The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

manned the U-boats were tough, hardy and imperturbable. They needed to
be.
When U-47 did at last spot a ship, on 14 June, they were way to the
south, off the bottom coast of Ireland in a wolfpack along with nine other
U-boats. Günther had immediately given the order to dive and was just
lining up his first torpedo when the ship suddenly changed direction,
veering straight for them, and forcing them to crash-dive and forego the
shot. Following behind, however, was a huge convoy of some forty-two
ships, a salivating prospect for a U-boat. The problem, however, was
closing in on it; they were just too far away to catch the steaming vessels
submerged. On the surface, U-47’s seventeen knots was fast enough to
catch a convoy that rarely travelled at more than around fourteen knots, but
submerged the best it could manage was just eight. When they did finally
have a chance to take a shot, they were nearly rammed a second time and
had to crash-dive again. A further attempt was then thwarted by the arrival
of a Sunderland flying boat swooping overhead.
Günther cursed, convinced the patrol must be jinxed, but then a
straggler was sighted. Ordering the boat to dive, he waited, then closed in
towards the weaving vessel. It was 11.58 – a couple of minutes before
midday. At last, Günther, glued to the periscope in the control room, gave
the order for Tube Five to fire. A loud hiss of compressed air filled the boat
and the men felt the submarine shiver as the torpedo hurtled from its tube.
For a few moments there was silence. And then they heard the sound of an
explosion.
‘Hit almost amidships,’ said Günther triumphantly. He continued to
give a running report as he peered through the periscope. The ship looked
heavily laden; there were a number of crates on the deck. She was British,
the Balmoralwood, about 5,000–6,000 tonnes, he reckoned. Men were
lowering whalers and scrambling frantically down into them. Then the ship
began to list and heel over, and then slipped down into the sea, a huge
whirlpool sucking many of the men and the cargo down with it. Soon after,
all that was left were a few crates bobbing on the surface. Some had burst
open so that Günther could see what she had been carrying on her way to
Britain. Aircraft – he could see the wings and fuselages clearly.
Hitler had never intended to subdue Britain by air and land alone. To
beat Britain, to bring her to her knees, she needed to be strangled, her seaborne
lifeline cut off to such an extent that she simply would not be able to