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Post by crushedhat on Dec 7, 2016 17:06:20 GMT
25 September 1942 afternoon
U-86 enters the harbor at La Rochelle, four pennants flying form her periscope. While the crew on deck appears to be in a good mood, many sport bandages. The hull shows obvious signs of damage and there is nothing but wreckage where the Flak and Deck Guns should be.
U-Boat Name and ID Number: U-86, Ra’n
Successful Patrol: Yes
Number of Freighters Sank: 2
Number of Tankers Sank: 2
Number of Capital Ships Sank: 0
Total Tonnage Destroyed: 27,400
Refit Time: 2 months, ready for patrol Dec 1941
Award Requests: Wound Badge for injured (2 Crew plus Lt (Ing) Jordan Volke), and Swords to Knight’s Cross for KKpt Viktor Radel
Narrative:
U-86 departed La Rochelle in the early morning fog on 6 September heading for our assigned patrol station in the Atlantic. Passage through the Bay of Biscay was uneventful and we arrived in our patrol area on the 13th.
Initially things were quiet, the lookouts dutifully scanning an empty ocean. All that changed in the wee morning hours of 18 September when Matrosengefeither Otto Bauman noticed an unusual darkness on the western horizon. Investigating, we found a large convoy and, taking advantage of the predawn darkness, made a surface torpedo attack firing both the bow and stern tubes. We fired two eels each at a large freighter (7,500 tons) and tanker (6,500 tons) and the stern torpedo at another large freighter (5,200 tons). The first two eels both hit but were duds, Funkobergefreither Friedrich Radenar reported hearing both hit on the hydrophone. We were more successful with the other eels, both targets erupting in multiple explosions and quickly sinking. The nearby escort, a Black Swan class sloop, was too busy dealing with the chaos of suddenly sinking ships to pay us any attention.
We raced ahead of the convoy and shortly after sunrise made a submerged attack from medium range, targeting another (8,400 ton) tanker and freighter (5,900 tons). Given the size of the prize, I fired three torpedoes at the tanker. Tow missed and one was a dud. The lone eel hitting the freighter broke her back and sent her to the bottom. We again went undetected by the escort, this time a Town class DD, and strove to once more position ourselves in the convoy’s path.
Our efforts proved successful and at midday I fired the last of our forward torpedoes at a tanker (9,800 tons). Two hits were observed and the tanker burst into flames. This time we had to content ourselves with the sounds of the target breaking up as the escort, a Flower class corvette, bore down on us. This Tommie was persistent, subjecting U-86 to an extended attack (four rounds of depth charging). Though the crew suffered multiple casualties, including Lt (Ing) Jordan Volke, none proved life threatening. Unfortunately, U-86 was not so lucky. We experienced extensive flooding, sever damage to the hull, loss of both the Flak and 8.8cm guns, and the periscope. Lt (Ing) Volke was able to bring the periscope back on line but the remainder of the damage was beyond his ability to repair at sea. Still, we had one eel remaining in the stern tube and plenty of supplies so I again set off in pursuit of the convoy.
We caught up with the convoy just before sunset and I fired our last torpedo at a 5,000 ton freighter. The eel frustratingly proved to be a dud. The escort, presumably the same Town class DD from earlier in the day did not react and I was left to watch he convoy slip away, U-86 no longer having any offensive capability.
Bereft of torpedoes and our deck gun mangled by the wabos, I reluctantly turned for home early. We had no encounters on the passage back and U-86 entered La Rochelle the afternoon of 25 September. With the hull damage, she will take two months to repair. Though tired and battered, we were all buoyed by the fact that with the 27,400 tons sunk on this patrol, I now had over 75,000 ton since the award of the Oak Leaves to my Knight’s Cross. The crew presented me with their own version of the Swords.
Respectfully submitted,
KKpt Viktor Radel, Kommandant U-86
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Post by keyboy on Dec 10, 2016 18:47:33 GMT
October 1, 1941, Gentleman, from my quick glances at the reports you did well this month, sinking 27,400 tons of shipping, and 4 hulls. The first round tonight is on me, while the second round will be on the crew of the Ra'n. The third round will be supplied by Viktor Radel who has been awarded the KCO&S and promoted to the rank of FKpt. The fourth round will be supplied by Karl Schneider who was also promoted to the rank of FKpt. AwardsKnight's Cross with Oak Leaves and SwordsFKpt Viktor Radel Knight's Cross with Oak LeavesNone Knight's CrossNone Iron Cross 2nd ClassNone Iron Cross 1st Class None U-Boat War Badge To the Crew of: NonePromotionsAdvancement in Rank for Unterseeboot Kommandant Korvettenkapitän Viktor Radel promoted to the rank of Fregattenkapitän Korvettenkapitän Karl Schneider promoted to the rank of Fregattenkapitän
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