U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) by Vause Jordan

Author:Vause, Jordan [Vause, Jordan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781612513805
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Wolfgang Lüth on the bridge of U-43. He looks cold because he is cold. During his last patrol as captain of U-43 in January 1942, his crew had to knock the ice off her rigging and superstructure with hammers. (Courtesy Horst Bredow)

I watched as Strahlendorf pointed to something with his arm, but I could not see what it was. As the boat rose onto a crest I made out a ship, broadside on. At the same time Kliegel saw a destroyer behind us, also broadside. Both ships were fighting for their lives and we could do nothing; we could make no way against the sea. When after a few minutes the destroyer saw us, he tried to turn our way, but he came crossways to the sea and almost toppled over. He gave up and turned against the sea again. We dived, resolving not to let our quarry get away. Several hours later we came up again and saw another ship. But again the powers of nature worked to keep peace between us.15

At 0650 Lüth began to track the Swedish Yngaren, which he was only able to see at intervals as the two vessels rose and fell with the waves. He had to have his binoculars wiped dry continuously during the attack. He had no expectations when ordering two torpedoes fired at 0802. Both of them, however, hit.

The Swedish ship broke into two pieces. Her forward section sank first, followed by the stern, which turned turtle and stood vertically in the water before going down. And as she went, Lüth, standing in the bridge, hurled her agonies down the hatch to his crew: “Bow is gone,” he screamed, “now the stern is up . . . she’s gone.”

It was quite a storm; one of the worst of the season. Later in his book, Lüth recalled the cries for help his radio room was receiving: “From one ship nearing her end we intercepted a distress call that sounded something like: ‘Lifeboats carried away—cargo hatches full of water—I’m beginning to lose hope of ever seeing land again. . . .’ The signal was very sad for us, because as seamen we appreciated the struggle between the seaman and the power of the sea . . .” It was the same gratuitous drivel Lüth’s editors employed in recounting his experience with the Victor Ross; he himself really could not have cared less.

*SC 42 lost thirteen ships in a wild convoy battle west of Iceland; it was one of the few times that summer that Ultra failed the Admiralty.

*Petersen was with Lüth when the news of Rahmlow arrived. “Well,” said Lüth with lifted brow, “what can you expect from a member of the Katholike Crew?” and he told Petersen a story of how the Catholic Center Party, in exchange for their support of the 1927 Cruiser “A” bill in the Reichstag, had been promised an all-Catholic class at the Marineschule. The story is not true; it was probably not so much that Lüth disliked Catholics as that he appreciated a tidbit of service gossip.

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