The Diary of a U-boat Commander: With an Introduction and Explanatory Notes by EtienneKing-Hall, Stephen, Sir
History
The Diary of a U-boat Commander: With an Introduction and Explanatory Notes by Etienne
King-Hall, Stephen, Sir
Sea stories; Submarines (Ships) -- Fiction; War stories; World War, 1914-1918 -- Germany -- Fiction
They were horribly overcrowded, and were engaged in trying to sort
themselves into some sort of order. We passed by them at 50 yards and
Weissman, seizing his megaphone, shouted in English: "Goodbye! steer
west for America!" A cold horror gripped my heart. It was an awful
moment. I dare not write the thoughts that entered my head.
I turned away my head and faced aft, that he should not see my face;
looking back I saw the whaler rocking dangerously in our wash, and then
a commotion took place in her stern, from which a huge bearded man
arose and, shaking his fist in our direction, shouted something or
other before his companions pulled him down.
Von Weissman heard and his lips narrowed in. I held my breath in
suspense, but he evidently decided against what he had been about to
do, for with the order, "Course north! ten knots," he went below.
I remained on deck watching the rapidly receding whaler through my
glasses until she was a mere speck--alone on the ocean, 150 miles from
land, Then the navigator came up, and with strangely mixed feelings of
exultant joy and depressing sorrow I went below.
Von Weissman was in the wardroom. I watched him unobserved. He was
humming a tune to himself and had just completed putting a green dot on
the chart. This done he lay back on the settee and closed his
eyes--strange, insoluble man!
For long hours I could not forget that whaler; I see it now as I write.
I suppose I shall get used to it all. What would Zoe say?
The most wonderful thing about man is that he can stand the strain of
his own invention of modern war!
* * * * *
I am rather tired to-night, but must just jot down briefly what has
taken place to-day, as there is never any time in the daylight hours.
Soon after dawn, at about 8 a.m., we sighted a fair-sized steamer of
about 3,000 tons, which we sunk, but I cannot say what she looked like,
or whether anyone escaped, as we never came to the surface at all, Von
Weissman sighting smoke on the western horizon just as he hit her. We
accordingly steered in that direction. However, I think she went almost
at once as Von Weissman put a dot (black) on the chart as we made
towards number 3.
I very much wanted to know whether there were any survivors, but I did
not like to ask him at the time and he has been in such an infernal
temper ever since that I haven't had a suitable opportunity.
The cause of his rage was as follows:
Steamer number 3 turned out to be a fine fat chap (of the Clan Line,
Von Weissman said, when we first sighted her). We moved in to attack
and fired our port bow tube. I waited in vain by the tubes for the
expected explosion--nothing happened, but after a couple of minutes a
snarl came down the voice pipe: "Surface, GUN ACTION STATIONS!"
I ran aft, and found the Captain white with rage.
"Missed ahead!" he said, with intense feeling, "I'll have to use that
confounded gun."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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