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March 21, 1940 Grid AN51 1342 No warship around, time to surface again. U48 will now leave this area and move south. I think we may go patrol the area off Hartlepool for a while. We have five torpedo left, all bow tubes ready and one reserve. 1421 Warship spotted! Long range! Let's take a look...she is very far away and sailing north...I think we need no dive. Seems alone... 1426 She is most likely the ASW Trawler that came to investigate earlier. Most likely this is her patrol area. 1529 Warship spotted, closing fast! Let's dive! 1533 A torpedo boat...two of them...Perhaps we are a bit too close to the coast. U48 will move east for a while. 1604 On the surface again. I think we may move away from the coast for the day and close in at night. 2021 We are diving. U48 was getting closer to the coast when our lookouts spotted a warship NW of us. We will use our sonar to check if she is alone or escorting something. 2024 By the sound of it seems we may have an ASW Trawler and perhaps something else. We will close the gap and see what's out there. 2027 There is a bigger shadow behind the leading escort. I believe we have an escort-cargo duo sailing SE at medium speed. We will intercept them. 2154 ASW Trawler in the lead keeps breaking off and doing patterns ahead of the cargo. We will get tube 1 ready for the Trawler and tubes 2 and 3 ready for the big cargo, which may be an Empire-Type freighter. We are in a good position and crawling at two knots. 2201 ASW Trawler is doing patterns again so I will not fire on her. Cargo is indeed an Empire-type freighter, she is going 8 knots. We will attack from port side. Tube 2 and 3 are set for high speed, impact pistol, depth 3 meters. 2203 Trawler is about 1000 ahead of target...time to fire...open tubes 2 and 3...range 800m...AoB 80° port side...spread 2,5°...fire!...torpedoes away and running...change course to 000! set speed 4 knots! Lower periscope!...I'll try to place the cargo between us and the Trawler...Impact!..Two impacts! Let's raise the periscope and a take a peek...there is a small fire on her forward deck...too dark to spot marks on the hull...Lower periscope. 2209 ASW Trawler is coming back but we are now north of the cargo and crawling at two knots. Empire-type freighter slowed down and started to zigzag, or at least is trying to. 2214 Our target is almost stationary, U48 is now west of her while that ASW Trawler is on the other side. I'm increasing the gap so that there are less chances our periscope would be spotted when we raise it. 2239 Stubborn ship is still afloat. ASW Trawler still sniffing around in the wrong place. We are now about 1000m away from her. She is still burning and seems a bit lower than before. 2301 ASW Trawler is slowly leaving the area...weird! Empire-type freighter much lower on the water now. Once this warship is truly gone we may raise and use our deck gun to finish her off. 2331 We where getting ready to surface when she began to slip under the sea. Very slowly, but she is going down at last!. The only sonar contact we have right now is from that ASW Trawler, and it's quite faint. We will surface in a while and resume our plotted course. Ship sunk! SS Corinaldo (Empire-type Freighter), 7235 tons. Cargo: Paper Products. Crew: 58. Crew lost: 26 note: been away for a while. Seems like I've a lot of catching up to do but that will be fun :subsim: |
U 113 (IXC) - 3rd War Patrol - Awards & Promotions Ceremony
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+++++ Awards & Promotions: The Commander was awarded with the Crossed Swords to the Knights Cross! The XO, Ltnt.z.S. Rainer SCHEUFLER was promoted to Ob.Ltnt.z.S.! The II.W.O., Ob.Fähnr.z.S. Jakob APPELT, was promoted to Ltnt.z.S.! The No.2, Coxswain Klaus WOLFBAUER, was promoted to Boatswain's Mate 2cl.! The L.I., Ltnt.-Ing. Fritz FRIEDERICHS was awarded with the Iron Cross 1st Class! The XO, Ob.Ltnt.z.S. Rainer SCHEUFLER, the No.3, Coxswain Karl-Heinz ISDEPSKI and A/A Mate Philipp HARTMANN, were awarded with the Iron Cross 2nd Class! The II.W.O., Ltnt.z.S. Jakob APPELT, the Machinist(E) Kurt MARKS, the No.2, Boatswain's Mate 2cl.Klaus WOLFBAUER, the Torpedoman’s Mate 3cl.,Klemens ECKEL, the Radiomen 3cl., Ewald MASSMANN and Jan STEFFENSEN, and the Firemen 1cl., Anton OBERMAYER(Z), Karl DURLACHER(E), Klaus SAUER(E), Wolf DEGEN(D), Axel THURMANN(D) and Jörg ZANDER(D), were awarded with the U-boat War Badge! The crew is given leave of 3 1/2 weeks in Quiberon, guarding the boat in shifts of 10 days each. Third war patrol with U 113 and 15th war patrol overall completed. RST Kptlt.&Cmdr. |
March 22, 1940 AN51
