Our Excellent Cannon

We were out for action again. But what we experienced this time was really comical. We made a round trip down along the Albanian coast. Then, from Valona, we crossed over the Otranto Strait. We cruised for two days before Brindisi and then turned north up the Italian coastline. It was mostly overcast and the visibility was bad. We had to keep an extra sharp lookout in order not to be surprised. There were torpedo-boats and destroyers in the area constantly. Italian, French and even some English were among them. A few times we prepared for attack but did not get to fire. They were too fast and we were too slow.

It got calmer toward Bari and we were astonished when suddenly, without any protection, a steamer came along as if there was no war in progress. The Commander was suspicious and gave the order to dive. We watched through the periscope as he slowly approached us. 2000 tons thought the Torpedo-Master. But it was strange that he hardly made a wake while still making good headway.

We made the attack...but neither torpedo hit. They both passed through and underneath him. He was a flat-keeler or at least he does not have 4 meters of draught. But he should not get away with so little fight. We surfaced. "Man the cannon!" ordered the Commander. And now it began. We had 75 rounds of ammunition on board. We delivered a rapid fire that nobody could easily measure up to us. Hit after hit landed midship, at the waterline and on the command bridge. But besides a few holes on the latter and on the smoke stack there was no apparent effect. We used up all 75 rounds and that steamer cruises on as if nothing happened.

This time not even the Torpedo-Master got angry. Everybody just laughed. What else could we do? It was a shame to waste those torpedoes but nobody was sorry about the fire fight with the cannon. No! At least we knew that we only carried that 37 mm gun along for show. "Someone just try to depend on this excellent cannon." said the Commander to the other two officers. "On the surface the cannon is always recommended with referral made to the German boats. But they have real 8 cm cannons and not 37 mm spitters."

And now it was time for us to disappear. Our fire fight had an effect like a stick in a wasp's nest. They came at us from all sides. Planes were among them too. We went to 30 meters and screwed ourselves away on a north-easterly course. We had to purge the dive tanks very much since we had lost about 700 kg.

When we returned and told of our experience there was merely some relieving laughter. The Commanders finally had a more urgent cause to point out, in higher places, the need for a more substantial cannon. It was evident that we could not accomplish anything with such a tiny gun. Two weeks later, Novotny, who was our cook and the mouthpiece of the officers, came with the news that we should be getting a new and better cannon with which we could even shoot at destroyers and torpedo-boats. But we did not believe it...just a rumor.