BY PAUL KÖNIG CAPTAIN OF THE SUBMARINE MERCHANTMAN "DEUTSCHLAND" TRANSLATED BY VIVIEN ELLIS   London C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. Henrietta Street 1917 CONTENTS...

The voyage of the submarine merchantman "Deutschland" has, for a long time past, been the subject of eager speculation among the nations of the Old and New worlds. The wildest rumours regarding the fate of our cruise have appeared in the newspapers, to say nothing of the pretty imaginative stories in which the English have announced again and again that we were stranded or sunk, or, still worse, dispatched to America in bales of cargo. How often we chuckled on board when our wireless operator pi

How did we come to join the "Deutschland"? That is a long story which I shall leave the authorities to relate. The most important part of it, however, will be found related at the end of this book in the account given of our reception at the Bremen Town Hall after the return of the "Deutschland" from the United States. To me, the idea of a submarine merchantman that has been built for long voyages is the tangible expression of the will of the German people to frustrate the effects of the English

And now a strange and wonderful time followed. Day after day, out into the bays, down into the depths. We practised in all weathers and under all conditions. Every man of the chosen crew realised the task that lay before us. It meant acquiring the art of managing this most delicate and complicated vessel, the last word in bold and skilful construction. It meant learning to know and understand that marvellous wonder-work of modern shipbuilding—a submarine. We had to be in a position to sway, acco

The North Sea rolls in long swells against us. The weather is clear and the wind blows sharply from N.N.W. I am standing alone with my first officer on duty on the conning-tower, in the "bath-tub," for thus we have nicknamed the strong shelter which is built round the conning-tower hatch of the "Deutschland," and which looks like a kind of flying gondola. In front of this is the upper steering station, which can, however, only be made use of in fine weather. To-day we stand in oilskins behind th

And thus it turns out. The further we get from land, the rougher grows the sea. The boat is badly tossed about. I notice the roughness of the sea as I lie in my cabin, and towards two o'clock in the morning I am awakened by a "Hullo," from the speaking-tube on the wall at my head. The watchful second officer, Eyring, announces a white light to starboard which is approaching rapidly. I spring out, balancing myself round the corner in the control-room, over the ladders, up through the conning-towe

That night, during the darkest hours between eleven and one o'clock, I had decided to travel submerged with the electric engines. When we submerged in the twilight of the long summer night there had been very little wind, but there was a heavy swell—a sure sign that the wind would rise to a storm within a few hours. Towards two o'clock I gave the order to rise to the surface, and soon noticed from the increasingly wild movements of the boat that the storm had arisen, and that a rougher sea must

We had had more than enough of the North Sea by this time, and were now quite ready to get out into the open. We were quite clear as to our route, thank goodness. Less so as to what might happen to us on the voyage; but we were prepared by now for any little surprises that might occur. For why travel in a submarine if there are no difficulties to be overcome? After all, many U-Boats had passed successfully through the North Sea and reached the open ocean. Moreover, they had had many dangerous du

At last we were out in the open. The Atlantic did not receive us in a very friendly manner it must be confessed. We had grown used to a good deal in the last few days, but I was anxious to spare the nerves of the crew as much as possible, on account of the long journey that lay before us. I decided therefore to take a more southerly direction, in order to try and hit on fairer weather if possible. Unfortunately we were to be disappointed in this, as will be seen. As I glance to-day through my no

June comes gradually to an end, and with it unfortunately the fine weather. A rising swell from the S.W. and the absence of the current which we had expected to help us along indicates a storm centre in the south, diverting the course of the Gulf Stream. Thus we travel on throughout another day. Towards evening the atmosphere becomes close and heavy and the sun sinks slowly in a misty blood-red veil. The sky grows threatening and overcast; there is brilliant sheet lightning, while the ever-incre

While crossing the Atlantic we had avoided approaching steamers by slightly altering our course. We had even risked being noticed on one or two occasions, but during the last days of our voyage we submerged directly a cloud of smoke appeared on the horizon. On no account must we be observed when approaching the coast, as we had to reckon with the presence of enemy warships. On the 8th July we guessed by the colour of the water that we could not be far from our goal. In the course of the afternoo

Our first glance the following morning fell on the stout little "Timmins," who had moored up alongside. There she lay, the faithful soul—and mounted guard over us. Shortly after, at five o'clock, the doctor of the quarantine station came along. I gave him up our health certificate, which had been carefully made out for us on 13th June by Mr. William Thomas Fee, the American Consul at Bremen. The doctor then examined the boat, and after mustering the crew set us free, and ended up by giving three

Above the description of our return voyage I should like to put as a motto what the London Morning Post of 18th July wrote regarding the attitude of the English Government towards the "Deutschland." "The 'Deutschland,' in view of her peculiar U-Boat qualities, will be considered as a war vessel, and be treated as such. "The warships of the Allies will therefore make every effort to discover the boat outside American territorial waters, and to sink her without warning." Thus ran a cablegram which

Night had set in as we approached the danger zone. In front of us sparkled the steady fire from Cape Henry, while astern Cape Charles threw out her lights at short intervals through the darkness. With these as our bearings we went on calmly to face the decision. Suddenly two searchlights flashed out over the water to starboard. The accursed rays passed quick as lightning over the dark waves. I counted several seconds mechanically, then the full glare of the searchlight struck us in the eye.... I

Never had the "Deutschland" travelled so swiftly as in those early morning hours of the 3rd August. With marvellous speed she raced on, leaving two broad streaks of foam on either side. The engines rumbled in perfect rhythm, the combustion was working without a flaw, and the exhaust showed not the slightest cloud, so that even Herr Kiszling was thoroughly contented, and in a moment of unconscious tenderness nearly stroked the shaft of his beloved engines.... When the sun rose the coast had long

Favourable winds astern helped us on towards home. On August —— at six o'clock in the morning, our alarm was raised once more. In the far distance something appeared on the water which looked like the sail of a boat, though certainly of a very strange appearance. As it approached nearer the sail turned out to be the conning-tower of a U-Boat, which, with her deck still dripping, was going on her way. Although we were at first inclined to take careful and instructive observations of the strange o

From the outskirts of Heligoland as far as the outer Weser we had been received by the Navy. On the voyage up the Weser and at Bremen the whole nation received us. On the afternoon of the 23rd August the "Deutschland" had struck anchor at the mouth of the Weser. The news had been spread by telegraph throughout the whole country—this longed-for news, which awakened unbounded rejoicings. We learnt to our surprise and proud delight that the arrival of the "Deutschland" was to inaugurate a festive h