14 May 1941
1750: leaving St. Nazaire. There is a lot of excitement aboard U-71. Most of the crew are green, with the exception of my XO, Albert Mayer, who has recently transferred from a Type II out of Kiel, U-15. Last night was full of drinking and gleamy-eyed last-minute promises, and I think some of the boys may have even thrown back the last of it before dinner this evening. At the pier we were greeted with great cheer by a marching band and a crowd of friends, loved ones, and patriots. With a slight deja-vu of U-99’s departure, I order ahead one-third and the diesels begin to turn water. The boat is purring nicely now as we leave harbour at 6 knots, and my 24 sailors and 13 petty officers are settling in to their duty. Our first patrol will take us to AM24 (north of Scotland), where, with god's blessing, we will intercept a fat Eastbound convoy and claim our prize.
17 May 1941
2035: Convoy spotted BE39! We find ourselves in the path of a large Southbound convoy which is leaving the channel and heading into Biscay. Moving into attack position. Will attempt to sneak in between first and second convoy lanes - one of Schepke's secrets.
2117: Perfect - snuck into convoy undetected. Ship Sunk! Large Tanker. Fired two T2 fore torpedoes: the first hits. Second impact not seen: dud? Third torpedo - T1, fast - hits amidships and causes deafening explosion; fatal. T1 in Tube 4 fired fast at Medium Tanker - hit, mid-aft. Ship continues at 8 kts. T2 in Tube 5 fired at Large Cargo ship - hit. Dive to 165m, proceed perpendicular to convoy. SO reports ominous groans and quakes as Large Tanker plummets to unknown depth.
0231: Warship screws fading - return to PD. Spot crippled Medium Tanker, stopped. Fire fatal blow to stern. Surface and proceed parallel to convoy at flank.
18 May 1941
0445: ran at flank for three hours, loading tubes and moving external stores into the boat. Moving into position in front of convoy for second attack.
0515: T2 in tube 1 hit Medium Tanker engine room, Tube 2 - dud.
Tube 3,4 fired at Large Cargo ship - one hit, one miss - no obvious damage. Tube 5 fired at Large Cargo - hit, bow. Dive to 165m, proceed perpendicular to convoy.
0600: Warship screws have faded - return to PD. Spot Medium Tanker and Large Cargo dead in the water. Convoy visible on horizon. Waiting for more distance.
0730: Weather clear - surface to engage crippled ships with deck gun. Men have abandoned both ships and can be seen roughly 1km to our west in lifeboats, rafted together. 50 rounds into Tanker causes fire and terminal list. Turn to Cargo - 50 rounds HE cause explosion at stern, ships sinks quickly. Startling roar as boiler explodes. Tanker still afloat, burning. Return, 30 rounds more 88mm rounds cause quick sinking. Turn 180 and evade returning escort at flank. This experience proves that my sailors need more practice with the 88mm. Roughly 2/3rds of their shots hit, and only about 1/3 were strong shots below the waterline.
0845: Radio to BdU - torpedoes spent. Radio message received - RTB.
20 May 1941
1352: With clear skies above us and a barely noticeable breeze, we return to St. Nazaire at flank turns.
My men are exuberant. We have passed our first real-life test with flying colours. Our training has proven true. While I am secretly very pleased with the crew for giving Tommy a cruel beating this week, I don't want this victory to make them careless. We inflicted great harm with no consequences on this patrol. The escorts were probably green, for they never detected us and did not launch a single counter-attack. We cannot expect this kind of fortune to last forever, and hence must keep firm discipline. We will drink tonight and celebrate, deservingly. But I will drill my men this month for at least one week prior to leaving port for the next patrol. It can only get harder for my brave sailors.
Awarded Iron Cross, Second Class
Ships sunk: 5
Hull Integrity: 100%
Patrol tonnage: 46942
