U-4714 by Robert F. Clifton (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📕

small, crowded wardroom Reinhardt sat drinking coffee with Falkner and Baumhauer.

Dresner noted a far away look on Baumhauer's face. “What's on your mind Chief?”, he asked.

Conrad Baumhauer looked up shook his head and offered a weak smile. “Home, the wife, the children, Berlin. That's all”, he said.

“Ah, yes home. Like you I think of home, Oststeinbeck, Flensburg, my wife, the little bookshop. When this war is over I think I'll become a merchant selling books for a living. What about you Deiter? What will you do?”

“Ski. After all this time on and in the ocean I yearn for the mountains. I remember a ski lodge in Garmish, the fireplace in the dining room, a girl with blonde pigtails, blue eyes and a smile a mile wide. Yes, I'll ski and when I get my fill of it sit back and decide what else I want to do with my life”.

The officers conversation was interrupted by the sound of Klaus Friehoffer's voice. “Propeller sounds. One, two, two vessels sir”, he reported.

“Direction?”, asked Dresner.

“East, northeast, off of our port bow sir”.

“Clear the bridge. Alert! Alert! Take her down to periscope depth”, ordered Reinhardt.

Elmar Sauer and two lookouts quickly descended into the control room from the conning tower. As they did the U-4714 was already slipping under the water.

“Periscope depth sir”, said Falkner.

“Up scope”, said Dresner.

As he scanned the dark surface he saw the outline of the first freighter. It moved at a slow pace. “Probably loaded with iron ore”, he thought to himself. Turning the scope he soon saw the other freighter. A much larger ship and riding high. “They're not stupid enough to cruise these waters without escort. Where the devil is the warship?”,He thought again. Then, he saw it. The bow of a Canadian Corvette was exposed as the clouds hiding the moon parted. “Down scope. Come to starboard three degrees, Open outer doors”, said Dresner.

“Coming to starboard three degrees sir”, said the helmsman.

“Outer doors open sir”, said Falkner.

“Steady, half full ahead”, said Dresner.

“Half full ahead sir”.

“Deiter, you are about to get your wish. Up there are two freighters and a corvette. I intend to attack all three. Up scope”.

Dresner turned the periscope searching for and finding the larger freighter. “Steady, steady. Fire one, fire two. Dive take her down to three hundred feet”, he said.

“First torpedo off and running straight sir. Second torpedo off and running straight sir”, said Friehoffer.

“Come about to port five degrees”, said Reinhardt's

“Coming to port five degrees”, said the helmsman. Then, suddenly there was the sound of an explosion, then another”.

“Periscope depth”, said Dresner.

“Coming up to periscope depth”, said Falkner.

“Up scope”. Reinhardt again scanned the surface off of the port side of his boat. He noticed that the second freighter, low in the water instead of increasing speed had stopped. “Unusual, Navy intelligence has reported that no ship in a convoy was to stop for survivors. Yet, this damn fool has stopped. Very well”, he thought. “Fire three, fire four. Dive take it to five hundred feet again.”.

“Both torpedoes away and running straight Captain”. Said Friehoffer.

“Good, silent running”, ordered Dresner.

The sounds of two more explosion came to the Captain and crew of the U-Boat. Then came the ping, ping, ping, of the searching corvette.

“Depth charges!”, shouted Friehoffer.

Two explosions minutes apart shook the U-4714 as those inside reacted each in their own way. Some sat with their eyes closed, some prayed silently while others stood waiting out fate.

“Down another hundred feet”, Dresner ordered

“Six hundred feet Captain”, said Falkner.

“Starboard, five degrees, full ahead”, said Dresner.

Before the helmsman could reply another three explosions shook the boat.

“Load the Bold. Let's see if what the Kriesmarine has been telling us about this sonar deception device is true. This canister supposedly produces a mass of bubbles the same size as the U-boat making the enemy believe he has hit us. Let me know when it is loaded”, said Dresner.

Two more depth charge explosions went off just as he was finished talking.

“Bold is loaded sir”, said the Chief torpedo man”.

“Which tube?”, asked Reinhardt.

“One sir”.

“Bring the boat up to three hundred feet”.

“Three hundred feet sir”.

“Open outer doors”.

“Doors open sir”.

Looking at Falkner Dresner said, “Now Deiter, we wait for them to drop another round”.

“Propellers coming back sir. Sonar”.

The sounds of the searching sonar came again as did the dropping death charges. First one, then another. When there were no more Reinhardt ordered, “Fire one”. And the Bold canister was forced out of the torpedo tube with compressed air. Then, it exploded sending millions of bubbles to the surface where it was observed by the crew of the Canadian corvette. Thirty minutes later the hydrophone operator reported,”Propeller sounds going away”.

“Periscope depth”, Reinhardt ordered.

Looking through the lens he saw in the distance that the two freighters were listing badly and sinking. The corvette was stopped, dead in the water, a perfect target as it picked up survivors. Dresner said, “Down scope. New bearing, west, southwest forty four degrees, full ahead”.

“What About the corvette Captain?”, asked Falknder.

“It's picking up survivors”, Dresner answered.

“Then, a perfect opportunity”,

“Those men in the water deserve to live. War is one thing, murder another. I'll be in my quarters.”

The next morning at dawn Dresner manned the conning tower. “Permission to come up sir”, said the cook.

“Permission granted”, answered Dresner.

Once topside the cook tested the wind then tossed the weighted bag of garbage over the side. Looking up at the Captain he said, “Sir, we're running low on rations”.

“Why? I personally watched as food was loaded and stored. We had enough for two months at sea”, Dresner replied.