0053 Warship spotted! NW of us, long range. She is changing course! Did they spot us?...no, she is turning the other way. Is she alone?...She is turning again...is she doing patterns?...let's change our course to 180. We will monitor her and check if she is alone. 0101 She keeps doing patterns and is slowly moving southward...cannot see much in this darkness...but I believe she is escorting something. U48 will now dive for a sonar check. 0103 There is a merchant tailing that warship! We will now surface and move WSW to intercept them. 0122 U48 just dived again. Warship is going back to the merchant, which right now is a shadowy blur on the horizon. Seems something big... 0129 Warship is doing patterns once again and I believe it to be an A&B Classes destroyer. Which is worrying, water here is not deep. Target may be an Ore Carrier, a worthy prize. They are moving at 5 knots. 0136 Here is the plan: U48 will let the destroyer go by, get close to the Ore carrier, attack her from astern using eels set for magnetic pistol and quickly move on the other side of the merchant. Hopefully her noises will conceal our presence. 0147 Here we go. Tube 1 and 4 ready: Ato running fast, range 500m...AoB 150° port side...depth 7m..open tubes 1 and 2...aiming at the bow..fire tube 1!...aiming at mid ship..fire tube 4! Lower periscope, new course 270! Ahead standard!...torpedo just prematured! Rudder amidships! Raise periscope! AoB maybe 155...I'll trust this eel...Open tube 3!...Fire!..Impact!...torpedo from first salvo got her in the middle...data should be good for the last one too...hope so...impact! Just under the propellers area, bet that hurt! Lower periscope! Let's move behind her! 0150 Destroyer is closing but we are almost behind the Ore Carrier, which is very close to us and almost dead on the water already. Set speed 2 knots! 0157 She is sinking! Got lower and lower astern and now her nose is quite high on the water. Destroyer is on the other side of her searching the area with lights and starshells. U48 will keep crawling SW to increase the gap. That failed torpedo almost spoiled the day. Good enough that it happened soon enough to let us shot once again. Magnetic exploding under the propeller area seem to be very effective. Ship sunk! SS Ixion (Ore Carrier), 8135 tons. Cargo: Coal. Crew: 83. Crew lost: 14 0221 Destroyer is leaving the area. Never got close enough to us to be a threat. We will let her go away and then surface. Time to go home. |
0442 Warship spotted! NE of us, closing...there is a second one...and a third! Dive!
0445 I think we have a small hunter/killer group on our hands. Three destroyers coming our way at medium speed. U48 has changed course and is now heading NW. These ships should pass behind us but a bit too close for comfort. 0452 They just went past...no slowing, no turning...we are holding our breath... 0456 they keep sailing away...wheeew!...can breathe again... 0922 Ship spotted! North of us...just a speck on the horizon...weather is good and we have our deck gun... 0932 This ship is sailing almost straight west. We are keeping out of sight and moving ahead of her. We will cut in and submerge later. There are destroyers in the area and I want to play it safe. 0954 U48 is now at periscope depth and moving to get close. Target is nothing big, a Tramp steamer I believe. Perfect target for our deck gun. 1009 Target is a British Tramp Steamer sailing our way at 9 knots. I cannot spot any guns but I can see a truck on her bow deck. She is going to have a nasty surprise... 1014 U48 is surfacing right now. We are going to use both deck gun and flak gun. Fire at will! 1018 Tramp Steamer is going under! Our guns set it ablaze quite soon but her crew kept struggling to save the ship...to no avail. Let's quickly clear the area. Ship sunk! SS Ada Gorthon (Tramp Steamer), 2271 tons. Cargo: Trucks. Crew: 24. Crew lost: 14 deck gun March 25, 1942 Kiel 1821 Kiel is now barely visible through the fog and the rain. On the way back we met no other enemy ships and since yesterday the weather has been horrible. U48 and her crew completed yet another patrol, with good results: 10 ships sunk for 52749GRT We met a bit too many warships for my liking but I guess we will see many more in the future. The enemy is not going to sit still doing nothing while we sink ships. All I wish right now is a bit of private time and a long long long bath. Let's dock this boat. Patrol results Crew losses: 0 Ships sunk: 10 Aircraft destroyed: 0 Patrol tonnage: 52749 tons |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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++++++ Australia declares war on Thailand. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ In Western Australia, Australia, 9 Japanese Zero fighters from Koepang, Timor, Dutch East Indies attack the flying boat anchorage at Roebuck Bay (destroying 15 flying boats) and the airfield at Broome (destroying 5 bombers and 2 transport aircraft; one of the transports shot down at Broome, a DC-3 airliner carrying evacuees from Java, Dutch East Indies, crashed into the jungle 50 miles north of the city, destroying its cargo of £150,000-£300,000 worth of diamonds. Only 1 Japanese Zero fighter was lost during the attack. RAF bombs the Renault plant in Billancourt, near Paris, while the Lancaster bomber makes its debut mining the harbor at Brest. