[Texas Red]

Originally Posted by El Whacko

Started a new career with Onealex 1.46

Leutnant z.s Erich Wegner, commanding officer of U-55 (VIIB)
Current Date: Saturday, August 26, 1939
Attached to: U-Flotilla Wegener, Kiel
In home base before patrol #2
Patrol Grid: BE96
+++++++++++

Patrol Log Entries

09:19, August 2, 1939
Radio message transcript:
From: FdU
To: Uboat commanders
2/VIII
Common Orders
During the patrols in appointed areas, improve your level of training by conducting weapon and identifying exercises
Collect information constantly of detected warships
Analyze intensity and distinctions of cargo shipping
All the tasks must be executed as secretly as possible
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
07:59, August 4 1939
Radio message transcript
From: FdU
To: Flotilla Wegener
4/VIII
Sobe
Wegener Flotilla is to be transferred to Kiel, all the commanding officers are to be transferred to Salzwedel and Weddigen flotillas
Back transfers will be considered later as necessary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
08:41, August 8, 1939
Ship spotted in grid AN13
Weather report by 2WO: Light clouds, no rain, moderate visibility, wind speed 12 m/s, direction 359
Investigating contact
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
08:48, August 8, 1939
LI dove the boat to periscope depth, NAV charted a new heading at 236 degrees
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
08:50, August 8, 1939
New hydrophone contact detected, sonarman reports the contact as an unknown merchant moving away at a medium speed. Bearing is 261 at long range in grid AN13
Hydrophone contact was not visible during periscope sweep, so the tracking of the previous contact will continue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09:02, August 8, 1939
Merchant contact's speed is now known to be 9.6 knots, however the class is unknown as her AOB is too severe to make any distinctions.
TDC Readings:
Speed: 9.6 knots
Range: 1,500 meters
AOB: 9 degrees to starboard
Bearing: 355
Class: unkown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09:07, August 8, 1939
Merchant contact is identified as a British 02 Type Ore Carrier, 8500 tons
Simulated firing exercise and target analysis complete, breaking off contact
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12:01, August 8, 1939
Surfaced the boat in grid AM15, continuing on course to grid AL36
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
19:51, August 11, 1939
Reached AL36, starting weapon and crew exercises
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
07:23, August 12, 1939
Status Report transcript:
12/08/1939 07:23
From: U-55
To: FdU
Position: Grid AL36
Torpedoes left: 14
88 mm shells left: 236
2 cm FlaK shells left: 2,000
Our provisions will last us for approximately another forty days before we are forced to return to base
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
08:29, August 12, 1939
Radio message transcript:
From: FdU
To: U-55
Message received. Continue as ordered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
01:29, August 13, 1939
Completed exercises in grid AL36, we are now returning to base. We are expected to return in ten days at a speed of nine knots.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13:02, August 13, 1939
Radio message transcript:
From: FdU
To: 6th Flotilla
15/VIII
Finish weapon exercises, all Uboats wil return to Kiel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
21:01, August 19, 1939
Radio broadcast transcript:

From: Lehmann Radio News, Berlin
To: On Air
19/VIII
As rumored, already fourteen German submarines are in patrols in diffrenent zones of the North Atlantic Ocean
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09:33, August 21, 1939
Several ship contacts were made transitting through the Skagerrak and the following seas en route to Kiel. No contacts were investigated further than simply logging the contacts in the log book.

09:33, 09:42 21/VIII- Two merchant contatcs in grid AN36
16:04 21/VIII- Merchant contact in AO41
20:18 21/VIII- Merchant contact in AO41
09:26 22/VIII- Merchant contact in AO48
19:44 22/VIII- Merchant contact in AO71

-BREAK LOG ENTRY-
21:31, August 22, 1939
Radio message transcript:

From: FdU
To: Uboat Commanders
22/VIII
Operation Fritz was cancelled after recieving the signal operation Irmgard only for winter. The rest of the Uboats in the 3rd Flotilla must remain eastward from Rugen Island pending further orders
-CONTINUE PREVIOUS LOG ENTRY-

