Career Summary




Patrol 3
17 Oct 1940
Evening

We spend two and a half weeks on land,
went home to see our loved ones or enjoy Kiel in the fall.
Now it is finally time to head back out.
Two commanders of the 1. U-Flottille invited me to the bar,
they head out tomorrow as well - time to celebrate!






To my surprise,
my small coastal boat is ordered into the North Atlantic.
AM35 sounds promising as we might find in or outbound convoys there!



23 Oct 1940
Late Evening
While slowly plowing through the sea north of Ireland,
we spot a merchant steaming along, unaware of our presence.



We get in close, the I.WO already behind the UZO.
Everything is calm, the watch officer does his job as professional as usual
and just when I felt the torpedo leaving the boat...




Gun fire struck the boat!
The merchant did not only spot us, he also opened fire!
I order to dive the boat.



Immediately I hear damage reports from down below.
The stern pressure hull is damaged and we have flooding.



Too late for the British merchant though.
The torpedo destroys the vessel.



4 Nov 1940
Early Morning

As expected, this area is rather crowded with vessels of all kind.
Surface attacks start to become routine.
The I.WO engages.


A clean kill!
The ships back was broken.


Before sinking,
the ships fuel goes up in flames...



We return to course.
Just as we finish breakfast,
the watch crew has good news again.



Broad daylight,
so I rather attack submerged.
This time - no dud.



Engulfed in flames,
the ship slips under the waves forever.



We kept submerged for a few more minutes.
when I wanted to surface the boat...



Damage is being reported!
What the Hell is going on?
We have heavy flooding and the boat starts to sink fast.



The pressure hull in the stern apartment again!
Was the damage not fixed sufficiently?
No time for this now.
The boat continues its way to the bottom of the Atlantic.



The LI provides a more detailed damage report to me.
It looks bad.
The stern pressure hull seems severely damaged,
and the flooding is serious.



I order to blow ballast tanks...



And indeed,
the boat rises!
Ironically, we can hear our late victim sinking,
while we rise for the surface again.



"Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben."
(~ Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.)
The flooding is too severe and the pumps can not handle the water.
We are going down again, fast...



My God!
We are sinking like a rock.
A type II-D u-boats test depth is 150m.
We are past this depth, still sinking...



Is this it?