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

Seventeen. The Oil Spill

lie exposed outside on the boat’s hull and can be launched from inside. Some can be fired forward, some broadside. Inside there is a lot of room; bulkhead doors subdivide the boat so the engines and their noise can be cut off from the remaining space. The whole diving maneuver can be accomplished from one central control room where the helm and the gyrocompass are located. The periscope ends in this room as well. The men have berths and there is even an officers’ mess. Also, there are two watch officers on board, a great relief for the commander . A short time after the arrival of U-14, her commander gets sick, and I take over the boat. Once again it means parting from my old familiar crew who stood with me through all the hardships and dangers. It is also a difficult departure from the old boat herself. I know each of her sounds in my sleep, know how she reacts to all help, like a good horse; she has become a living thing for me, even if old and sick. My hand rests one more moment stroking the conning tower. Good old Number Five . . . then I shake myself and leave the boat. Seventeen.The Oil Spill I have gotten used to my new boat. I am not very delighted with it, although, in some respects, this boat has advantages over my old Number Five. It worries me greatly that it is really an art to dive with this boat in heavy seas. In spite of everything, it sometimes takes a quarter of an hour to get underwater! This boat has outboard torpedoes. An accurate shot is not possible with them since the firing apparatus functions only with 10 degrees’ precision. The mechanisms have not been worked through precisely. Everything is brilliantly thought out but not solidly constructed. Also, the engine is unreliable. So I have exchanged old worries for new ones! THE OIL SPILL 67 U-14 and U-4 have thought out a joint venture. We want to be outside Durazzo in the morning and lie in ambush for arriving cargo steam ships. One of us would come from the south, one from the north. At first we travel together into the Bay of Lales, which, protected against the south wind, lies directly north of Durazzo. You can also lie on the bottom when the weather is severe with siroccos so stormy that attacks are impossible. For this reason the Bay is most attractive and is nicknamed “Villa Lales.” The bottom is muddy there and the boat lies smoothly as if in a bed. U-14 is brought to a halt; after the report, “Everything watertight ,” the ballast tanks are flooded a couple of kilograms and the boat sinks slowly. The hull has been tested to 2.5 atmospheric pressure; thus you can lie calmly at 25 meters’ depth. The depth gauge needle continues further: 10 meters, 15, 20, 21, 23 meters; then it stands still. It is barely noticeable that the boat touched down. Now more water is pumped into the tanks, to make the boat heavier and unable to be displaced by the current . Then it gets cozy. The folding table in the officers’ mess is set up. It lies directly in the passage from forward to aft, but at least, lying on the bottom , you can afford to lay a table. Whoever wants to go past must dive under it, but the men develop an incredible skill much like hurdlers. The table is set with plates and glasses and you can eat like a civilized person. Even wine is poured for this special occasion and afterward cards are brought out because a game of Tarot can only add to the atmosphere. The men celebrate also. The sound of an accordion comes from the bow and alternates with the gramophone that constantly plays, “O Blue Adriatic.” A terrible song, but it appears to be either beloved, or one of the few records that is still whole. Everyone can sleep tonight; only one watch stander watches over the depth gauge and the compass rose. 68 THE OIL SPILL Morning brings us to the surface again. The tanks are emptied until the boat lifts itself from the bottom, but the mud will not let it go. The adhesion is too strong, and a lot of drive is required for it...