U-128 on its Fourth Patrol

U-128, a Type IX C u-boat, was an extremely successful submarine attached to the 2. Unterseebootsflottille (2nd Submarine Flotilla) in Lorient. Built by Deschimag AG of Bremen, the boat was commissioned by Kapitänleutnant Ullrich Heyse on 12 May 1941. Heyse went on to achieve great success with this submarine in 1942 and early 1943. In the course of six patrols - of which the first was merely a transfer to Norway and the fifth is a seven-day radar trial - Ullrich Heyse and U-128 sank 12 ships totaling 83,639 GRT and damaged another! No wonder that the crew swore by their commander. The 35-year-old Berliner, a member of Crew 1933, knew how to lead his men. Once, on the boat, he pulled a knife from his pocket and sat down to help several of his men peel potatoes. Then, as he peeled, he discussed all the popular topics with this small circle. On land the captain often joined his men for a beer, which further strengthened the bonds with his crew. Before the war Heyse had served on merchant vessels, and as a submarine commander it was difficult for him to now have to sink such ships. In several cases he provided survivors with food, cigarettes and rum and expressed regret for having sunk their ship! Under Heyse, the boat wore a slightly modified version of the emblem of Ulm, U-128's sponsor city on the front of the conning tower, plus a white horse emblem on both sides. Encircling the horse were the words "HÜAHOH HÜAHOH ALTER SCHIMMEL" (secara harfiah berarti: "Hieh Hieh Kuda Tua"). As our drawing depicts, in the summer of 1942 the boat was camouflaged pale gray with dark grey longitudinal stripes. One of the stripes ran from the turret mantle aft to beneath the Wintergarten platform. All of the upwards-facing parts of the boat were painted black as per directives. Six days after completing his sixth patrol, on 21 January 1943, Heyse was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosses). In March 1943 he handed the boat over to Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Steinert. Luck deserted him on his very first patrol, however. On 17 May 1943 US Naval aircraft bombed the submarine near a convoy and forced it to surface. The boat sustained heavy damage in further attacks and was unable to dive. With the destroyers USS Jouett and USS Mofett closing in, Steinert ordered his crew to abandon ship. The leading engineer initiated the scuttling procedure, but the submarine was sunk by gunfire from the destroyers. The USS Mofett rescued 51 members of U-128's crew, four of whom died aboard the destroyer.

 This photo (and the first photo above) depicts U-128, probably as it departed Lorient on its fourth patrol on 25 April 1942. The boat emblem and the coat of arms of the sponsor city of Ulm my be seen on the conning tower. Under Kapitänleutnant Hermann Steinert the boat also wore the Olympic rings of Crew 1936 on the conning tower.

Source :
"U-Boot im Focus" magazine - edition no.2 (2007)