23:45 22/VIII- Merchant contact in AO74
00:14 23/VIII- Merchant contact in AO74
06:26 23/VIII- Merchant contact in AO77
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
09:37, August 23, 1939
U-55 slipped back into her moorings and the crew transferred the boat to the dockyard workers
PATROL HISTORY
Patrol Number: 1
Start Date: 1/8/1939
Start Location: Kiel
End Date: 23/8/1939
End Location: Kiel
Submarine: VIIB
Current Flotilla: U-Flotilla Wegener
Current Emblem: N/A
No ships sunk
No aircraft downed
No crew killed or wounded
U-55 returned in perfect condition, no hull damage or destroyed systems
Renown Earned: 110.6

Oberfahnrich z.s Wolfgang Eisenholtz, 2WO
Awarded: Iron Cross, Second Class
Oberfahnrich z.s Herbert Linder, LI
Awarded: Iron Cross, Second Class
Oberfahnrich z.s Adolf Kessler, 1WO
Awarded: Iron Cross, Second Class
Oberfahnrich Franz Linke-Stief, NAV
Awarded: Iron Cross, Second Class
Oberfahnrich Richard Ringlemann, Torpedo officer
Awarded: Iron Cross, Second Class

Bootsman Peter Weller
Qualified in: Torpedoman’s mate
Bootsman Jorg Kals
Qualified in: Radio Communications

KDB Hydrophone installed, 3 days install time
Current date: Saturday, August 26, 1939
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NO MORE LOG ENTRIES
+++++

And so, that concludes the first patrol of U-55 and her crew. Now, the war is fast approaching and U-55 will be leaving soon for her next patrol.

__________________________________________________ ___________

A journal entry from Erich Wegner's personal log book shortly after his last patrol
+++++++++

26 August 1939
Three days’ ago, I returned from my first patrol as commanding officer of U-55, something that I am enormously proud of. Many people do not realize the immense amount of skill it takes to pilot a boat to the North Atlantic and back over a course of twenty-two days. I remember first departing on the first of this month and how anxious I felt, but when we got out into open sea that all went away. I find that being out on the ocean and hearing the waves calms me down a lot, it is a great way for me to escape anxiety and calm my mind.
First off, our orders were to gather intelligence on shipping in and around British waters. This we accomplished on 8 August when we ran into a O2 type Ore Carrier in grid AN13. We collected the intelligence we needed and conducted a firing exercise on the side, and the results from that said we needed to do better. So, when we reached our patrol grid of AL36 I drilled the crew relentlessly in torpedo firing and battle stations. Gradually we became better, as did our diving time. On August 13 we were ordered back to Kiel by FdU, and so we made our way to Kiel as quickly as possible. At a speed of 9 knots, we made it back on 23 August. I cannot describe the feeling of joy and pride I felt after stepping on to solid ground for the first time in twenty-two days.
But when I got back to homeport and I looked all around me, I saw warships being loaded with ammunition and provisions as well as busy docks where ships were being fitted out for their next deployments. I knew immediately that we were heading to something big. However, I had this suspicion when we were still on patrol because on 19 August Lehmann Radio News said on a broadcast that fourteen U-boats were patrolling different zones in the Atlantic. On 13 August trainings and simulated war patrols had ended, so I had a gut feeling that this was the real deal. Then seeing all warships in port being prepared for immediate departure I just knew that we were heading to something. I saw the cruisers Leipzig and Nuremberg being prepared for immediate departure, as well as several U-boats. Most of these, however, were small type II coastal U-boats who would barely make it to the Baltic and back.
Later that day, I was informed that the shipyard was fitting my U-Boat out with a new hydrophone: the Kristalldrehbasisgerat (KDB). This hydrophone was an improvement of the GHG (Gruppenhorchgerat) in that it was rotatable and hence able to provide more accurate readings from any direction. The disadvantage however was its extreme vulnerability to depth charges.
And then yesterday I was approved for sixteen days of leave. So today I will drive to Wilhelmshaven to see my mother and father, whom I haven’t seen since May of this year. From my parent’s letters it seems like they are both doing fine. My grandmother is going downhill quickly though. Her hearing ability is rapidly diminishing, and she seems to be very confused about some things. My parents are taking care of her as her husband died in a job accident in 1937. Personally, I fear that my parents are being overworked by taking care of her and will have a crash soon. But both of my parents are as strong as iron and will make it through.
We will see what the next two weeks will bring us.

Signed,
Leutnant z.s. Erich Wegner