[Arnold]

8 NOV 41, 23:50, U-651, 1st Flotilla, 16th patrol. While heading SW to patrol grid CF64, a report was received, via radio direction finding, regarding an enemy ship, heading NNE, aprox. 214 km away, SW of our position. Orders were given to increase speed to 13 kts. and change course to 200 degrees. The enemy's course was plotted on the chart, along with our intersecting course. Clear skies, a half moon and heavy seas greeted me as I went on deck. I scanned the sky to see the different star formations I had remembered when I was in the Boy Scouts. "There!" "The Big Dipper, with the two stars at the end of the cup, pointing to the North star." I climbed down the ladder to the conning tower, patting the helmsman on the shoulder, then climbing down to the control room. I advised the Chief Engineer to contact me when we were 50 km away from our contact's course. I retired to my bunk for a nap. 0540, I was woke by the navigator, who told me we had reached a point aprox. 50 km away from the course of the enemy ship. I ordered a dive to 30 meters, at 1 kt. At 30 meters, I listened, using the sound man's headset, for any sound of a ship. Nothing. "Surface!" "Same course!" "Ahead full!". 0800, 5 km from the enemy course, I ordered a dive to 30 meters at 1 kt. 0839, sound contact! bearing 251! "New course 108 degrees!" "Surface!" I marked the map, at a point about 17 km away from the boat at 251 degrees. 0855, sound contact! bearing 63 degrees! Marked the map, at a point about 14 km away from the boat at 63 degrees. I connected both marks on the map to determine the aprox. course of the contact. Marked a 90 degree intersecting course to enemy course. On deck, the morning sun is just off our starboard bow. 0908, aprox. 4 km from the intersecting enemy course, "Dive to 30 meters!" "Ahead 1/3!" 0911, contact! bearing 59 degrees! 2.5 km from intersecting point. I gave rudder commands to line the boat up with the 90 degree intersecting course. 0921, at a point aprox. 4 km away from the contact, "All stop!", scope observation. "There she is!" Heading right at us!" "Ahead standard!" Connect stern tube!" 0939, "All stop!" 0948, scope check. "It's a Brit!" "Open stern cap!" acquired solution "Fire tube five!" "Hit!" "New course 30 degrees, ahead standard!" "She's a C3!" "She's slowed to 1 kt!" "She's dead in the water!" "Open bow cap, tube 1!"!" "Rudder 9 degrees to port!" "Ahead slow!" I marked a 90 degree intersecting course to the ship. Line up for final shot(s), rudder 0 degrees, gryroangle 0 degrees, range 900 meters. "All stop!" "Fire, tube 1!" "Open bow cap, tube 2!" "Fire tube 2!" "That broke her back!!" "There she goes!" "Ahead 1 kt., dive to 50 meters, return course to patrol area". "We'll contact BdU once we have put some distance from this area". "Re-load tubes, then take a rest men, you have earned it!". Lt. jg. Carl A. Lange Jr.