U 113 (IXC) - 3rd War Patrol - On Approach Path Heart
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Thursday, 26 February 1942 - Bay of Biscay -

0415 - Early Morning Dawn.

0538 - Sunrise. Weather and Sea unchanged in 48h.

1200 - Qu.5288BF - Days Run: 169.6sm - (↗ 24h).
56.4cbm (2.5cbm/24h). On course 90°. Battery 10000Ah. O₂-Supply 95%. 2 internal Ato. 136x10.5cm-SpG. 7676xM.G.-2cm-C/30-PbG. Weather and Sea unchanged since 24 Feb., Sunrise.

1356 - Sundown. Weather and Sea unchanged since 24 Feb., Sunrise.

1420 - Outgoing F.T.: To B.d.U.:
Will be at point Luci-2 on 27 Feb., 0200h. - RST -

1455 - Incoming F.T.: From B.d.U.:
RST: Message received. Send next message from point Luci-2 over LW 20.4kHz. - B.d.U. -

2340 - Weather is clearing up, shifting to SSW.
On new course 45°. Leaving path Heart. Approaching Lorient.

Boat operating acc. to Op.-Order per F.T.1455/26.

U 113 (IXC) - 3rd War Patrol - Arrived in Lorient
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Friday, 27 February 1942 - South of Ìle de Groix -

0005 - German tanker escorted by a destroyer bearing 270°, at medium speed on easterly course, E=5000.

0016 - F.T. from B.d.U.: To U 155 (IXC):
Piening: Allotted attack area off coast north of Cape Hatteras. - B.d.U. -

0017 - F.T. from B.d.U.: To U 162 (IXC) and U 158 (IXC):
Wattenberg and Rostin: Allotted attack area off coast south of Cape Hatteras. - B.d.U. -

0046 - Incoming F.T.: From U 558:
On protracted return trip from CC 29 via BC 35. Still 55cbm. - Krech -

0058 - Incoming F.T.: From B.d.U.:
To all boats: ACHTUNG! Three-masted sailing ship, that has already appeared several times in BE, has camouflage and powerful A/A armament. As reported by rescued air crew, apparently is a aircraft and submarine decoy. - B.d.U. -

0105 - On new course 002°. Wind and Sea subsiding.

0120 - VIIC boat 500m to our stbd. beam, on opposite course.

0135 - Outgoing F.T.: To B.d.U.:
On Point Luci-2. - RST -

0210 - Incoming F.T.: From B.d.U.:
RST: Enter port without escort at Sunrise. - B.d.U. -

0400 - Early Morning Dawn. SW4/3, clear, light haze, good visibility, >1000mb.

0530 - Sunrise. Wind and Sea unchanged since 0400h.
Entering Lorient. Additional Flak Batteries have been installed. 2 Fighter planes are patroling the area north of Ìle de Groix.

0635 - All available hands on deck for greeting in the harbour. Making fast. Mooring boat at Isère.

Lorient - Qu.6157BF - Days Run: 107.5sm - (↗ 18h 35') - since Etmal.
54.0cbm (2.4cbm/18h 35'). Battery 10000Ah. O₂-Supply 95%. 2 internal Ato. 136x10.5cm-SpG. 7676xM.G.-2cm-C/30-PbG. SW4/3, clear, light haze, good visibility, >1000mb.

Clearing out of boat:
54cbm; 2 internal Ato;
10.5cm: 136xSpG+30xLkG; M.G.-C/30-2cm: 7676PbG.
Discharging of batteries (10000Ah).
Placing boat in dry dock for Shipyard Overhaul.
Routine work by the crew throughout.

U 113 (IXC) - 3rd War Patrol - B.d.U. Debriefing & Assessment
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Saturday, 28 February 1942 - Lorient

The totals of this 3rd war patrol with U 113 and 15th war patrol overall are:

Traveled surfaced: 9840.7sm - 57 days, 0h, 58min.
Traveled submerged: 814.3sm - 15 days, 16h, 22min.
Traveled total: 10655.0sm - 72 days, 17h, 20min.

Total of 8 merchants for 30757ts and 2 tankers for 21689ts (Total of 52446ts) sunk and 1 airplane "Beaufort" shot down.

All sunk ships were independently travelling acc. Op.-Order "Paukenschlag".

Torpedo hits: 14 (7 Eto and 7 Ato).
Torpedo misses: None.
Torpedo failures:
- 1 Ato was a dud.
- 2 Eto ignited prematuraly.
- 2 Ato and 1 Eto understeered.
Note: All torpedoes with Pi-G7H.

Crash Dives: 15 from airplanes:
- 5 Bay of Biscay during outbound transit;
- 9 North of Bermuda
- 1 U.S.A. East Coast

Depth Charges: 15 (all from airplanes) - some damage.

