U-Boat Name and ID Number U-74 Stachelrochen
KKpt – Volkhard Schreiber
Patrol Assignment British Isles
Successful Patrol Yes
Number of Freighters Sank 1
Number of Tankers Sank 1
Number of Capital Ships Sank 0
Total Tonnage Destroyed 28,500
Ships Damaged 0
Ships Destroyed British Steam Passenger Ship of 14,600t –
Ulysses, British Whale Factory Ship of 13,900t –
New SevillaRefit Time Standard
Award Requests None
Crew Names: Crew Status: EliteKptLt Volkhard Schreiber
1WO Goetzpeter Staufenbiel
2WO Adam Luedtke
LI (Eng) Reinhold Kraft
Doctor Herrmann Rieger
U-74 (Stachelrochen) enters La Rochelle on 30th June with two victory pennants flying from her conning tower.On the 1st June 1941, U-74 and its crew set out for the British Isles once again. The passage to our assigned patrol station was uneventful, apart from a small outbreak of food poisoning on the 4th. U-74 arrived at the patrol area on the 6th of June.
On the morning of the 8th the lookouts spotted smoke on the horizon. I ordered the boat to dive and make a submerged approach. The U-74 approached the large steam passenger ship (14,600 tons) and once I was sure it was unescorted, I gave the order to get in close, surface and prepare the deck gun.
We got to close range and the gunners fired off about fifty rounds and consistently hit with the deck gun and soon the crew of the merchant ship were trying to put a fire out at the stern of the ship and some were jumping into the sea. As soon as I saw the crew abandoning ship, I knew it was time to finish her off. As soon as the last of the crew had left the ship, the G7e fired from the aft tube hit amidships and it took a further 30 minutes before the
Ulysses slipped beneath the waves. As we watched her go down my XO and a few of the crew took a boat to see what they could salvage, but we were all disappointed when they returned with the news that no food could be found and the cargo was pig iron. We took our leave and headed on further up the coast.
The watch commander spotted a light on the horizon on the evening of the 24th), so the U-74 submerged and moved into investigate. Identifying the enemy as a lone Whale factory ship (13,900 tons) I made sure it was unescorted and then gave the order to once again get in close, surface and prepare the deck gun.
We got to close range and the gunners fired off about fifty to sixty rounds and their accuracy improved from the last encounter, hitting with the deck gun a multitude of times. Only a few of the crew jumped overboard, so I gave the crew a warning and fired the aft torpedo, which embarrassingly missed and the cheering and swearing from the British Sailors in their little boats made it even worse. I personally plotted solutions for a full bow spread and let loose the four eels. I called to the British sailors “Both your ship and its cargo will be going to the bottom of the sea and the
Stachelrochen will continue to sink your ships and result in us winning the war.” At that point the first G7a hit the bow of their ship and it began to sink. The torpedoes fired from tubes #2 and #3 failed to detonate, but the final eel forced the coup de grace and our crew gave a mighty cheer as the
New Sevilla fell beneath the waves and we saluted the abandoned the crew and departed the area.
Although we had torpedoes and food in supply, the fuel situation was reaching critical, so the U-74 was forced into heading for home.
The passage back to La Rochelle was uneventful and no further contact was made with the enemy.
After shore leave and re-supply, U-74 will be ready to resume patrol in August.
KKpt Volkhard Schreiber