The British Sea War

PROLOGUE

This is a historical, but fictional story of the sea war that was fought between the Royal Navy and the U Boats during the period 1940 to 1942, the action is staged at the time when the U Boats were sinking British and allied shipping with little resistance.

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The story also refers to DEMS {Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships) which was the arming of merchant ships, usually with outdated guns from the first world war and manned by volunteer RN ratings which did a great job, at great risk to themselves with ancient equipment..

The U Boats found that they could initially cause havoc, by operating on the surface and running up and down the columns firing their torpedoes and sometimes using their deck guns. The DEMS gunners proved quite effective over time, in stopping this maneuver.

Their were many recorded occasions when the U Boats machine gunned survivors in boats, or in the water. They were also adept at waiting near boats full of survivors, and sinking the rescue vessels who came to pick them up. Additionally survivors had to run the risk of weather and especially on Arctic Convoys. The survival rte if a ship was sunk could be measured in seconds in arctic waters.. .

After the USA joined the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany sent U Boats to the East Coast of America, and started sinking shipping which to start with travelled without escorts, and were easy targets against the background on lighting from the shore..

As the war turned against the Germans, they started fitting Schnorkels to U Boats to allow them to travel faster under water, which allowed them to run on diesels and not to be so reliant on battery power. However, there were a large number of drawbacks to schnorkelling.. Apart from the sound of the engines underwater which could be picked up easily by sonar.

The schnorkel head could not be used in very rough weather, as it had to be well clear of the water otherwise it would close down, and the diesels would take all the oxygen out of the boat, making life very uncomfortable indeed for the crew until the engines were stopped or/ and the boat could return to a suitable depth and the schnorkel head was clear of the sea..

In addition the diesel exhaust fumes had to be expelled via a separate exhaust via the schnorkel head, and the exhaust smoke was quite visible to hunting ships at times. The head could also be picked up on the more sophisticated radar that came into use later in the war.

The Royal Navy tried using Schnorkels on a number of Submarines Post war and the new A type submarines and the exiting T and S class boats were fitted with them, but they were not very popular by the submarine crews, and of course as nuclear powered bots came into use the need for them diminished. The Germans were very aware of these problems, and although their were benefits to schnorkelling, they built a few boats that ran on Hydrogen Peroxide. This worked well as a fuel but if it got contaminated in any way it exploded. Whether they would ever have been used in action is doubtful.

The story is fictional but based on facts .

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The War at Sea

Chapter One

The Captain of U 199 Oberleutnant zur See Hans Merkel sat back in his chair watching the drunken antics of three of his colleagues all wearing the distinguishing white cap covers of U boat captains. He had drunk a little too much but he always did when he spent the evening with the lovely whore Madeleine in the officers brothel.. The new arrivals were drinking heavily, and very rowdy, but he himself was now more restrained. Tonight was to be his last night ashore before his next Atlantic patrol.

Tonight once again he had said a long and very sexy fond farewell to his lovely French whore Madeleine, in the officers brothel. She was a beautiful French woman, and he had become quite fond of her over the time they had been quartered in Brest.

Madeleine was beautiful, and her perfume as always was exotic.. Hans missed his wife back in Germany badly, but Madeleine was a good substitute for his darling Ursi. Every time he thought about Madeleine made him horny as a rhino.

Madeleine had as usual greeted him effusively, when he had entered the brothel as she took him by the hand and led him into the bar for a drink or two, before they went to her bedroom She clung on to him, making a big fuss of him as he ordered drinks for them from the waiter . Hans had a large Schnapps especially imported from the Fatherland for its brave young U Boat officers. But Madeleine had a soft drink. For a time they joined some other officers for drinks. The girls sat quietly, but the officers were unaware, that Madeleine was fluent in German.

She was one of three young women who had bravely volunteered to work in an officers brothel as part of her war work for the underground, knowing full well that German officers in their cups, were liable to talk about things, that were supposed or intended to be secret. But soon Hans with the help of Madeline's wandering hands under the table wanted to take her to her bedroom.

