Philipp had a close run with death on his last patrol, arriving on the 13th with a badly damaged boat. His orders took him to AM15, the north entry to the Irish Sea, where the largest North Atlantic convoys finish their route. Bad weather prevented him from attacking his quarry, and he shadowed the convoy into the shallow waters, where on the morning of the 10th, running at PD, U-99 hit a mine. His radio room was flooded and the radio/sonar crewmen killed by concussion. The flooding was capped, but not before even more peril had befallen the boat. An escort destroyer rushed to the scene, and, with the help of patrol planes that had been scrambled, were able to detect his damaged boat. He was running back seaward at flank, surfaced, for fear of hitting another mine. A pair of Spitfires managed to strafe twice before being scared off by counter fire from U-99’s flak gun. Meanwhile, the destroyer had steamed within visual range and began shelling them. Philipp was forced under in evasion. He was afraid to dive deep because of hull damage, but was afraid to stay shallow because of mines and the DD’s Asdic sensors. With luck that epitomizes the man’s charmed way, he was able to sneak away from the angry destroyer and limp back to base. But he was far from proud of his escape: “I felt the strange guilt of a thief having been caught by police carrying too much loot: my greed almost sunk us”. Out of radio contact for three days, we all feared that U-99 had been lost. There was a great panic and rush of joy to see the scarred hull drive into Nazaire. I was overjoyed to see him standing on the tower. His mood, however, was not one of celebration, for he had buried two of his best sailors at sea.
20 Oct 1941
2028: set sail from St. Nazaire. It's a cool night. No more sunny freedom of the summer. We're headed back to the Gibraltar entry area - grid CF99. I just had a shiver thinking about Petra back at our Dresden home; leaves turning, autumn breezes and overcast skies. I have faith that the good Lord will keep us winning, and bring us home soon.
25 Oct 1941
0245: Ship spotted CG21. Small Convoy - two small merchants and an armed trawler. Stalked it for almost an hour - determined it to be neutral French.
Note: air cover seems to be absent in West CG.
26 Oct 1941
0429: Ship spotted CG45. Two small merchants. Set course for intercept.
0457: identified as French.
0502: Ship spotted: another small convoy - traveling parallel to French ships. Setting course for intercept.
0526: more French steamers...
0955: Radio Report - enemy Large convoy CG75 heading NNW 6 kts. Moving to intercept.
1729: Convoy Spotted - moving into attack position at flank. Heading straight into the setting sun. Golden/purple reflections off the water make it seem like paradise. It's perfectly still and clear. This feels both inviting and dangerous.
1807: Approaching from the northeast, on a diagonal. Attempting to past the lead Clemson destroyer and into the second line of the convoy.
1830: Clemson passing - all stop, quiet as can be - for a moment he turns directly towards us and speeds up. I open tube 3 and set it to 3m impact (T2). Then he turns and continues on convoy route. I am free to attack the convoy. These escorts are really jumpy. A Black Swan is closing to my immediate area. That Clemson seems suspicious.
1855: Ships Sunk! 2 x Large Cargo (fore and aft torpedo, each at range of 350m). Gave magnetic pistol T2s last chance - they failed. Two perfect keel shots - no warning at two Medium Cargos 1km away. They didn't detonate. Impact from now on. Final Tube - fast steam - dud. Diving to 165m, running underneath convoy, perpendicular to route.
1944: escaped escorts - after diving we were simultaneously pinged by two ships-triangulating. After about 10 minutes, one stopped and tried to lure us out. Am now satisfied that the last escort has rejoined the convoy and am moving to PD.
2240: Second attack. Ship Sunk! Medium Cargo. Wounded another Medium Cargo and a small merchant. 1 dud fore torpedo. Moved under a passing Medium Cargo and further into the convoy; almost scraped the conning tower on its keel. Used aft torpedo to destroy wounded Medium Cargo, making two kills in total. Going to 165m, silent running. Last spotted small merchant listing severely to port.
