21 Jan 1942

1630: Depart Spezia.  Patrol Grid: CH74.  Back to Gibraltar...bad vibrations here.  The worst part is that we just arrived.  We’ve had barely a month here – long enough to repair U-71, but not long enough to calm our nerves from the last patrol.  The men are wound-up tight.  None of us want to be anywhere near that pass now.  We've been ordered to patrol the East entry, which, as we learned in December, is full of activity.  Thankfully, we don't have to get to close to the port, which is surely heavily guarded and probably mined.  We will try to stay outside the range of the hunter-killer groups that were swarming the area during our passage before Christmas.  We're going to have to stay at PD during the day.  Though we never saw a plane in December, there's no doubt that the area is swarming with Allied air cover.

29 Jan 1942

0208: Entered patrol grid.  Setting zig-zag search pattern across exit shipping lane.  Pretty much anything coming in or out of the channel will come within 25km of us. 

1535: Sound Contact.  Merchant, medium speed, bearing 333.  Plotting course and moving to intercept.

1609: Ship Sighted - tramp steamer.  Sea too high to engage with gun, and directives are to save torpedoes for targets >2000 tons.  Breaking engagement.

1821: Radio Report - Enemy Convoy CG95 6kts - entering narrows.  Some time tomorrow afternoon they should stumble into our trap.

Conning Tower – my beloved attack periscope; a finely tuned instrument of war.

30 Jan 1942

0235: Convoy Spotted - small convoy - one escort, 3 ships.  Going in for a closer look.

0258: French Flags.  Moving on.  Still no sighting of the Eastbound convoy.

1116: Radio Report - Enemy small convoy - CH74 WNW 8kts.  We’re sandwiched between two convoys.  Busy, busy grid coordinates.

1211: Ship sighted - small merchant and a destroyer escort.  Moving to intercept. 

1230: Tube 3 (T2) fired - perfect shot at engine room, 700m.  Escort Lagging 1km behind...Dud!  Arg!  Diving slowly.  Small merchant is not worth another eel.  Destroyer slowed down and is listening - probably heard the torpedo explode at depth.     

1258: Destroyer left with merchant.  It circled back once at flank but then steamed off.  Decided to risk air attack by surfacing to bring in external fore torpedo, get clean air and charge battery before convoy engagement.  Risky, but I want to go into this fully charged.

31 Jan 1942

0945: Convoy never showed.  Must have stopped at Gibraltar.  Damn. 

My luxurious quarters, situated in a strategic position beside the hydrophone and radio station. 

1 Feb 1942

0339: Ship spotted - tramp steamer and a destroyer. 

0428: Decided to torpedo the destroyer.  Hit it with a T2 - bow.  It slowed from 30kts to 15kts, and we hit it with a T1 amidship.  Explosion, burning.  Turning in circles and firing star shells.  Suddenly boiler explodes and she sinks quickly astern.

0827: Sound contact - merchant - from the West.  Plotting course. 

0959: French flags. 

1134: convoy spotted - medium cargo and destroyer escort.  Plotting course.

1250: Tube 5 to medium merchant (T2) - hit amidships.  Turn alongside - fire tube 1 T1 fast - hit stern.  Destroyer approaching.  Fire remaining T2 its way. Dive to 165. Miss with T2.  Pinged by destroyer.  Passed by....Merchant screws slowing - probably flooding. 

1415: PD.  Merchant sighted - listing, slow.  Destroyer Escort moving slow, shadowing wounded ship.  Will attack destroyer to allow free room to finish off the merchant.

1432: fired T2 torpedo and hit destroyer.  Explosion - fire. 

1441: Destroyer capsizes and sinks in 5 minutes.  Moving to finish merchant. 

1540: Engine room shot - merchant explodes and breaks in half - sinks in under a minute.

2 Feb 1942

0413: Ship Spotted.  Tramp Steamer.  To rough for deck gun engagement - will let it pass.    

2028: Small convoy spotted.  Plotting course. 

2100: French.  Aborting approach.

2242: Small convoy spotted.  Plotting course. 

2306: French.  Aborting approach. 

3 Feb 1942

0010: Ship Spotted.  Medium Cargo - close range.  Moving into attack position. 

0016: Greek flag.  Firing tube 1 - fast T1.

0018: Dud.  Firing tube 2, fast T1.  Hit - amidships.  Slows to 7kts.  Firing Tube 5.  Miss.  Too rough for deck gun.   Surface – flank the ship under cover of darkness.  Tube 4 - aimed at bow.  Hit – explosion; ship sets fire, right through to stern.  Secondary explosions.  Burning men fling themselves into the water.  My watch crew stand with wide eyes and mouths agape as the sounds of panic and death echo across the night. War sits ugly, in front of us.  Merchant sinks quickly astern.  Time to leave the area. 

1700: Small merchant spotted, escorted by destroyer.  Fired T1 fast at destroyer - miss. Fired final T2 at merchant - miss/dud.  Diving to evade.

2203: Radio BdU - torpedoes expended.  BdU: RTB.   

8 Feb 1942

0625: Blaze into Spezia at flank.  Storm clouds gathering to block the rising sun.  Mixed moods on the boat.  Disappointment in some, and relief in others; we have had a light patrol. 

Awarded Knight's Cross With Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds.

Ships sunk: 4
Hull Integrity: 100%
Patrol tonnage: 12290