N THE 1960s, ROYAL NAVAL DIVERS WERE CHECKING OUT ANY REPORTED SUNKEN WARSHIPS FROM THE SECOND WORLD WAR ON THE SEA BED OF THE COLD NORTH SEA. WITH CO-OPERATION FROM THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES, A U-BOAT WAS LOCATED ON SUCH A SEARCH.
I
I SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET INSIDE THIS ONE.
STORY MAC MACDONALD ART KEITH PAGE COVER KEITH PAGE
4 WHILE ONE FROGMAN CIRCLED AND OBSERVED, THE OTHER PREPARED TO ENTER BY THE CONNING TOWER. HE MOVED SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY AS THIS COULD BE A DANGEROUS UNDERTAKING.
NOT SNAGGED ON ANYTHING YET... SLOW AND SURE IS THE WAY TO GO.
INSIDE THE SUNKEN SUBMARINE THERE WAS LITTLE EVIDENCE LEFT BY NOW OF THE CREW WHO HAD PERISHED WITH HER. THE CAPTAIN’S SAFE WAS THE FROGMAN’S PRIORITY AS ANY DOCUMENTS WHICH HAD SURVIVED SHOULD CONFIRM WHAT CRAFT THIS HAD BEEN.
IT’S OPEN... EITHER LEFT UNLOCKED OR SHAKEN OPEN BY A BLAST WHEN SHE SANK.
5 MOST OF THE CONTENTS HAD DECAYED, BUT THERE WAS AN OILSKIN PACKAGE WHICH LOOKED PROMISING. IT WAS RETRIEVED.
THIS WILL HAVE TO DO. I CAN’T HANG AROUND ANY LONGER.
THE WRECK WOULD BE LEFT ALONE NOW AND RESPECTED AS A WAR GRAVE.
CAN’T HELP BUT FEEL FOR THE POOR BLOKES WHO WENT DOWN WITH HER.
THE DOCUMENT IN THE OILSKIN WAS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION AND THE U-BOAT’S NUMBER WAS CONFIRMED. IT WAS ASSESSED FIRST BY THE BRITISH AND, SUCH WAS THE NATURE OF ITS CONTENTS, IT ENDED UP ON THE DESK OF A VERY INTERESTED MAN IN LONDON.
LET’S SEE WHAT ELSE THIS CAN TELL US...
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GERMAN OCCUPIED NORWAY IN THE AUTUMN OF 1941. A TYPE VII U-BOAT SLIPPED FROM A FIORD INTO THE OPEN SEA AS THE LIGHT FADED. THE SKIPPER, OBERLEUTNANT JURGEN MANN, AN EXPERIENCED SEAMAN, HAD A LOT ON HIS MIND.
NOT A NORMAL TRIP THIS, BUT A SPECIAL MISSION. AND THOSE ARE THE JOBS I DON’T LIKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT INVOLVES A PASSENGER AND SEALED ORDERS NOT TO BE OPENED FOR ANOTHER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.
LEUTNANT SIGMUND HELLER WAS THE “PASSENGER”. HE WAS A NAZI THROUGH AND THROUGH AND, ALTHOUGH IN THE NAVY, MANN SUSPECTED THAT HE HAD NEVER BEEN ON A SHIP BEFORE. THAT MARKED HIM OUT AS BELONGING TO SOME SECRET DEPARTMENT OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
GOOD EVENING, SIR. IS ALL GOING WELL?
JA, LEUTNANT, IT IS. COURSE HAS JUST BEEN SET.
7 THEY WERE BOUND ON A BEARING FOR THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND AND THAT WAS ALL THE SKIPPER KNEW. HE WAS ANNOYED THAT REPAIRS TO HIS BOAT HAD BEEN RUSHED TO BEGIN THIS UNDERTAKING, BUT THERE HAD BEEN NO PROBLEMS YET.
I AM SURE ALL WILL GO SMOOTHLY. IT MUST, AFTER ALL, FOR THE GOOD OF DEUTSCHLAND.
QUITE, LEUTNANT, I AM SURE...
BUT MANN’S REPLY WAS CUT SHORT AS ONE OF THE LOOK-OUTS SPOTTED A NORWEGIAN FISHING BOAT TO THE NORTH OF THEM IN AN AREA RESTRICTED TO DAY TIME FISHING ONLY.
IT SHOULDN’T BE THERE, SIR. WILL WE APPROACH?
JA, SIGNAL HER TO SLOW DOWN AND HEAVE TO. MAYBE THE CREW HAVE HAD A BREAKDOWN AND GOT CAUGHT OUT.
8 THAT WAS MANN THINKING LIKE A SEAFARER, BUT HE WAS NOT FOOLISH ENOUGH TO KEEP BELIEVING THAT WHEN THE VESSEL MADE NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE GERMAN SIGNAL AND INCREASED SPEED.
NO REPLY AT ALL, SIR.
WHAT IS THEIR GAME THEN? PREPARE TO GO CLOSER AND ALERT THE DECK GUN CREW.
A BURST OF .303 LEAD FROM TWIN LEWIS MACHINE GUNS HIDDEN INGENIOUSLY IN AN APPARENTLY INNOCENT OIL BARREL CAME NEXT AS THE FISHING BOAT DESPERATELY TRIED TO SOMEHOW ESCAPE.
OUR ONLY HOPE IS TO BUY SOME TIME AND HOPE WE CAN SLIP AWAY.
MAYBE, BUT IT’S A TALL ORDER...
9 BULLETS PEPPERING THE CONNING TOWER SHOOK HELLER, BUT MANN WAS AS CALM AS EVER.
I THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THESE BOATS. THEY PLY BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND HERE WITH WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES FOR THE RESISTANCE FIGHTERS.
THEY’RE SHOOTING AT US? ARE THEY TERRORISTS?
THE MOUNTED MACHINE GUN ON THE U-BOAT RETURNED FIRE, BUT THAT DIDN’T PLACATE HELLER. THIS COULD GO ON ALL NIGHT!
IT WON’T... YOU WILL SOON SEE.
10 OTHER SUBMARINERS HAD ALREADY SWARMED ONTO THE DECK AND READIED THE 88mm GUN FOR USE, LOADING IT WITH SHELLS KEPT IN A WATERPROOF LOCKER SET INTO THE U-BOAT CASING.
TAKE AIM... PREPARE TO FIRE!
AT THAT RANGE AND AGAINST A WELL-DRILLED CREW, THE NORWEGIANS STOOD NO CHANCE. THE FIRST ROUND WAS A DIRECT HIT.
AAGH!