The Villa Stein

After a while, the steamer arrived and took us to Ponto Rosa. There we went to the submarine station to inquire about the location of the barracks where the crew of the "Fifteener" was housed. We met an old buddy who also used to be in the machine room of the Budapest. His name was Fugita. We had a few things to talk about and to see. He showed us the U.XV and led us to the Villa Stein. That was the name of the building where the men of the XV were quartered. It was a house that was not yet completed when the war broke out, standing there in the rough with a temporary roof. It was a little away from the other barracks and looked somewhat like a ruin.

If the appearance of the exterior was not very impressive, inside was even less to cheer about. All one big room with shelving covering one whole wall and to the ceiling. The lumber was rough and the boards un-planed. The bed boxes had been attached into those units next to and on top of each other.

The Torpedo Master soon showed up and we told him about our transfer. "Where are you coming from?" he asked. When we told him that we came from the Budapest and that we were Torpedo Specialists, he replied, " Well, in that case, you have to learn fast. In a few days we are going out on action and one of you will have to join us since we are short." That did not bother us and it was for that reason we stepped forward and we will try hard to make it work.

" Are you hungry and thirsty?" asked the Telegraph Master. Sure we were and they gave us canned food and wine. Our eyes grew big because we never had anything that good in the Navy. The result was that we liked this place so much already.

The next day we reported our orders for embarkation and on the following day we were scheduled to go to Cattaro for medical examinations to find out if we were fit for Submarine service.