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Toronto U-74 manoeuvring in the harbour at La Spezia, Italy. (WH col.)

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London
Werner Hirschmann
with Donald E. Graves
Foreword by Timothy P. Mulligan
Maps by Christopher Johnson
ANOTHER PLACE,
ANOTHER TI ME,
A U-BOAT OFFI CER S WARTI ME ALBUM,
30 31
ANOT HE R P L ACE , ANOT HE R T I ME F R OM B L ANK E NF E L DE T O T HE B I S MAR CK
Enlisted personnel, as well as ofcer cadets, also un-
derwent basic training at the Dnholm, but during the
time I spent there in October and November 1940, we
were all ofcer-aspirants because the two groups never
trained at the same time. Our days certainly did not end
at 5 .. and when they did end, we were much too tired
to do anything, particularly to get into trouble. I can-
not remember much about what we did in our limited
spare time but we probably talked, read, played cards
and so on.
Near the end of October we experienced the most
important day of our short time in service when we
underwent the solemn swearing-in ceremony. This day
began with a moving service at the magnicent Nikolai
Church in Stralsund, where the navy chaplain delivered
a sermon that left a deep impression on me. It contin-
ued with the administration of the oath under the eyes
of Admiral Wilhelm Marschall in the big drill square.*
After swearing our loyalty to our country, we nally felt
we had become real soldiers.**
From this day on, we were entitled to shore leave
and we received our rst pass to get out of camp for a
few hours, which we did in our blue dress sailors uni-
forms. We went no farther than Stralsund and did lit-
tle more than go to a restaurant and have a good meal,
* Admiral WilhelmMarschall (1886-1976) joined the Imperial German
Navy as a cadet in 1906 and won the Pour Le Mrite, the highest German
decoration during the First World War, as a U-boat commander. He rose
steadily in rank and by 1941 was inspector of training in the Kriegsmarine.
He held a series of important operational commands from1941 to 1944
and survived the war.
** The German customis to use the word Soldaten to include not only
members of the army but also the navy.
The standard of 7.
Schiffsstammabteilung.
(WH col.)
I am now a sailor
in the Kriegsmarine
although some
people, seeing this
picture, might sus-
pect I had joined
the Vienna Choir
Boys. (WH col.)
Playing the accordion gave me the advantage of entertaining my comrades while
they cleaned the barracks before inspection better to play than work. (WH col.)
(Below) I believe I never again looked
as warlike as in this picture, which
shows me on guard duty. (WH col.)
Our Guard of Honour
marches past Admiral
Marschall, the Inspector
of the Bildungswesen
(the Kriegsmarine train-
ing organization) shortly
after our oath-taking
ceremony on 27 October
1940. We did not nd
the Parademarsch or
goose-step all that
useful at sea. (WH col.)
42 43
ANOT HE R P L ACE , ANOT HE R T I ME F R OM B L ANK E NF E L DE T O T HE B I S MAR CK
commenced another period of repairs, as defective ma-
chinery was removed and replaced with new equipment.
The Easter holidays were recognized with a general eas-
ing of duties and additional goodies for our meals, but
holidays they were not, and I remember having to stand
watch outside the ships arrest cell! During the evening
of Easter Monday, however, I was nally allowed ashore
and saw a performance of Die Fledermaus at the opera.
We Kadetten now commenced writing a series of ex-
aminations leading towards our eventual promotion to
Fhnrich (midshipman). While writing these tests, we
were required to wear dress uniform, which puzzled us,
but by now, having been six months in service, we knew
better than to complain.
Towards the end of April 1941, Hans Lody returned
to Kiel, to the crews deep disappointment, as we had all
hoped that we would go into action in the North Sea. In
Kiel I was sad to see the widespread destruction British
bombers had recently inicted on the city and I wondered
what the cities in England looked like. Again we engaged
in various tests and exercises and practised more battle
evolutions, mostly in very heavy seas that made it impos-
sible to get from the engine rooms to the aft messdecks
without getting drenched. Visits to places like Rnne on
The destroyer Karl Galster practising manoeuvres with Hans Lody in the Baltic in the spring of 1941. (WH col.)
Hans Lody exercising in the Baltic, being
followed by the destroyers Karl Galster
and Hermann Schoemann in the spring of
1941. (WH col.)
A rough sea with winds of force 8
in the Baltic in the spring of 1941.
No wonder I had my rst bouts
of seasickness! (WH col.)
