Dark Seas | How Germany Finally Made America Really Angry @DarkDocsSeas | Uploaded March 2023 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
The first day of World War 2 was fading away. That Sunday morning, on September 3, 1939, Britain had declared war on Germany, officially starting the armed conflict. However, an order was issued that under no circumstances should the German U-boat fleet harm any civilian passenger ships.
Oberleutenant Fritz-Julius Lemp, commanding U-30, was told to only open fire against ships that posed a threat to his ship and crew. And that fateful evening, he spotted one.
While on his first patrol barely 12 hours into the war, Lemp saw a blacked-out silhouette zigzagging off the Irish coast. The mysterious ship was way off regular civilian routes, prompting the Commander to believe she was an armed enemy vessel.
Shortly before 8:00pm, the skipper ordered his crew to open fire, and U-30 launched the first two torpedoes of the war. However, the second one malfunctioned and suddenly turned toward them.
The Commander immediately ordered the crew to dive deeper than the projectile’s path, and once out of danger, they emerged to the surface, only to realize the irreversible mistake they had made…
The first day of World War 2 was fading away. That Sunday morning, on September 3, 1939, Britain had declared war on Germany, officially starting the armed conflict. However, an order was issued that under no circumstances should the German U-boat fleet harm any civilian passenger ships.
Oberleutenant Fritz-Julius Lemp, commanding U-30, was told to only open fire against ships that posed a threat to his ship and crew. And that fateful evening, he spotted one.
While on his first patrol barely 12 hours into the war, Lemp saw a blacked-out silhouette zigzagging off the Irish coast. The mysterious ship was way off regular civilian routes, prompting the Commander to believe she was an armed enemy vessel.
Shortly before 8:00pm, the skipper ordered his crew to open fire, and U-30 launched the first two torpedoes of the war. However, the second one malfunctioned and suddenly turned toward them.
The Commander immediately ordered the crew to dive deeper than the projectile’s path, and once out of danger, they emerged to the surface, only to realize the irreversible mistake they had made…