Hans followed her into the bedroom, watching carefully as she let her robe start to ride up her thighs, and he could see the material was delicately placed just over the cleft of her ass, so that he was treated to a full view. She knew what turned him on. . His cock grew very hard in his pants She gave him a sexy smile, as she turned to the mirror and grabbed her hair and fixed it in a ponytail .He was speechless, as he watched her strip to her panties.. She turned and walked towards him, and wrapped her arms round his neck, and pulled his head down. She stuck her tongue in his mouth and French kissed. him..

" Kom mein liebchen. I want you so badly, you know my liebchen I wait every night for you to come to me. My life is so desolate when you are not here.. No man satisfies me like you do" She said sexily. As she went into the routine she used with many of her officer clients. Hans watched as .she helped him off with his tunic, and then his shirt carefully placing his uniform jacket and shirt on a hanger in the wardrobe. Then she dropped to her knees in front of him.

She undid his belt and pulled his trousers down His cock was straining against his underpants. .With a short, swift motion she yanked his underwear down around his ankles. As she then grabbed his cock "Mmmm," she said. "Looks good enough to eat Mein Liebchen. Madeleine then licked the palm of her right hand and started to stroke his cock. After pumping it for a few seconds she brought it up to her mouth,. Hans almost came in her throat right there, as the warm sensation of her mouth round his cock went though his body . She kept pumping his cock into her mouth as she sucked it. There was spittle coming out of the side of her mouth as she pumped his cock. It was ramming into the back of her throat so hard, he could feel his balls tense up as she deep throated his cock and made herself gag.

Mmmm" she groaned as his cock filled her mouth. In minutes Hans was on the verge of blowing his load. As if sensing it, she took his cock out of her mouth, and looked up at him with her lovely eyes.

"Mein Liebchen Hans I want you to make hot passionate love to me as only you can now."

"Uh-huh," was all he could reply.

She stood up and took her panties off. Hans could see the dark strip of fluff on her pussy. . She climbed on the bed, on her hands and knees, then looked over her shoulder at him.

"Are you going to join me Hans dear?" she asked.

Hans walked over to her and climbed onto the bed..

Madeleine left her tight ass in the air as her face rested on the pillow. She knew what he liked and how he liked it. .

Hans grabbed his cock and moved it up to her pussy lips. She moaned as he rubbed it over her pussy. Then he slowly slid the head of his cock inside her, as she gasped in delight. After a few seconds he plunged deeper inside her, until his balls rested against her buttocks.

"Ohhhh fuck that feels lovely Hans dear." she said.

As he fucked her harder, he saw her pussy juice dripping onto the bedclothes. Hans grabbed her hips and thrust harder. She was moaning in ecstasy.

"Ohhh yeah honey. Oh god."

"Madeleine I'm going to cum."

As Hans was preparing to thrust into her for the final time she pulled away.

"Honey, I know you want to fuck me in the ass before you cum," she said."

All I could do was nod as she slid a finger into her ass.

"Fuck your Madeleine in the ass Hans dear."

Hans grabbed his cock in his hand again and brought it up to the entrance of her ass.. He lightly pressed the head against her ass, and she moaned again. It took him a couple of attempts but he eventually managed to slide his cock inside her ass while Madeleine's fingers toyed with her clit.

Hans always enjoyed Madeleine, she knew what he wanted. She was the best, and he always asked for her.. He concentrated on fucking her ass harder and harder.

"Fuck Hans Cherie fuck yes. Fuck my ass."

"I'm going to cover you with my cum," Hans replied.

"Yes dear I want you to cum all over me."

Hans pumped her ass some more and his balls tensed up again. he could feel himself getting close so he pulled his cock out of her ass. Madeleine turned around. and grabbed his cock in her right hand and started to pump it.

"Yeah fuck baby I want you to cum on my face," she said.

Madeleine took his cock in her mouth and moaned as she tasted herself.

She made a loud slurping noise as she pulled his cock out of her mouth and continued pulling it. He was ready to explode. His balls rode right up under his cock and he could feel the cum was about to spurt.

"Oh god Madeleine oh god I'm going to cum. Unnnngggggghhhhh. Oh...unnnngggghhhh."

