A detailed KTB from 1944 - BdU: "Don't get cocky"

[sublynx]

A perfect war diary:

http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTB482-1.htm

A very detailed report on an astonishingly succesful patrol from late 1944 and thanks to that I got some confirmation on some things that have been a bit unclear to me so far.

Among them:
1. The U-boat assessed the speed of an escort by counting the revolutions per minute of the propellers
2. A homing torpedo was used with a non-homing setting
3. The U-boat that was depth charged used some kind of evasive action ("hakenschlagen" or "course changes") along BOLD launches

It's still unclear to me if that hakenschlagen is just random course changes or well thought-out evasive maneuvers.

U 482's first patrol was a huge success considering the overwhelming odds. The commander Matuschka got the German Cross in Gold while still at sea. BdU also sent a message about the need to "not get cocky".

Matuschka and his well-trainded but green men were all killed a couple of months after the writing of the report. A Norwegian Sunderland spotted them and the veterans of 17th Escort Group were directed to the boat and HMS Ascension had one or two hedgehogs landing on their obsolescent boat.

Reading Matuschka's detailed, energetic and smart report made me pause for a moment, thinking about what a waste his death was. If only his skillset and dedication could have been used for peaceful purposes.