The Sea Wolf was descending quickly into the deep blue of the Atlantic. As the German U-Boat dived for safety, the HMS Belfast and HMS Tribal were circling overhead, Nathan Banks and John Brooks looking over the edge of the British ship as Captain Strokes ordered his crew to prepare to launch depth charges deep into the ocean, as they prepared, the crew of the U-SSN 881 nervously looked at their ceiling, having only a machine reading their descent: 101 meters, 102 meters, 103 meters, while their radar gave them no clear sight of where the British ships overhead lay, whether they were directly above or safely off to the side.
“Patience, don’t make any sudden moves. Lieutenant, keep diving,” said Captain Kruger looking at the depth meter and sweating as a result of his fear of botching his mission at hand.
Above, the HMS Belfast began launching depth charges into the middle of the Atlantic. “Captain,” said Lt. Wells, “I’ve set charges for 125 meters, after the first set, we’ll change by increments of 25 after each rack.”
“Good job lieutenant. Lieutenant, give the order.”
“Do you really think you’ll sink her captain?” asked Nathan Banks, looking directly at the captain as the calls to release depth charges hit the air.
“I’m not sure, Banks. All I know, all I know is that Admiral Ramsay is leaving Scotland with the HMS Howe, Anson, Intrepid, Southampton and Illustrious. My guess is, if we fail, he’ll succeed.”
Beneath the waters of the North Sea, the KMS Sea Wolf silently slipped away as the British depth charges exploded far and away from the current position. As the U-SSN 881 dived deeper, it became apparent that the British had let the ship, slip through their grasp.
~ Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom
The Fourth Battle Fleet, commanded by Admiral Bertram Ramsay, commanding officer on his flagship the HMS Howe, carried with him the battleship HMS Anson, the destroyer HMS Intrepid, the light cruiser HMS Southampton, and the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, on with a simple goal: to find and the U-SSN 881, the “Sea Wolf,” and send her to the bottom of the sea.
As the pride of the British Royal Navy left harbor, they were greeted not by cheers, but by an unaware public that had gathered to watch the sight of the best of the Royal Navy leave ports, presumably on a typical training exercise, but the truth far from that.
The HMS Howe (right) and the HMS Intrepid (left) leave port and steam for the North Sea with the last known coordinates of the U-SSN 881.
The departure of the Fourth Battle Fleet left the British Home Fleet standing small, all the while the post-war aim of the United Kingdom was to rebuild their navy, the navy that remained (although much smaller than their German and American counterparts) was still considered to be the third largest, and strongest naval-arm in the entire world. Admiral Ramsay, on the deck of the bridge looked at Scapa Flow one last time, sat on a chair and began eating a sandwich as the mighty British battleship left the harbor on yet another war mission.
~ North Sea
Hours had past since the close call the U-SSN 881 had suffered. Captain Kruger had retired to his offices, and Captain Gysae wasn’t in the heart to command the ship, a ship that seemed to be low on morale since they all had finally realized they were being hunted, something that they weren’t briefed about before leaving Antwerp. Captain Gysae looked at Lieutenant Kress, “Take control, I’m retiring for the night.”
As Cpt. Gysae uttered these words, the familiar voice of Cpt. Kruger appeared from behind, “Kress, take the ship up for some air, we should be clear from the British now, and I want you with me for a minute.”
“Of course captain,” replied the young and gung-ho lieutenant. “Raise the ship.”
As the U-SSN 881 hit the top of the waves again, this time under the cover of darkness, the captain and his most senior junior officer, Lieutenant Kress were the first men out of the hull and into the fresh night air. As they began pacing across the deck of the submarine, the captain began speaking plainly to his subordinate.
“What the hell was that?”
“Was what?”
“That little disobedience of order. Because of you, the entire ship was nearly blown out of the water.”
“Captain,” interrupted the lieutenant, “look at the men. Look at them for once instead of being locked up in your quarters with Captain Gysae. You don’t walk with the men, they’re tired, hungry, cold, and they want action. And what action is this. Sitting inside, heading for Iceland and for what? What is it that you know that the rest of the crew doesn’t? Why the hell would we go to such a remote island in the first place?”
The captain stood stern, looked the lieutenant in the eyes and took his gloves off of his hands and slapped them against his thighs. “Never question my authority again, or I’ll report you to the SS. Do you understand me Kress? It’d be a waste of a good naval talent as yourself. But don’t you ever say that I don’t know the men. I know more about the men than you think. I’ve served with each and every single one of them, outside of the junior officers and Captain Gysae. The men you think I don’t know, the men you think you know, I’ve spent the last three years of the World War with roaming the Mediterranean Sea with. So don’t tell me I don’t know my own men.
“My job isn’t to get them action, it’s to ensure they survive the mission I’ve been tasked with carrying out. Is that something they forgot to teach you in the academy? As captain, and you might just become more than what I am one day, believe me, there’s no coincident why I choose you over your entire class of 313 officers. But you must learn as captain, you’re the father of the family, and the last thing you want is to let your sons, the sailors, down, and by down I mean dead. It’s the captain’s responsibility to ensure everyone survives, and if that means hiding and running when we could be fighting, than that’s it. My mission is specific, and it doesn’t mention to engage the Royal Navy, or god forbid the American navy.
“Now, I’m going to retire for the night, and Gysae will likely follow, so I want you to steer the ship towards Ireland during the night. Keep her surfaced, and don’t be afraid to wake me in the wake of you or Conrad and Ruth not being able to handle a situation. Lastly, don’t be a hero. Most hero’s don’t make it that far in a military career. They’re normally buried in Berlin.”
And with that, Captain Kruger left his ambitious little lieutenant on the deck to ponder what he had just said to him…
As the night continued, Lt. Kress and Conrad were looking out into the dark blue ocean, only the light of the moon was guiding them.
“Are you sure we’re heading for Ireland?” asked Kress to Conrad.
“Of course, Ruth has already checked on it.”
“God,” said Kress, “I hate this job. Still awake in the middle of the night, no danger at hand, nothing to eat or drink, nothing remotely dangerous that is a cause of alarm, or for that matter any cause for being awake.”
Lt. Conrad sighed, “I feel your pain, but that’s the life we’ve chosen.”
“Do you feel, feel like we’ve made the wrong choice sometimes?”
“No.”
“I think I should’ve joined the Wehrmacht,” joked Lt. Kress.
“Look up there, a shooting star,” said Lt. Conrad.
The lights of the star got brighter, “That’s not a shooting star,” replied Lt. Kress, shielding his eyes from the intense amount of light shining down upon him. “God dammit, I can’t see!”
The massive thunderous roars of twin engines of a British plane roared overhead. The searchlight of the plane shining directly on the U-Boat. “Shit, it’s a plane, get the captain, I’m going under, we have to dive immediately.”
Above, in the cockpit of the British search plan, the crew radioed in their current location, and the current path of the U-SSN 881 back to the HMS Illustrious, which then radioed Admiral Ramsay on the HMS Howe. The Admiral answered back, “Prepare for battle,” and split his fleet into two sections: the HMS Illustrious and HMS Anson taking the northern most track, with the Illustrious launching all of her planes in a continued pattern in order to keep a plane in the air at all times, and covering as much territory as possible. This group was checked by Admiral Ramsay himself, on the HMS Howe, the destroyer Intrepid and the light cruiser Southampton taking the southern-cove, heading straight for the Sea Wolf’s current path, even as the crew of the U-SSN 881 began to dive.
“Captain!” cried out the shrieks of Lt. Conrad as he raced through the halls, alarming, and awakening every single crew member as the British plane circled overhead, their lights shining directly on the German super sub.