His juices spurted all over her face. There was a big glob in her left eyeball, which she didn't seem to mind. His cum rolled down her face like tears, as she took his cock in her mouth one more time and sucked it clean. After a while she climbed off the bed and poured Hans a large beer, while she went into the toilet to wash and shower. She hated the Nazis, and she was always pleased when she could satisfy them without having to take their sperm in her body, but now she knew that after a few drinks she would soon have him talking again.. .

" Well Mein Liebchen am I still your favourite girl??." she asked.

"Of course Madeleine. ." He told her

"Mmmm," she said. ," She said as he climbed off the bed. To sit on the couch. His legs were like jelly. But Madeleine always drained him like no other women could. He thought these French whores were really good. She lay on the couch, and propped her head up with her elbow as she looked at him. While she craftily played gently with his now very soft cock.

"Cherie when shall I see you again? Tomorrow maybe?.

Nein mein liebchen. We are off to sea in the morning."

"Yes there are three of us going tomorrow." All the next hour as Madeleine plied him with drinks, and they fucked again, she managed to get a lot of useful tit bits of information from him, to add to what she had obtained earlier in the bar downstairs.

After he had left Madeleine went to clean her teeth and have another shower . She scrubbed her body to get the smell of him, off her body. Later the bar man came to see her, and she related all the bits of information that she had so craftily got from him. He added those to the bits of information that he had got from Hans uniform jacket and wallet while they had been fucking in the bedroom. It was all a very slick operation

But to Madeleine he was a hated Nazi. She was nice to him, and she told him she loved him, and she always had a bottle of his favourite French wine and plenty of German Schnapps waiting for him. After they had consumed a few drinks, it was easier to glean valuable information from him. It was not the life she had studied for, at the Sorbonne but that could wait until after the war was over..

Later as Hans sat there in the club watching the antics of is colleagues and reflecting on his night with Madeleine He knew that for him it was time to go. Early next morning U199 would sail on patrol again, and he wanted to have a clear head. It was January 1941, and very much the 'Happy Time' as far as the German U boats were concerned.. Sinking the Tommies had very little risk, but he knew that shortly that was going to change. The Tommies were not fools. Even now each patrol was getting slightly harder as more escorts, and new anti submarine tactics, were increasingly being used against U Boats.

The door of the club swung open letting a cold blast of air another bunch of officers entered the club, their greatcoats wrapped tight round their bodies against the chill night air. Three of them wore the white cap of U Boat Commanders. One if them was Oberleutnant zur See Max Steiger the captain of U54 a highly unpleasant young man and a fervent Nazi party member. Who boasted openly about how many British seaman survivors he had machine gunned, after first sinking their ships.

Many U Boat captains were of the old school. They would and could sink ships because this was war, but killing innocent seaman was not to their liking. But they knew that in the Third Reich criticism was not allowed. In the Third Reich you kept your thoughts to yourself and you gave the Nazi salute when you were required to of you wanted to have a long life..

Hans had worked on a cruise liner, on the Hamburg New York run, before the war. It had been a lovely life with much music and dancing as they helped to entertain the ships passengers. It was where he had met his lovely wife Ursi who had been a cabin stewardess. . ..

He looked at Max Steiger with something approaching revulsion. Steiger loved to approach the survivors in their lifeboats, and ask them what ship they were from, and then ask them in a kindly voice if they had plenty of food and water. If they said "yes "he would laugh and say " Well chaps you won't need it." and open fire. He boasted that he often took the machine gun from the gunner, and did the killings himself.

They had already drunk well, and were laughing and very noisy. They greeted Hans effusively, and he just smiled, and replied, without too much enthusiasm, although they insisted on joining him at his table, as they loudly called for more drinks.. Hans was not wanting to be seen associating with men like Steiger, so grabbing his greatcoat, he made his apologies, and prepared to leave. Most of the other Captains would be sailing themselves in the next few days, and they would probably meet up when the wolf pack was formed to attack the next British convoy.

