U48 - Type VIIb - 2nd patrol - part 5
2216 Very faint sound contact south of us...seems to be heading NE...we will try to cut ahead of it and intercept...sky is overcast but at least it does not rain and yet it's very dark so we shall make good use of our sonar and dive frequently to keep track of our target.
January 8, 1940 Grid AM34
0006 We have been diving couple more times in the last 2 hours to track her and U48 is now at periscope depth, our quarry is moving slowly into our laps, it's barely visible in this darkness so I can't identify her yet...while we wait for her to get closer I'll determine her speed...probably 6 knots.
0011 Our prey is an ore carrier, a worthy prize, and moving at 5 knots...we are crawling at 2 knots and getting very close...plan is to shot a two torpedoes salvo....5 degrees spread...impact pistol...running fast..depth 4,5m...opening tubes...fire!...torpedoes away...start reloading tubes...should get impact in a couple of seconds...Impact!...and again!...Woo-hoo!..Two hits, small fire on forward deck...time to wait and see
0024 Secondary explosions going on and...she is sinking...nice! It took a lot of work to track her down but it was worth the effort.
SS Port Auckland (Ore Carrier), 8913 tons. Cargo: Iron Ore. Crew: 74. Crew lost: 36
1235 Sound contact...warship moving fast...coming almost straight at us...changing course to increase the distance...perhaps we can manage to get a glimpse of her
1247 there are three warships contact coming our way...we should get a visual contact quite soon...what's going on here?
1254 What do we have here...leading ship is a destroyer...the two behind are bigger...auxiliary cruisers perhaps?...I'm regretting the decision to keep our distance...
1259 An A&B destroyer with two auxiliary cruisers...I thought to move out of sight, surface and rush ahead to intercept them but they are going fast...about 15 knots...not possible...resuming previous course...I'll surface in a little while and report them to BdU, perhaps someone else can sink these beauties...
2216 Ship spotted straight ahead and coming our way!...weather conditions improved so we can now use our deck gun...let's see what our prey is...
2222 It's a medium cargo going 6 knots...U48 is now diving for a stealthy approach...the plan is to shot one torpedo and finish things up with our deck gun.
2228 G7a set for fast running, magnetic pistol, depth 10 meters...opening tube...aiming for the bow...fire!...ahead full, turning for parallel course...ready to surface and man the guns...impact! Right in the middle, no visible fire...let's wait a bit...either I miscalculated her speed or made a mistake with the AOB...surface the boat!
2232 This british medium cargo took quite a few shells but is now sinking. U48 is moving away from this area running full on the surface. We are down to 6 torpedoes so I think it's time to start our trip back. I bet we will soon find targets to shot at.
SS Wacosta (Medium Cargo), 5115 tons. Cargo: Machinery. Crew: 53. Crew lost: 15
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