The Hunters

The Hunters

The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Patrol 4 (May 1940)

1/5/1940 We left Wilhelmshaven once more bound for the British Isles. The men are acutely aware that we are going through the motions at this point, risking limb and neck only to be disappointed by faulty torpedoes. We have still heard nothing reassuring from the Torpedo Directorate that

The Hunters

The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Patrol 3 (February 1940)

1/2/1940 We sailed from Wilhelmshaven at the beginning of February with a new second watch officer, LtzS Leonard Fischer of Crew 34. Once more our orders took us to the British Isles. The two transit legs passed without contact. On the night of the 8th, in the first

The Hunters

The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Patrol 2 (November 1939)

1/11/1939 We left Wilhelmshaven at the beginning of November, once more bound for the British Isles. The first two transit sectors passed without incident. On the night of the 9th, in the first operational sector, we found a small freighter under escort, the Lapland, only 1,300 tons.

The Hunters

The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Patrol 1 (September 1939)

1/9/1939 We left Wilhelmshaven on the morning of 6 September. The Ubootwaffe's orders were clear, the main effort would be against merchant shipping in the Western Approaches around the British Isles, with minelaying as a secondary task. A few boats were to be sent further south

The Hunters

The Hunters: German U-Boats at War, 1939-43 - Prologue (June 1939)

1/6/1939 Kapitanleutnant zur See Wilhelm Pöpel (Crew 31) assigned to U-34 (Type VIIA), Unterseebootsflottille Saltwedel (2nd) at Wilhelmshaven. Crew assignments are as follows: KptLt Wilhelm Pöpel ObLtzS Benno Pfefferberg LtzS Emil Fleck ObLt Gustav Sanner Marineassistenzarzt Laurens Laar Obersteuermann Harri Reichart Bootsmann Fabio Adelman Maschinist Timm Mencken