2232: Caught in asdic on egress. Ping-triangulation by armed trawler and Black Swan. Waited for depth charge run and then blasted down to 165 at flank. All DCs exploded well aft. Cut to silent, and put both escorts at 180. Lost them. Waiting for Black Swan to leave but can hear him doing circles and dropping DCs at 180, medium range. He must think we're catching hell, but he's just blowing up fish.
27 Oct 1941
0044: Surface to engage wounded small merchant. Sank it with 30 shells. Clean work by my deck gunners. Surprised by Black Swan who doubled back at flank and got within 3km before my watch spotted him. Pulled 180 and dove at flank, zigged to 120 degrees at last minute and cut to silent running. Caught in asdic window. First DC run close and heavy - about 15 or 20 DCs - too shallow though - maybe 50m above us.
0244: Back to PD - Black swan returning to convoy. Proceeding in flank pursuit.
0745: Lost convoy. Radio BdU: Continue search or set course for patrol grid? BdU: set course for patrol grid.
0850: Radio Report - enemoy convoy - CG48, 5kts, NNW. Found them! Setting course for intercept.
1600: In attack position for final attack with 3 fore torpedoes and 1 aft. Broad daylight, no wind. Escorts know we're about and are searching. Convoy still holds firm.
1627: Ship Sunk: Medium Cargo. First tube splits the cargo ship in half. Second tube hits small merchant amidships, and third fore tube hits another Medium Cargo amidships. Turn 180 and fire aft torpedo at wounded Medium Cargo. Facing armed trawler moving in from port side of convoy perimeter, which is pinging us. Dive to 165m.
1800: Pinged and DCed. Escorts inaccurate - lost us. Returning to PD.
2009: Ship sunk! Medium Cargo. 45 Deck gun shells put the wounded medium cargo into a terminal list.
2127: Ship Sunk! Small merchant. 50 deck gun shells ended the small merchant's stay on the surface. Radio BdU: Torpedoes spent. Bdu: RTB.
Georg Kaeding, Leutnant z. S. Weapons Officer. (camera shy).
28 Oct 1941
0636: Ship Spotted - Medium Cargo. Moving to intercept (100 88mm shells remaining).
0717: Approaching – cargo ship appears to be armed with rear cannon. We’re sailing into the rising sun so it's very hard to see the ship’s flag. We might only find out identity upon the first volley of shots...yep - there it is. Time to fight.
0809: Forward Deck Hit! I guess we had it coming. She's fired over 100 rounds at us without a single hit. Lucky though - because of our angle, it glanced off the forward hull without piercing. Gunners are okay, but a bit shaken. Unable to sink the merchant - ammo spent.
1217: conducting depth test to make sure the hull can handle 160m following damage. Loud groaning at 100m - that impact may have done more damage than previously thought. I'm imposing at 60m floor for safety.
31 Oct 1941
1635: return to St. Nazaire. Safe at port again. Black feelings this run – we were hit. Invulnerability flashed away in a second, as Philipp said it would, when I realized that the merchant had fired a good shot. Most shots give a wild scream as they pass. This one made no sound, and almost vanished as it leapt slightly up from its barrel and followed an arc that would carry it directly to U-71’s forward deck. No one had time to react. With a solid, low-pitched THOK, that resonated a few seconds in our ears, sparks jumped from the deck and a pink flash, and the gunners dropped flat. The spinning richochet could be heard whizzing away with a terminal, slowing reverberation and a splash. All was quiet on the deck. I peered up over the conning tower, terrified to see what lay below. Alas, there were three healthy, shaken sailors staring up at me. Quickly they regained their stance at the gun and fired off our remaining shells. Before diving, and still under fire, the gunners crept forward to inspect the damage, revealing that it was a perfect richochet, leaving a dent in the outer hull: a miracle. We quickly submerged and watched the cargo ship through the periscope, which, unfortunately, had not sustained any critical damage from our attack. My gunners are to be decorated for their bravery and ruthless commitment to their duty, in the face of stark danger.
Awarded Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds
Ships sunk: 8
Hull Integrity: 91.5
Patrol tonnage: 39248
