grid KW - thus far, fishing boats are the only contacts....

R.H.v.H - U-847

[Majestik 909]

Sunday, June 27, 1943 - 2315- a purple sky meets a black sea - making 20 knots surfaced - the crew are in great spirits - from the conning tower, I gaze out across the vast expanse of ocean - it is as if we are the only boat afloat - my tactics shall remain unchanged on this, the U-847's first combat patrol - attack aggressively and resupply as often as possible, staying close to supply sources - the final mission of U-196 consisted of 7 refits - hours pass and thus far, we have seen and heard nothing - always waiting it would seem.

It is s cold and silent, the sea. Such a peaceful place in many respects, broken only by the distant humming of our screws.

It has been weeks since we were home. My beard seems to grow by the hours and the air is humid and warm. "Wie gehts?" asks a commrade. I tilt my head and smile in response.

I often wonder, as I lay in my rack at night, what master do we serve? These vessels, these crews that we engage, do they feel the same as I do???

I recall one day, we surfaced to search for survivors. It was sad that we found none. I often wonder, in the galant struggle for victory, how many lives are lost needlessly?

I smoke. Not because I enjoy it, but because it breaks the monotony. The silence. The stillness...waiting for the next catstrophy.

I wonder how God could make such a being. One that would seek to destroy his own kind with amazing machines. When did we come to see things so differently?

So hard to write sometimes. The words get lost in my insanity of thought. The cold dark waters offer anonymity, but no escape from moral responsibility.

When I try to sleep, I hear the thunderous claps from above. The boat is shaken to its very core. Water seeps from fittings like rain, covering the iron floor.

Sometimes, it goes on for what seems like an eternity. Tempting fate, Deeper still, the only escape. Sometimes I wonder if the boys in Kiel ever imagined she could dive so deep. Water from welded seams, like salty tears, begin to weep.

The smell of sulfur hangs in the air, like a moist cloud, adding to my despair. I wonder why we play this deadly game. In the calmness of the sea, you can almost hear the sound of fear as it echoes against the steel.

As Oberleutnant, I must always be emotionless. Each and every Matrosengefreiter must see me as a man of iron. But in my heart, I miss Jutta and my son, days of fishing on the Elbe.

I must think that this war will end someday, but soon enough for me will it never be. Until then I shall count the days until we finally come home from the sea. Until then, I bow my head in private and recite quietly....

Ewiger Gott,

dessen kreative Hand Urmeere zu Ozeane breit machte und dessen allgegenwärtige Liebe so sein kann, fühlte scharf sich unten wie über ihrer wallend Oberfläche; steigen Sie mit uns jetzt in die leisen Tiefen als unser unfehlbarer Führer ab.

Wir Männer des leisen Services sind dankbar, zu den mit der Aufregung eines Tauchens zu begeistern wenigen, überhaupt, und bloßer Ekstase jeder Oberflächenbearbeitung zu gehören.

Mögen wir nie nach diesen Manövern als bloßes Programm, nach jedem suchen sind eine Erfahrung, die mit Herausforderung und keiner wenig Gefahr frisch ist. Mögen wir auf unsere einzelne Aufgabenverwirklichung überhaupt aufmerksam sein, die soviel von unserem Handeln unserer Aufgabe ohne Störung abhängt.

Mögen wir an das neue Mitglied unserer Mannschaft uns erinnern, die seinen ersten Abfall bilden soll, und atmen ein Gebet, dass er ein guter Matrose auf einem U-Boot ist. Mögen wir, die wissen, was es ist, einem Kurs zu folgen, kennen ihn auch, der " sagte; Ich bin das way." Mögen wir, die eilig in den ersten frischen Lüften schlucken, während es hinunter die Luke hetzt, die jedem Tauchen folgt, kennen auch thy erneuerngeist.

Mögen wir, die die Notwendigkeit für Begleitungfühlen unsere Teilhaberschaft mit thee kennen, wenn die Luken hartnäckig sind und wenn wir für Tauchen in Ordnung gebracht werden. Wenn alles sonst der Oberflächenwelt heraus geschlossen worden ist, können wir glauben thee in jedem Fach, so nahe zu uns als throbbing Maschinen-, pingingsonar und das Zischen von Druckluft.

Und wenn, wie, Matrosen auf einem U-Boot alternd, unsere Seelen in die Tiefen der Ewigkeit, können der abschließende Anruf zu uns sein abgestiegen sind; "Oberfläche, Oberfläche, Oberfläche," im Namen er, der als das ungesehene Mannschaftsmitglied auf jedes Schiff in Meer reitet.

Amen...Meine Brüder...

[Majestik 909]

July 1, 1943 - 2341 hours - 10 knots - heading 090 - 412 miles NW of Fremantle - the silence of the boat is broken by excited shouts from the crew - kontakt! - large task force - multiple warships - one set of very large screws - increase speed to flank and set course to intercept - task force located - King George V class battleship with 5 destroyer escorts - V&W Class -

July 2, 1943 - 0337 hours - picking off the escorts one at a time - 5 V&W destroyers sunk - 5,940 GRT - closing in on battleship - heavy zig-zagging pattern requires a calculated approach - will commence attack when range closes to less than 400 meters.

July 2, 1943 - 0352 hours - torpedoes set slow/magnetic/9 meters/ 5 degree spread - waiting for target to turn to starboard

July 2, 1943 - 0412 hours - target turns to starboard - tubes 1 through 4 fired at 15 second intervals - first torpedo impacts after 26 seconds - huge water column followed by bright flash - 3 more torpedo impacts along starboard side - ship rocks violently - secondary explosions below decks - huge ball of orange fire erupts from ships funnel.

July 2, 1943 - 0441 hours - ship settles to starboard and rolls over. Crew puts into lifeboats.

July 2, 1943 - 0452 hours - ship sinks inverted by the bow - 41,480 GRT

Set course to rendezvous with supply ship.

R.H.v.H - U-847