XOs log. 5th patrol. 11 March, 1941
After 4 days in port eels, food, and other equipment were loaded and stowed. The crew did a better job than the first time, and we had room to spare. Some of our temporary repairs were checked and updated also.
Meanwhile captain Reger dealt with crew changes. The death of two seamen on our last cruise left us in need, and we found two good recruits ready to join us. One came with strong mechanics credentials, always welcome!
When the captain returned he brought a muscular looking man in tow, carrying a single small duffle. The passenger was tight lipped, and I understood he would not be with us long. Once he was aboard we made our last preparations and headed to sea at 1930 hours.
Our first day of travel NW was routine, but early on the second morning our guest identified a Communist in our midst! We placed him under arrest and he was chained by one wrist to the torpedo rack at the stern. Our guest, who turned out to be an avid Nazi wanted to shoot him summarily and save the space on board. The captain would hear none of it, rightly preserving him for proper naval discipline.The rest of the day was uneventful.
Just after midnight our hydrophone picked up a large freighter crossing our path east to the south Irish coast. Adjusting our course we made an intercept one hour later, running on the surface. We readied 2 eels and loosed both at a range of 1.5km. Both exploded and the ship went down quickly. Our salvage operation turned up fresh sausages and canned fish. We made sure the men in the lifeboats had fresh water and canned bread before we resumed our course for Ireland.
The next day we approached the channel on the surface in drizzly weather. Our orders were to remain undetected, so roughly 100km out the captain called for decks awash and we reduced speed to 10 knots. We entered the shallow water of the bay at 2200 hours. Hydrophones soon picked up a corvette and we gave them a wide berth. Around midnight our passenger was despatched for the shore and we departed the area, decks awash again. A near pass by another corvette had me chewing my lip since we did not have the depth to descend further. But we slipped by undetected and by 0300 we were running westward on the surface at 20 knots. Mission accomplished! Tired, I found my bunk and slept.