Many of the patrols however, were boring affairs with long days and nights of no activity until they were in touch with a convoy. Then it was all go. It was what he and his fellow Captains referred too as the "Happy Time", a lot of ships and very few escorts. The Tommie's could not cover their convoys with aircraft all the way, and very often the convoys were so poorly escorted, it was just like shooting fish in a barrel.

It was good to get back to harbour, but if rumour was right, Doenitz was building bigger U Boats known as Milch Cows, who could refuel and replenish their Torpedoes and ammunition at sea, so that they could stay on patrol longer. He was not relishing the idea of even longer patrols.

Hans did not like sinking ships, he loved ships, and he was aware that he was sinking ships that may have had friends, or ex shipmates on board from before the war. He had loved the life of the Merchant service before the war, but as war approached his services were demanded by the fuhrer, and he sighed, their was a war to win, and for him it started again the next morning early..

He looked at his watch and it was already 02.00 am, there would be just time for a few hours sleep before they sailed. He made his excuses and left. The walk back to the dockyard cleared his head, and as he entered the dockyard, his ears were assailed by the sound of workshops working at full blast. The French workmen were forced to work for the Nazis or starve, but he knew much of the work they did was deliberately shoddy. There was no love for the Nazis, amongst the French population, only fear and reluctant obedience..

On board he retired to his cabin and pulled the blanket over his head falling asleep almost immediately. It was about 5..45 when his steward woke him with his morning coffee. The First Lieutenant Dieter Regel came into his cabin. Ready to proceed. Crew at harbour stations. Secured for sea Sir.

Outside his cabin confusion reigned as was normal in any U Boat at the start of a new patrol, as nets full of loaves of fresh bread, sacks of vegetables and crates of tinned food swung from the deck head, or filled every spare available space. Even the toilets were not immune from becoming a temporary food storage..

As he left his cabin and climbed to the bridge wearing his oilskin, and fur lined gloves against the morning cold damp air, the Chief Engineer reported. Main engines, motors and steering gear ready for sea sir."

Thanks chief, Hans said as he looked along the casing to see all the hands fallen in on the casing abaft the conning tower. Orders were given by Hans, as he conned U199 out of the basin to the open sea for his first trim dive. Once clear of the harbour he would dive the boat to catch the trim with so many stores, and so much fuel on board their would be much pumping and trimming of ballast tanks to get their trim.. About an hour later when he was satisfied they would surface, and signal to their escorting warship that they were OK and so U199 once again would turn to the open sea and go to war..

As they sailed from the dockyard basin towards the open sea, they were watched impassively by a number of French Anglers fishing from the banks of the river, and Hans knew full well that in a few hours London would know that U 199 was back in the war again. What he did not realise that London would also know via Madeleine and her colleagues in the brothel, and also that the underground Partisans would know many private and personal details bout him, and other officers gleaned from their pockets when they had been otherwise engaged with the girls, which may be useful to them at a later date. Even personal letters were carefully scrutinized .

And so it was three weeks later that U199 together with other U boats directed by a signal from Grand Admiral Doenitz's headquarters, converged on convoy AH122.

Despite the fact that it was allegedly a fast convoy The first attack had been a fairly successful, as far as Hans and U199 was concerned. They had left an oil tanker ablaze, and another direct hit on a cargo ship which left it listing badly, before they were forced to dive having been discovered by one of the escorts. Several torpedoes had been fired but they had observed no more hits.

A short spell of depth charging followed, but the escort eventually had to leave to chase after the convoy, which being allegedly a fast convoy, had a good turn of speed... All the forward tubes were now empty, so U199 sank to the stygian depths of the Atlantic, until daylight, where they planned to surface, charge their batteries, and reload their empty torpedo tubes with the spare loads. Afterwards, with the rest of the U Boats in the area, they would work up to full speed get round the convoy, dive, and wait for dark before launching another attack.

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Some weeks before all this happened Lieutenant Tony Nash RN the First Lieutenant on the Hunt Class destroyer escort HMS Corsham. Was being assigned another slightly unpleasant task by his Captain.. Since his appointment as First Lieutenant a year ago, HMS Corsham had been employed almost continuously on convoy work. The ship was long overdue for a refit, but the demand for escorts was too great that refits were only allowed when absolutely essential..