Pressure hull: 99.50% (Accumulated: 0.50%)

Honour points: 2508.43 (Accumulated: 28075.31)


This was the third war patrol of this boat and crew, and was performed under special Op.-Orders "Paukenschlag".
The outbound cruise was hampered by bad weather and and strong enemy air patrols north of Bermuda, which caused the outbound voyage to take longer than anticipated. The return voyage went according to plan, with no enemy airplanes encountered during transit and in the Bay of Biscay.
The weather improved just long enough, for the external torpedoes to be loaded under deck, and enabling the boat to finish the patrol with the most ships sunk and the second highest tonnage of the first wave of 6 Paukenschlag boats, as well as 1 enemy airplane shot down.
It is with great honor and respect, that the Commander is being awarded after the Oak Leaves, with Crossed Swords to the Knights Cross!

2nd War Patrol of U95
Launched from Lorient on 12th Oct. 1940
Ordered to grid BE61 and patrol for 24 hours
Sea state 2, wind 7.5 knots

Arrived 15th Oct. 1940.
Sea state 5, wind 17 Knots.
Patrol as per orders. No contacts. Decision to move to area of high traffic, grid AL99.

Encountered merchant ship "S.S. Dalblair" around 4am on 17th Oct.
sea to heavy to use deck gun. Ship sank with single torpedo.
Patrolled the area for 3 days before heading east to grid BF13.

Arrived BF13 on 22nd Oct. 1940
Sea state 2, wind 4 to 6 knots.

U95 patrolled into shallow waters off Irish coast for a time. Located small but well defended convoy. Kept in front until reached safety of deeper waters. Notified Bdu of convoy status and launched attack at 3am 29th Oct.
Able to penetrate destroyer screen. Launched attack on Large tanker "M/V E.J. Henry". Hit with two torpedoes. u95 attacked by 3 V&W destroyers. U95 sustained repeated depth charge attacks for 3 & a half hours. U95 tracked west and located the tanker dead in the water. Decision taken to use aft torpedo. Torpedo was a dud. Boat brought round and bow torpedo used. Tanker sunk. Surfaced 2 hours later to recharge batteries and replenish air. Convoy was lost.

Decision to move to new area AM55 and patrol for enemy shipping. Encountered a number of American ships making there way along the west coast of Ireland. No attacks made. Arrived late in the evening of 4th November.

5th November.
Grid AM55
Sea state 2 wind: 6 knots.

Located Merchantman "Empire Fairway" Attacked at 2:28 am sunk with two torpedoes.

Located Merchantment "M/V Bournville" at 13:52pm attacked at 13:10 sunk with one Torpedo.

Decided to relocate boat to AM54 and patrol there. Arrived early hours of 6th Nov.

7th Nov.
Grid AM54
sea state 1, wind: 3 knots

Located two vessels M/V Empire Tern & M/V Sutton. Both identified as American. Attack cancelled. Hydrophone operator picked up third vessel decided to intercept and identify it. Located the coastal tanker S.S. Maroussio Logotheti. Identified as British. Ship attacked and sunk with single torpedo at
0700 hours 11th November.

Fuel levels now at 50% - decision to begin return to Lorient.

11th Nov.
Grid AM73
sea state 5, wind: 30knots

Located cargo ship M/V New Brooklyn struggling in heavy sea. Decision made to attack at 20:46. 1st torpedo launched at ship malfunctioned, running too deep. A 2nd torpedo was a dud. Reluctantly a third was fired. Ship broke in two after tremendous explosion recked the vessel. Ship sank in less than 30 seconds.

13th Nov.
Grid BF13
sea state 4, wind: 15 knots

Enounter with loan British destroyer. Decided to avoid contact and slipped past the British vessel.

15th Nov
Sea of Biscay.
Sea state 3, wind: 9 knots.

Encountered 2 V&W class destroyers on their own steaming west out of the channel. Not sure if we had been spotted on the surface by a plane, I ordered the boat down. Ships went on their way. Range too far to attack. Continued voyage to Lorient.

16th Nov.
Lorient.
Sea state 1, wind 2 knots.
Returned to base, 06:34 hours.
Total tonnage of patrol 27170 grt.
superficial damage to boat no casualties.

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
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Sunday, 1 March 1942 - Lorient

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.

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
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Monday, 2 March 1942 - Lorient

Australia declares war on Thailand.

U 113 (IXC) - 4th War Patrol - Ship Yard Maintenance & Crew Leave Period
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Tuesday, 3 March 1942 - Lorient

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
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Wednesday, 4 March 1942 - Lorient

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
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

Thursday, 5 March 1942 - Lorient

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
 

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...


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
 

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
 

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.