
War with Great Britain and France!
On October 31, 1939, U 31 entered port. She found no patrols at Loch Ewe. However, there is a net snag in the bay, in which the submersible was entangled for some time, as she did not see the flat buoys until it was too late. Inside was a hospital ship, but nothing else. As it did not seem possible to enter, the ship placed the mines in front of the entrance of the bay at the minimum safe distance. The position of the mines is excellent. Success seems certain, but it is doubtful that we will hear anything about it.
U 25 reported a convoy northwest of Finisterre. This is the second convoy reported in a few days in this area, quite close to the coast. This one was also sailing north. It is notable that all 4 convoys reported so far have headed north. Southbound traffic apparently stays further west. Unfortunately, the problem of torpedo failures is still far from being solved. U 25 reports 4 misses against a stopped ship, close range shots.
The instructions of the Torpedo Inspection were observed. Therefore, there is no longer any doubt that the Torpedo Inspectorate itself does not understand the matter. Torpedoes cannot currently be fired with non-contact firing units, as this has led to premature detonation. It depth setting has to be 2 meters less than the draft of the target. Its depth cannot be less than 3 meters, otherwise there may be surface runs in which especially the G7a engines may be damaged. Exact instructions to establish the safety range are given and followed. However, at least 30% of torpedoes are misses. Either they don't detonate at all or they detonate in the wrong place. There doesn't seem to be any point in giving the U-boats new instructions, as they never lead to the desired results. The commanding officers must be losing confidence in their torpedoes. In the end, the fighting spirit will suffer. The problem of torpedo failure is currently the most urgent of all problems in submarine warfare.
The German Naval Attaché in MADRID reports that the Spanish government is not willing for the time being to allow the supply of German naval units within its sovereign waters. The BdU will be informed of this.
BdU discussion in the WEST Group in the presence of the B.S.W. (Befehlshaber Sicherung West). Various issues of submarine warfare are discussed, including the prize law system.
U 25 - North Atlantic - 05:03 - Convoy 20-K in sight. Four ships and six to seven destroyers. Approach for surface attack. 05:20 - Launch of two torpedoes on each of the first two steamers (BF 7832). 05:21 - Alarm. Submerged. Two or three minutes later two explosions were heard in the forward compartment. Going away underwater. The French ship BAOULÉ (5874 BRT) was sunk. Three sailors lose their lives on the BAOULE, 33 men are rescued (BF 7832 / 43°48'N - 09°08'W). The BAOULE was loaded with coconuts, cotton, coffee and rubber. 06:05 - Heard a pursuit by destroyers. 09:30 - After 3 1/2 hours, noises are still heard. 11:00 - Intention to surface abandoned. The sounds of the destroyer are louder again. 16:20 - Surface. Navigation over water in the southwest corner of the area of operations. 20:20 - Steamer sighting. 21:16 - Steamer stopped with reflector (BF 7872). A passenger steamer in sight. She was not stopped. The stationary steamer does not have a nationality badge. 21:55: The steamer picks up speed again and tries to flee. Two torpedoes miss. Asked about nationality with focus. The steamer answers Yugoslav. pursued. 22:52 - Third torpedo, misses. Steamer emits SSS and stops. Fourth torpedo on the steamer. Failure. Artillery fire is not possible, the breech plug cannot be moved. The fault cannot be rectified. 23:10 - Attack aborted. PQ: BF7912 → BF7581 → BF7872
U 26 - North Atlantic/Off southern tip of Ireland - 0630 - Steamer sighted with lanterns affixed. No use of artillery due to rough seas (5-6). Cannot be submerged. 10:00 - Steamer in sight. Submerged with the intention of approaching her. Nothing can be seen on the periscope due to rough seas. distance too great. 12:00 - Submerged. Work of torpedoes and machines. 17:05 - Surfaced. No more occurrences. PQ: 41°55' North - 13°00' West
U 31 - North Sea/Wilhelmshaven - 12:15 - Arrived at Wilhelmshaven (AN 9814). End of the 3rd Patrol. PQ: AN 9814
U 33 - North Sea - Submerged (AN 4290). 11:18 - 17:17 - 21 aircraft bombs in the vicinity. No damage. PQ: AN 4290
U 34 - North Atlantic - 08:40 - Steamer sighted (BE 3392). The boat let her go. No more torpedoes and only five artillery shells. PQ: BE 3392
Sources: Fotoalbum 175 Bilder U-Boot U33 U40 TOP !!! bei eBay_de 1918-1945 (endet 09_05_09 162928 MESZ).
Vom Original zum Modell. U-Boot Typ VII.
Die deutschen UBoot-Konstruktionsbüros.Rössler, Eberhard
http://www.ubootarchiv.de/ubootwiki/index.php/1939
KTB U-Bootwaffe. 1923 - 1938. Das Kriegstagebuch der U-Bootwaffe von Roland Berr.
https://www.uboatarchive.net/BDU/BDUKTB30250.htm
Cheers. Raúl M
