To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander

Fifteen. Heroes

Fifteen.Heroes “U-3 is overdue. She should have arrived long ago.” We officers of the U-boat station sit together in the officers’ mess of the Dalmat, a small navy yacht that was assigned to us as our residence ship. “Also Lerch has not returned; today the news came from Italy that one of our U-boats hit mines outside Venice. That can only be U-12.” We sit silently at our table. Lerch, one of our best and most beloved comrades! Always cheerful, full of fun, ready for anything . As we say in the navy, “a real shipmate” who would stop at nothing, whether he was out in search of adventure or going out against the enemy. About whom the funniest stories were told. Every boat commander literally tore himself apart to get him because he was so competent. One lifts his glass: “To our Lerch, his second, Zecharaiah, and his men . . .” “God willing, Strnad will come back!” “And if not, who will be the third?” We look at one another. The triplicate of tragedies had already become proverbial in the war. “Wasn’t Lerch your second for a long time?” someone asks me. “Yes, on U-6. Still before the war. I liked him very much . . . He tore himself apart for me . . . A great friend.” I get up and go on deck. I cannot stand it below any longer. My last conversation with Lerch comes back to me. Lerch had grumbled: “They don’t let me in the Bocche; I have to stay in Pola. But there is nothing to catch. My boat belongs at sea!’ and then he asked me: “What would you do in my place?” “Well, Lerch,” I had answered then, “If we do not know where to find something better in the Bocche, we go to Brindisi. Perhaps you could find something outside Venice. There is still a chance . . . possibly you could explore the entrance through the HEROES 63 mines. Supposedly ships ride at anchor there. But be careful!” “You’re right. I’ll just take a look around there . . .” were his last words. Now this conversation goes through my head. I feel remorseful . I gave my friend advice that perhaps brought him and his boat to their deaths. But it is always possible that this news is not true, as so many reports have already been. He is overdue. Lerch is stubborn, and if he did not get to fight, he would stay out longer. Perhaps he would come back after all! But after a couple of days the official message arrives: an Italian gunboat sighted the periscope of U-12 and escaped into the minefield. Lerch had gone after him thinking that the enemy would follow the clear passage to Venice and, in so doing, ran into a mine. Apparently he didn’t even consider that the gunboat , with its low draught, could go right over the mines. Day after day passed and Strnad did not return with U-3. Only after a long time the news arrived that gave a rough description of his end: After lying unsuccessfully in ambush outside Brindisi, U-3 fired a torpedo at the Italian auxiliary cruiser Città di Catania. The steamer evaded the torpedo and tried to ram the U-boat, grazed her, and dropped depth charges. Right after that an Italian torpedo boat approached the U-boat at full speed and launched two torpedoes that went above her. After that followed depth charges that made the periscope useless and punched leaks in the mufflers and some of the tanks. Then the torpedo boat lost the U-boat’s wake because it had gone underwater badly damaged and tried to escape. In the afternoon U-3 surfaced but had to go underwater immediately because a French cruiser was nearby. Finally at night she shook off her pursuers and could surface. Then the men could see the extent of the damage. The engines did not work anymore. Every now and then they would start up, only to stop again. The men worked in despair to find the problem. Late that night, they found the cylinders were full 64 HEROES of water. They continued the trip with the electric motors, and they tried to repair the damage at least temporarily. At that point three destroyers approached the boat. It was completely hopeless , but one last effort had to be...