This narrative is based on documents from the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, the German Navy, and published works in the United States, England, and Germany.
Many details were drawn from correspondence and interviews with the men involved, a number of whom I met in Germany several years ago.
The language used in conversations is that used variously in the United States Navy and Merchant Marine, Royal Navy and British Merchant Marine, and German Navy and Merchant Marine.
The U-124 was the third most successful submarine of all the hundreds, Axis and Allied, which fought in World War II. In her short life she sank 49 ships for a total of 226,946 tons.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thousands of men and ships took part in the long, complex, and crucial sea war known as the Battle of the Atlantic. This is the story of one fighting submarine and her crew.
The U-124 came to life for me in the personal recollections of men who had served aboard her in times that ranged from terrifying to ridiculous, critical to trivial, nerve-tingling to unbearably dull. All the events, as far as is possible, have been verified, and I have tried to reflect with equal accuracy the thoughts and feelings of the U-124 men. To the best of my knowledge and ability, this book is true.
It is impossible here to name all the individuals who so willingly provided me with the resources necessary for my research, but I must certainly acknowledge a few without whom this book could not have been written.
Wilhelm Schulz took time out from the demands of his own business to help me in every possible way, and the warm hospitality shown me by him and his family made my stay in Germany both productive and pleasant. Also particularly generous with their time and remembrances were Fregattenkapitn Egon Subklew, Rolf Brinker, Karl Rode, Karl Kesselheim, Dr. H. Goder, and the widow of Jochen Mohr. Grossadmiral Karl Dnitz, a.D., and Vize-admiral Bernard Rogge, a.D., provided information and encouragement, both invaluable. The two British captains, Cdr. Rodney Thomson-Moore, D.S.C., R.N. (ret.) and Lieut. Cdr. Patrick Smythe, D.S.C., R.D., R.N.R. (ret.), now Captain Smythe of the Union Castle Line, were especially helpful in reconstructing the events surrounding the loss of the U-124.
The United States Navy, the British Admiralty, the German Bundeamarine, and the United States Coast Guard all have been kind enough to allow me access to certain documents and records, and I am very grateful, especially to Rear Admiral F. Kent Loomis, U.S.N.
LCDR Arnold Lott, U.S.N., ret., helped me enormously with his criticism and suggestions, both literary and technical; I am also indebted to Roy Bailey and Paul Duval, who went over the manuscript. But for any errors that remain, I am solely responsible.
And, finally, my thanks to the ships M/V Magdalene Vinnen and SS Thompson Lykes, along with their crews, who introduced me to the North Atlantic and a sailor's life.
E. Blanchard Gasaway
Hamburg, den 19, Oktober 1964
Men fightnot ships! The destiny of the U-124 described here shows something of the hardness and privation, the courage and the readiness for action, the humanity and fairness of these U-boat men.
To have been permitted to lead them was for me a particular joy and honor; to have brought them home safe and sound gave me a feeling of thankful grace.
I keep in remembrance those who, in faithful performance of their duty, found their last rest with the boat, Korvettenkapitn Jochen Mohr and his brave crew.
(signed Wilhelm Schuiz)
Korvettenkapitn, a.D.
Aumhle, den 28, September 1964
E. Blanchard Gasaway has written this book with an astonishing sensibility of the U-boat war and the spirit of the U-boat arm. The events are depicted in a fresh, to the point, and vivid mannera work very much worth reading!
I wish Grey Wolf, Grey Sea much success. I believe that this is in the interest of mutual understanding of the American and German peoplewhich lies so very close to all our hearts.
(signed Dnitz)
Grossadmiral a.D.
Chapter One
It was April 2, 1943. And at last, Commander Rodney Thomson of the Royal Navy reflected, the war news had taken a definitely brighter turn. The German thrust deep into Russia had dissolved into the debacle at Stalingrad; and in North Africa, American and British forces had the Desert Fox Rommel between them. The German army that had seemed so nearly invincible was suffering major setbacks and the land war on all fronts now looked hopeful.
But at sea, he knew, U-boats still prowled, and struck, and killed.
Commander Thomson stared anxiously into the blackness that surrounded his ship, the HMS Black Swan. It was a clear night, but quite dark, and he could not see any of the merchant ships that lumbered along in ragged rows behind him. A feeling of great anxiety, mingled with helplessness, hung over the convoy. The sense of lurking menace was so strong that it was almost a tangible thing.
The two freighters, Gogra and Katha, had been sunk since midnight, and the U-boat that had torpedoed them was still somewhere out there. Thomson knew he was waiting in the dark for another chance to attack.
Black Swan swept on in wide zig-zags ahead of the convoy, as the twenty-odd merchantmen behind her struggled to keep station in the dark. Convoy OS 45, now even with the Portuguese coast, had covered roughly a quarter of its long voyage from England to Freetown. As always, the U-boat Command would have known the approximate size and position of the convoy, and would have ordered a scouting line of U-boats to intercept. At least one boat had already found them. Thomson knew that other sleek grey hulls would be silently converging on them as the wolf pack gathered.
Strange how long a man could fight these predators without ever getting a glimpse of one. A U-boat could leave a convoy riddled with sinking and burning ships and not once be actually seen.
Survivors of sunk ships saw them sometimes. Thomson remembered stories about surfaced U-boats with odd emblems painted on their scarred conning towersa playful dolphin, red devils, a fox's mask, and one with a flowerthe edelweiss.
He glanced impatiently at his watch. Not too much longer until dawn.
"Radar reports a stray echo, sir."
Thomson was instantly all attention. "Give me the range and bearing."
The answer came back immediately. The radar operator was Able Seaman D. Hutson, clear-headed and competent. He had plotted the position of the convoy ships, and this contact now was ahead and to starboard. Hutson had recognized it for what it wasa surfaced U-boat.
"Hard starboard!" called Thomson, and braced himself as the sloop heeled over sharply to take the turn. Her engines hummed with a higher pitch and her hull shuddered with the increased vibrations as Black Swan headed toward the stray echo on a closing bearing. Her sharp prow sliced through the black water which foamed up in white and sparkling bow waves on either side, and her curving wake trailed out behind her.