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ At 0210 and 0230 hourse, two H8K flying boats from Wotje, Marshall Islands, attacked Pearl Harbor and flew back to Wotje unscathed. Sir William Jowitt is appointed Paymaster-General of the United Kingdom with special responsibility for post-war reconstruction. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ Tirpitz, escorted by destroyers, departs for the Arctic Ocean to intercept Allied convoys in Operation Sportpalast. The British government announces that, according to information shared with the United Kingdom by the Japanese government, there are 5,072 British, 1,689 Canadian, 3,829 Indian, and 357 men of other nationalities currently under captivity in Hong Kong as prisoners of war. Conscription in Britain is extended to include men aged between 41 and 45. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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++++++ Friday, 6 March 1942 - Lorient Tirpitz and 4 destroyers depart Drontheim, to intercept Allied convoys PQ-12 and QP-8, which departed from Reykjavik in Iceland for Murmansk in Russia and from Murmansk in Russia for Hvalfjörður in Iceland, respectively. The British Royal Navy learn of this departure via Ultra decryption and dispatch a fleet centered around battleships HMS Duke of York, HMS King George V, and HMS Renown to attack. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ Saturday, 7 March 1942 - Lorient £11,000,000 worth of oil installations of Burmah Oil Company in southern Burma near Rangoon are destroyed as British retreat from the city, preventing Japanese capture; this destruction will result in 20 years of High Court litigation after the war. British and Indian troops on Christmas Island mistake the latest heavy naval bombardment as a precursor to an invasion and hoist white flags to indicate surrender. The warships depart, however, and the troops lower the white flags and send British flags back up poles. A number of Go 242 glider transports arrive at Faßberg, Germany and join the Luftwaffe III./KG 4. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ Sunday, 8 March 1942 - Lorient Construction of the Alaska-Canadian Highway begins by the US Army. US Army troops relieve the US 1st Marine Brigade (Provisional) at Reykjavik, Iceland. Tirpitz and escorting destroyers gets as close as 60 miles from Allied convoy PQ-12 but poor weather prevents the Germans from realizing this fact. German destroyer Friedrich Ihn, however, does catch sight of old Russian coal-burning merchant ship Izhora, a straggler of the convoy, and promptly sinks her at 1715 hours. In the evening, Admiral Otto Ciliax turns his fleet back toward its home port. The RAF dispatch 211 bombers to attack Essen, Germany, some equipped with the new GEE navigational system. The results are less than hoped fory as "only" a few homes and a church are destroyed, killing 29 civilians, while the industrial centers, the primary targets, are untouched. An annoyed Winston Churchill, not satisfied with Cairo's reasons for not attacking at Gazala, summons the British C-in-C Middle East back to London, to "confer with him about the situation". Warrant Officer Nobuo Fujita, flying in a submarine-based (submarine I-25) E14Y aircraft, conducts a photographic reconnaissance mission over Wellington harbor in New Zealand. Dutch troops at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies surrender at the Isola Hotel in Lembang, between Dutch General Jacob J. Pesman and Japanese Colonel Toshishige Shoji. In the afternoon, Dutch Governor Tjarda Van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, General Hein Ter Poorten, and Major General Jacob Pesman surrender all Dutch forces on Java to Japanese General Hitoshi Imamura. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ Monday, 9 March 1942 - Lorient US Navy Admiral Ernest King is appointed Chief of Naval Operations; he is to maintain his responsibility as the Commander-in-Chief (CominCh) of the US Navy. Admiral Harold Stark, formerly the American Chief of Naval Operations, is appointed as Commander of the United States Naval Forces in European waters with his headquarters in London. At 0640 hours, British aircraft is spotting the German fleet centered around battleship Tirpitz. At 0730 hours, British carrier HMS Victorious launches 12 Albacore aircraft to attack, reaching Tirpitz and destroyer Friedrich Ihn at 0830 hours. The attack causes no damage to the German warships; two Albacore aircraft are lost. Tripitz and her escorts arrive at Narvik later that day. A second British air raid to Essen, Germany, again using the new GEE navigational system, has similar dismal results as the first raid on the previous day, as the haze makes the target difficult to spot. Japanese troops enter undefended Rangoon, Burma, abandoned by British troops two days prior. Japanese cruisers Kumano, Chokai, and cruiser division 7 depart Singapore to cover Operation T - The Invasion of Northern Sumatra. |