“Spoilage sir. The canned goods they gave us are old. Most of the cans are from the Italian Navy when they were there in Bordeaux. They are swollen with botulism. I can't use them”.

“Very well, thank you”.

“You're welcome sir”.

Deiter Falkner arrived on the bridge and using the sextant looked towards the sun and horizon. “Latitude, forty three degrees, five minutes, twenty two seconds. Longitude, fifty seven degrees, forty eight minutes, forty one seconds”, he said.

“We've practically come full circle. Stay on course, full ahead”.

“Are we still hunting Captain?', asked Deiter.

“We're always hunting, Herr Falkner. Radar operator, stay alert”.

“Yes sir”.

“Going below. Herr Falkner you have the con”.

“Very good sir”.

Once below, Dresner made his way to the small galley. There the cook was inspecting the cans of food that still remained. He carefully removed one, swollen can of tomatoes and held it up for Dresner to see.

“This is what I'm talking about sir”, said the cook.

“Alright, there's nothing we can do about it now. Inspect all cans stored in the boat. Do what you have to do, but I don't need a case of food poisoning on board. Be careful”.

“Yes sir”.

“Sounds of propeller sir”, said the hydrophone operator.

“Direction?”.

“Due east. Perhaps a mile, maybe two”.

“I have an object there also”, said the radar man.

“Clear the bridge. Dive! Dive! Flood all tanks”.

An hour later when the periscope cleared the surface of the water Reinhardt gazed upon the King Jacob, a fishing trawler out of Nova Scotia.

“Herr Sauer. Is it you that speaks English?”, asked Dresner.

“Yes sir”.

“Good. I intend to surface. When I do I want the gun crew out and on deck and the guns armed and ready. You will communicate with those on board the fishing boat, telling them not to use their radio. Then, we will board the trawler”.

“Yes sir. May I instruct the gun crew Captain?”

“Yes. Surface, blow all tanks”, said Reinhardt.

The five man crew of the King Jacob were busy sorting cod from trash fish when they stopped at the sound and sight of the U-4714 breaking the surface of the ocean. They watched as men manned the forty millimeter guns and became apprehensive when the guns was turned towards them. In the conning tower of the submarine two men that appeared to be officers stood watching them. One had a bullhorn and using it spoke to them. “You on the boat. Do not. I repeat. Do not use your radio. We are tuned to your frequency. Any use or attempt of use of your radio will force us to open fire. We are sending a boarding party to your vessel. Do not resist and all of you will be alright. I repeat, do not resist our boarding party”, said Sauer.

Two inflatable rubber rafts were placed in the water. Reinhardt, Sauer and two men occupied one and three men armed with automatic weapons climbed into the other. Fortunately, the ocean was calm and both rafts crossed the distance between the U-Boat and trawler without any problems. Once aboard the fishing boat Reinhardt spoke to Sauer in German and Sauer spoke to the trawler crew in English. “My Captain wants to know besides cod. What else is in your hold?”, said Sauer.

“We only have cod, some lobsters we caught when we brought in the nets”, said one man.

“My Captain wants to know if you are the Captain of this vessel”, said Sauer

“Yes, yes I am”, answered the man.

“I am to inform you that we will take what we want. First, some of your fish. Second, all of your lobsters and any or all of your food in your galley. Once we do that we will render your ship to shore radio useless by removing several tubes”, repeated Sauer after listening to Dresner's orders. As the trawler crew stood helpless and at gun point sailors from the U-4714 loaded sacks of food while others made several trips back and forth with the rafts filled with fish and lobsters. Reinhardt was handed two tubes from the King Jacob's radio. Then, they all got into the rafts and returned to the U-Boat.

Angry, but helpless, the men of the King Jacob were relieved to see the gun crew on the submarine secure the weapon and disappear below decks. They stood in silence watching the U-4714 slide under the water. Once in the control room, Reinhardt stood thinking, remembering the first time he had met Hedda. On that day in the book shop he asked her about the writings of Steinbeck translated into German. Hedda had asked if he had read, “Cup Of Gold” a story about the pirate, Henry Morgan. To her he said, “Fraulein, are you comparing German Naval officers to pirates?” Suddenly, he felt like one, a pirate, someone who boarded a ship and took what he wanted, but his crew had to be fed.

That night as the U-4714 made its way down the east coast of North America, the crew cleaned fish. The cook refrigerated the cod and served boiled lobster with melted butter along with canned vegetables and white bread from the King Jacob.

The U-4714 was capable if necessary to remain under water for three days and it was air conditioned so the Captain and crew operated under comfortable conditions. Nonetheless, Reinhardt ordered the boat to the surface at night which allowed Baumhauer time to recharge the batteries. It was during that time when Reinhardt worried about being detected by enemy air craft radar. However, his luck was holding. The Canadians failed to kill him. The U-Boat with its speed underwater was able to out maneuver the searching surface ships and their deadly depth charges. That and the things he had learned from Bergman and others had given him the skill to out think the British, Canadian and American destroyer and corvette captains. Now, as he headed out of the Grand Banks and to a point sixty miles east of Narraganset he felt confident that he could sink more American shipping. He anticipated loaded freighters

leaving Boston Harbor and heading for Halifax to join up with a new convoy. He planned to wait and watch, then locate and get ahead of his target and when the time was right, preferably at night send one or two Falke zaunkonig (torpedoes)into a merchant ship. Some U-boat Captains worried about the new zaunonig (torpedoes) Yet, to him he had no problem with the Wren. However, he had fired the last of the WREN class and his torpedo men have loaded