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)

The Steering Position Inside the Conning Tower of U-124

U-124, a Type IXB, showing the steering position inside the conning tower with voice pipe by the man's mouth. He has his hand on the button for moving the rudder to the right - there was an identical button for going in the other direction. Since it was difficult to maintain position during rough weather, operators were provided with handles to grip and thus support their bodies. One of these is visible above the man's right hand. Rudder and hydroplanes were usually electrically controlled by pressing buttons, but wheels were provided in case of a power failure. Turning these was hard work and sometimes demanded that men stood up to use both hands. If this manual mechanism broke as well, then it was also possible to operate aft hydroplanes and rudder from the rear compartment and there were duplicate forward hydroplane controls in the bow torpedo room.

Lookouts Aboard U-178

Lookouts aboard the long-range U-178 under Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Dommes, shortly after having left the Gironde Estuary in France to follow a small convoy through the coastal minefield. The head lens of the attack periscope is visible on the right and the raised rod aerial on the left. In later years, these aerials could be operated electrically from the inside the boat, but initially they were hand-cranked from the top of the conning tower and would not run down on their own without breaking the mechanism's sprockets. As a result, early boats were 'unfit for diving' as long as the aerial was raised. The grid by the base of the aerial was the top of a ventilation shaft leading down to the engine room. Usually there were four lookouts and a watch officer on duty on the conning tower.

U-Boat Type IXD2 Back to the Port from a Successful Mission

A large, long-distance boat of Type IXD2, probably U-178 or U-181, coming into port with the attack periscope raised to act as a flagpole for a mass of success pennants. The unusual patterns on the side of the hull are shadows from the reception party on the pier.