82 83
ANOT HE R P L ACE , ANOT HE R T I ME S UNS HI NE , CHI ANT I AND I CE CR E AM
had become only too familiar with doma-
ni and dopodomani which, in most cases,
were the stock replies to almost every ques-
tion asked about progress.
I was not there when the boat was nal-
ly ready because, after a few more glorious
weeks of sunshine, Chianti and ice cream
on the shores of the Mediterranean, it was
time to return to the Marineschule at Kiel
for more specialized technical classes. The
train trip north, which I made with a Fhn-
rich z.S., was interrupted by a sightseeing
visit to Parma. After we had recrossed the
Alps, the soft pastel colours of the landscape
and the overcast weather were almost a wel-
come relief from the eternally blue sky, the
aquamarine Mediterranean and the strong
reds and greens that dominate the scenery
of Italy.
U-375 continued to serve in the Medi-
terranean until 30 July 1943 when, still un-
der Knenkamps command, it was sunk
with all hands near Pantellaria.*
* U-375 was sunk by the American patrol craft PC-624
on 30 July 1943, after it tried to attack Allied shipping
supporting the invasion of Sicily.
On patrol a view from the
Wintergarten of the bridge of
U-375 while surfaced in the
Mediterranean. (WH col.)
After we returned to La Spezia from our patrol, the most important
task was catching up on our mail, read here by the I.WO and an
NCO. (WH col.)
The I.WO (rst watch ofcer) of U-375, Oberleutnant z.S.
Heintze, in a picture taken from atop the periscope housing.
(WH col.)
hospitality of an Italian business tycoon who invited me
to spend a weekend with him and his family at his estate
on beautiful Lake Como near Milan. During my time in
Italy, it was noticeable to me and my comrades that there
were almost no indications that this nation was at war.
In the three months I was posted to La Spezia, I never
saw an Italian warship enter or leave the base, while at
the ritual evening promenade in Viareggio young men
of military age strolled up and down, a dozen abreast
and arm in arm, seemingly without a care in the world.
After a few weeks at Viareggio, I returned to La Spe-
zia, and the remainder of my time in Italy was spent in
trying to assist in the repairs on U-375. A better knowl-
edge of Italian would have been helpful but, by now, I
In 1942, most Type VII U-boats still carried an 88 mm gun on the foredeck. These
guns were later removed because constantly increasing Allied airpower forced Ger-
man submarines to travel less and attack less on the surface and because, since div-
ing time was crucial during an air attack, the boats could no longer afford to have
crew on deck before an alarm dive. (WH col.)
186 187
ANOT HE R P L ACE , ANOT HE R T I ME P R I S ONE R OF WAR
portrait of our special friend, Mr. Churchill. Quickly an ani-
mated conversation develops between the ships ofcers
and us and we get along just ne. They are all university
students and somewhat older than us. We are offered Coca-
Cola and cigarettes. We notice the ports being closed and
soon we hear the hum of the engines and feel the motion of
the sea we are under way.
For lunch we join the captain* of the frigate, and his ofc-
ers take a later sitting. We are amazed about the rich variety
of food. In the afternoon we are taken back on deck to pick
up our bags from the big heap belonging to our crew. We are
asked to open the bags and after a rather supercial inspec-
tion everything is taken down into a room near the ofcers
wardroom.
Then the aforementioned interpreter, who is accompa-
nying us, once again goes over our belongings. Several writ-
ten notes are taken from us, as is my radio and a photo of
a Japanese submarine in my album. We may have some
use for this, says the interpreter. Everything else, letters,
pictures etc. we can keep, including our ceremonial uniform
dirks.
Right afterwards we are offered the use of a bath and
the services of the ships barber. How absolutely lovely, to be
clean again after twelve weeks, and to have a clean-shaven
face! We feel like the newly born and admire ourselves in
a full-size mirror now wearing our dress uniform. The Ca-
nadians cant believe their eyes when they see us so trans-
formed. They claim to hardly recognize us.
In the wardroom there are illustrated magazines contain-
ing many pictures of pretty girls and much anti-German
invective. In our conversations with the Canadians we
talk about war and origins of war. They accuse us, i.e. our
government, of having broken its word after the Munich
agreement, when we attacked Poland. When we talk about
cause and effect, the Canadians change the subject. They
do everything to avoid confrontation with us, and continue
to assure us that we are all very reasonable people, as is
probably the whole population of Germany. But the evil
Nazis brought disaster to the world and after their elimina-
tion, there would be no reason at all not to get along well
with Germany.
