1st December 1940
9:28am 1st December 1940 - Another visual sighting, a large ship westward of our position. We submerged and made our approach. Identification confirmed it as a Modern Tanker. A target weighing in at over 10 thousand GRT was something I was not going to let slip away. As the tanker drew closer we realised it was being closely followed by another, much smaller ship.
Laying in wait we prepared our attack. 2 G7a's were readied for the tanker, and since neither ship was armed in any way, I planned to finish the smaller merchant with the deck gun as soon as the tanker was crippled or destroyed.Both Torpedo's hit their mark and the tanker was critically damaged and began to list toward its starboard side almost right away. We surfaced and engaged the smaller ship with the 8.8 Deck Gun.The tanker slipped beneath the waves 9 minutes after sustaining the two torpedo hits. The smaller ship, identified as a British Tramp Steamer, went under after taking 33 shells from the deck gun aimed at the waterline.
Laying in wait we prepared our attack. 2 G7a's were readied for the tanker, and since neither ship was armed in any way, I planned to finish the smaller merchant with the deck gun as soon as the tanker was crippled or destroyed.Both Torpedo's hit their mark and the tanker was critically damaged and began to list toward its starboard side almost right away. We surfaced and engaged the smaller ship with the 8.8 Deck Gun.The tanker slipped beneath the waves 9 minutes after sustaining the two torpedo hits. The smaller ship, identified as a British Tramp Steamer, went under after taking 33 shells from the deck gun aimed at the waterline.
1st December 1940 @ 10:10am
MV British Energy (Modern Tanker), 10761 tons. Cargo: Gasoline. Crew: 80. Crew lost: 52
MV British Energy (Modern Tanker), 10761 tons. Cargo: Gasoline. Crew: 80. Crew lost: 52
1st December 1940 @ 10:20am
SS Prosper (Tramp Steamer), 1964 tons. Cargo: Coal. Crew: 25. Crew lost: 1
SS Prosper (Tramp Steamer), 1964 tons. Cargo: Coal. Crew: 25. Crew lost: 1
Our 48 hours patrolling grid BF17 was almost at an end when another single ship contact report was received. The contact lay a little under 1 hour away so I decided we should see if it was worth engaging before departing this grid. We discovered the ship was a large Ore Carrier and proceeded to shell the target with the deck gun. The Ore Carrier was armed and returned fire but it failed to hit our boat.After a short engagement, my gunners must of scored a good hit, the Ore Carrier's keel broke splitting the ship in half and it began to sink rapidly. It was under the surface in a little less than 2 minutes.
1st December 1940 @ 7:45pm
SS Port Denison (Ore Carrier), 8083 tons. Cargo: Sulfur. Crew: 71. Crew lost: 22
It is 7:50pm and we are now heading North toward grid BF11. The journey should take approximately 10 hours. We have 8 torpedo's left and hope to find a large convoy within the next few days. If all goes well, we could be home in time for Christmas.
