World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine
"Well, we got better weather after we rounded Terschelling, and after
Borkum Riff it was nearly calm. We got to the billet and dived at 4
A.M.--thirty-six hours out from Harwich. The soundings were right
when we touched bottom--about 95 feet--so that checked our latitude a
bit. Then we all went to bed. It was pretty cold and jolly wet too,
as she leaks a bit overhead besides the usual sweating. What's
sweating? Why, when the hull's cold it sweats, you know--water runs
down the inside--condensation really, I suppose. Well, then we all
turned in, as I say, and I put a lot of blankets over me to dry my
wet clothes.... I was too tired to change, and as a result I was all
aches in the morning (that is, at daylight about three hours later).
I reckoned it would be getting grey about seven, so we rose then, and
after a few minutes at fifty feet, just to listen for propellers, we
broke surface. It was all clear and still fairly dark, so we charged
batteries for twenty minutes and ventilated.
"Then we went under and started diving patrol. I took first periscope
watch, as I wanted to fix position by steering north-west for
Heligoland. At eight o'clock the patrol trawlers came by. You see, they
have eighteen trawlers out between Schillig Road and the Island. They
work in pairs, each pair doing a sort of sword-dance, and making Saint
Andrew's Crosses along the line. They come out in the morning, and we
just sheer out of their way to let them by. Then at sunset they all
begin edging towards home (that's Wilhelmshaven), until the senior one
hoists a signal, and they speed up and hustle into bed. No, we don't
worry them--we haven't enough torpedoes to chuck them away on trawlers;
and anyhow, you may miss a chance at something big if you get seen on
your patrol. Those small craft don't see you unless you worry them. One
dives around all day with several of them in sight, but so long as one
doesn't show the periscope much, and doesn't get too close, they don't
see. If we once started strafing them, they'd keep a better look-out,
but nobody keeps a good look-out unless he's scared--so we don't scare
them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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