U-Boat Name and ID Number U-74 Stachelrochen
KKpt – Volkhard Schreiber
Patrol Assignment Atlantic
Successful Patrol Yes
Number of Freighters Sank 3
Number of Tankers Sank 0
Number of Capital Ships Sank 0
Total Tonnage Destroyed 35,100
Ships Damaged 0
Ships Destroyed British Steam Merchant of 12,300t –
Sultan Star, British Steam Merchant of 11,000t –
Norfolk and British Steam Merchant of 11,800t –
Rodney StarRefit Time Standard
Award Requests None
Crew Names: Crew Status: EliteKKpt Volkhard Schreiber
1WO Goetzpeter Staufenbiel
2WO Adam Luedtke
LI (Eng) Reinhold Kraft
Doctor Herrmann Rieger
Doctor - ExperteU-74 (Stachelrochen) enters La Rochelle on 31st December with three victory pennants flying from her conning tower.We were the first to leave base for this patrol on the 1st December and the crew were happy that we had left early, as they thought we could still get back for Christmas. We traversed the Bay of Biscay without incident. Then during the morning of the 7th as we reached our assigned patrol station (AL64) a B-24 Liberator was spotted just in time and the order to crash dive was given. The crew is so experienced and efficient now, that we all expect to avoid any damage.
During the evening of the 16th December, Staufenbiel spotted some flickering lights on the port side and I gave the orders to investigate. A convoy had been spotted and the targets looked very appealing. There were four British Steam Merchants; the two large ones were identified as the
Sultan Star and the
Norfolk. I didn’t even hear the names of the small freighters, as I was preoccupied in calculating the tonnage of the two plum targets. We got into position at long range and slowly surfaced which gave me plenty of time to double check calculations and fire the four bow tubes. All four eels ran straight and true and to my surprise actually detonated. The brace that hit the
Sultan Star struck her starboard side aft and she began to sink by the stern and Luedtke swore he saw some beef carcasses in the water, even from that distance. A luxury we would not have time to retrieve. The other two torpedoes hit the
Norfolk, but only damaged her enough to slow away from the convoy. From this range, there was a good chance of not being detected, but we were found almost immediately. Using evasive manoeuvres limited us to some minor flooding and then there was no further detection. After waiting for the escort to return to the heart of the convoy, I got the
Stachelrochen up to periscope depth and was pleasantly surprised to see the damaged freighter now unescorted. I ordered the gun crew to ready and within twenty minutes: we had surfaced and fired off a large salvo of high explosive and incendiary shells to complete the coup de grace.
Another convoy was spotted on the morning of the 22nd December and once again there were two big targets and two small ones. I settled for attacking the
Rodney Star, a British Steam Merchant of 11,800 tons and the
Zealandic, a British Motor Merchant of 10,600 tons.
Submerged, we closed to middle range and let loose all four torpedoes from the bow tubes. The brace that were aimed at the
Rodney Star both hit and detonated and unfortunately only slowed her down as she was taking on water. Only one eel hit the
Zealandic and of course, that was a dud!! Despite the bubble trail, we were undetected and so monitored the convoy from distance.
I had the choice of trying to have another pop at the convoy, follow the undamaged merchant ship or try to finish off the straggler. I settled on the latter course of action and as we got to within medium range, I fired the electric eel from the aft to complete the job and make escort detection difficult. The only problem with that strategy, is that you have to be accurate and unfortunately my 1WO missed the target. The escort was way off in trying to detect us, so I decided to try again.
I calculated the solution and triple checked it and even ensured we attacked at a more acute angle rather than being perpendicular to the target. My strategy worked and the electric eel hit the target and detonated, but it was still not enough to sink her. Once again, the escort found it difficult without a bubble trail to follow and so we were once again undetected. I waited a little longer this time and then discovered that the escort had left. Once surfaced, the gun crew finished her off and we made our way south.
We made no further contacts and there was no further engagement with enemy ships or planes.
After it was safe to surface, we continued on our way back to the Bay of Biscay
The rest of the passage to La Rochelle was uneventful and we arrived back at base on the morning of 31st December
After shore leave and re-supply, U-74 will be ready to resume patrol in February.
KKpt Volkhard Schreiber