We are now in the Fiume shipyard. That means hard work every day to get the boat ready as soon as possible and go out on action. It is a re-inforced Weser-type. 275 metric tons above water and 330 submerged. Three torpedo tubes, two at the bow and one at the stern. It carries three to six torpedoes and a 7cm cannon. But what is most important, a very good speed. 12 mph above water and 8 mph below was easily reached by the two engines. One big advantage over our old boat was thet we did not have to stop when charging the batteries. One of the engines could still keep us going at 5-6 mph. We also had over 2000 liters of drinking water and did not have to eat so many lemons. This boat also had two periscopes.
Even though we were anxious already to go out to sea, we had to be patient. While working as hard as we could, it would still take another month before we would be ready to go out for practice runs. The few of us who came from the old Fifteener kept close together as a group. We were not suspicious of the others but they had to prove that they were really good comrades and that we could depend on them in every situation. And that was only possible on the high sea.
Finally, the test runs got underway. Day in and day out, above and below the surface. Some things had to be adjusted. First the boat was too heavy in front, then again, aft. Several trimmings followed to balance it so it does not lean to port or to starboard. When that was done, we tried out the torpedo apparatus and by that time it was middle of March. All that was left to do was to stock up on provisions, renew our outfits and the boat was ready for action.
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