Then we talk about warfare at sea. They explain the
methods used by their ace submarine chaser Captain Walk-
er,* and how he achieved his successes. We in turn tell them
our ways to elude the anti-submarine forces. It is an inter-
esting dialogue between opponents who respect each other,
after the battle is over.
The captain of the frigate, a St. Lawrence river pilot a
magnicent, bearded gure plays a game of cards with
one of his ofcers. We watch with interest and soon under-
stand the game of cribbage. I ask Lieutenant Fox for a
game, which he promptly loses. I have incredible luck with
the cards. After the fourth loss Fox has had enough and I
cant get him to play another game for the rest of the trip.
For the night the ships sick bay has been made avail-
able to us. Only our CO sleeps somewhere else. A steward
supplies us with mattresses and blankets. He is a young guy
* Captain Frederick Walker, RN, was the most successful anti-submarine
ofcer in the Allied navies and is credited with sinking more U-boats
than any other naval ofcer in the Second World War.
While my two chief petty ofcers,
Holtmann and Krger, have their backs
to the camera I am standing in front of
the conning tower smoking a cigarette
that was very welcome at the time.
Above me is the outboard air intake
tube of the Schnorchel with its inlet at
the right which connected to the upper
mast. Note the effects of salt corrosion
on the superstructure. (WH col.)
(Below) The nine crew members who
helped bring U-190 into Newfound-
land are seen here about to be trans-
ferred to the Canadian frigate, HMCS
Prestonian, which took our entire crew
to Halifax. (WH col.)
* Lieutenant-Commander G.N. Downey, RCNR.
236 237
ANOT HE R P L ACE , ANOT HE R T I ME T HE T Y P E I X C/ 4 0 U- B OAT S : A P I CT OR I AL T OUR
(Left) Diesel room, U-889, looking forward.
This good shot of the diesel room of U-889 gives some
idea of the length of this large compartment and the size
of the diesel engines. (RCN photo/G. Gadde/Halifax,/25
May 1945/NAC/PA-178913)
(Left) Diesel room, U-190, looking aft.
One of the larger compartments on the Type IX U-boat
was the Dieselmotorenraum, or D-Raum. This view, tak-
en from just inside the Zentrale (note the open hatch on
the left side of the photo), shows the starboard and port
MAN 9-cylinder engines that could provide a maximum
surface speed of 18 knots. Note the workbench in the
right foreground, the skirting for the diesel room hatch
on the deckhead and, immediately in front, the two hand
wheels for closing the lower diesel air valves. (RCN pho-
to/A.F. Tigerstedt/Halifax/June 1945/NAC/PA-179010)
(Above) Diesel room, U-190, forward section.
View of the pressure hatch leading to the Zentrale taken
in 1942. From left to right can be seen storage lock-
ers for engine parts and tools, the work bench, various
engine, oil and cooling pumps. Note the step in front of
the hatch. (Editors collection)
Port diesel, U-190, looking aft.
Chief Engine Room Articer G.R. Benham, RCN, poses proudly at the throttle
position of Puck, the port M.A.N. 9-cylinder diesel engine. Directly above
his left hand is the revolution indicator of the port engine and, immediately to
the right of that device, can be seen the oil and air pressure gauges. The engine
room telegraph is immediately behind his head, while mounted on the deckhead
in the upper left of the photograph is a depth gauge. Note the work bench
immediately behind Benham, with a vise mounted on it. (RCN photo, editors
collection)
E-Maschinenraum (electric motor
compartment)
The diesel engine compartment was sepa-
rated from the electric motor compartment,
which lay aft, by a watertight door. The E-
raum contained the two 500 hp Siemens
Type 2GU 345 electric motor/generators,
powered by two 62-cell batteries located
under the oorplates of the second water-
tight section (the ofcers and petty ofc-
ers quarters, galley and sound and radio
cabins), which propelled the Type IXC/40
boat while submerged. At emergency speed,
these motors could produce up to 7 knots
but only for very short periods; to conserve
batteries, slower speeds were more normal.
This compartment was the province of the
Elektro Obermaschinist, or chief petty ofcer
in charge of the electric motors. As in the
diesel compartment, commands were com-
municated by means of a telegraph and the
common speeds were:
KF (Kleine Fahrt), Dead Slow: about 90 rpm
LF (Langsame Fahrt), Slow: about 120 rpm
HF (Halbe Fahrt), Half Speed: about 180
rpm
GF (Grosse Fahrt), three-quarter speed: about
220 rpm
AK (Asserste Kraft), Full Ahead: about
250 rpm