April 26, 1940 Kiel
2217 U48 and her crew are ready to leave Kiel once again. Been ready for a while now...our departure was planned for the morning but order came in to delay it and await for new directives. An hour ago a military truck unloaded a small group of soldiers with a couple of crates and sealed orders: we have to transport them and their cargo up north toward the Norwegian coast. We will later receive further instructions. Seems like we have been drawn into some shady businness. I've already ordered the crew not to question our guests nor to voice out their opinions or suspicions about what's going on. All is ready now, a light drizzle is soaking us and reducing visibility so we must pay attention on our way out to avoid collisions. Let's roll. April 27, 1940 0612 Incoming message from BdU. Commander eyes only. Coordinates. A frequence. A keyword. And the order to share this with our guests commander. 0625 U48 is going flat out. Visibility is not that much so we are on alert but should also help to keep us hidden from any unwelcome attention. Sea state is worsening. This is going to be a rollercoaster. 2225 U48 is now close to Laeso Island and our guests leader is using the radio. Weather improved a bit but wind is still strong and the waves made it an horrible run. At least there is better visibility. He is coming out... April 28, 1940 0620 U48 is now approaching Koster Islands. We shall meet with a ship and transfer our guests and their cargo. Should be able to spot them any moment now. 0632 Lookout spots a small vessel approaching from the East...let's check...some kind of torpedo boat...our guest confirms it's what we are waiting for...they spotted us...signalling...let's get things moving. With these waves it will be fun... 0847 It's been a nightmare but it's over now. Sailor Trotha was almost swept off the boat but managed to grab the railings. He got some bruises and a swollen ankle, he should be ok in a couple of days. One of the crates almost fell off the boat and sailor Dobber was caught between it and the hull. He got a slight concussion and some deep nasty scratches on his chest and forearms. Bootsman Altmeier checked on him too and he say it's nothing to worry about, but Dobber should rest for a couple of days. Torpedo boat is moving away and we can now resume our original mission: 24 hours long patrol in grid area AF59. It will take a while to get there. We also need to perform some manteinance on our diesels since we pushed them to get here quickly enough. But first we need a break from the constant slapping of the waves and some rest. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ... ++++++ Tuesday, 10 March 1942 - Lorient The US Marine Corps purchases the 132,000-acre Santa Margarita Ranch situated north of San Diego, California, for a future base; it will become Camp Pendleton later this year. The United States Office of Scientific Research and Development moves the proximity fuze development project from the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC to The Johns Hopkins University in Maryland at the newly formed Applied Physics Laboratory, that had operated out of the former Wolfe Motor Company used car dealership in Silver Spring, Maryland. Overnight, 62 RAF bombers attack Essen, Germany, damaging railways leading to Krupp factories, killing 6 civilians and wounding 12. After dark and into the next morning, Indian troops on Christmas Island, led by Sikh policemen, mutiny and kill five of their British officers and imprison 21 Europeans. USS Lexington and USS Yorktown launch aircraft to attack the Japanese invasion force at New Guinea. US Army General MacArthur once again receives orders to evacuate the Philippine Islands. |
U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
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++++++ Wednesday, 11 March 1942 - Lorient Allied convoy QP-8 arrives at Reykjavík, Iceland. German submarine U-565 (Oblt. Johann Jebsen) sinks the British cruiser HMS Naiad, 30 miles north of Sidi Barrani, Egypt at 2000 hours; 82 are killed, 582 survivors. USS Hornet (Yorktown-class), USS Nashville, and their escorts transit the Panama Canal and enter the Pacific Ocean. Japanese troops land on Mindanao, the southern-most of the Philippine Islands. Douglas MacArthur, his family, and a small staff depart Corregidor by PT boats; General Jonathan Wainwright remains as commanding officer of US and Filipino forces in the Philippine Islands. |
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