The Patrols
Patrol 06 - 03.06.1940-06.07.1940
03.06.1940 U-47 departs dock at Kiel.
06.06.1940 The crew of a downed Luftwaffe aircraft are picked up in the Atlantic.
14.06.1940 Steam freighter Balmoral Wood (United Kingdom, 5,834 grt), straggler from convoy HX-48, attacked by torpedo, sunk. Time of first attack, 1944 hours. Location 50°19N/10°28W.
21.06.1940 Steam tanker San Fernando (United Kingdom, 13,056 grt), part of convoy HX-49, attacked by torpedo, sunk. Time of first attack, 2007 hours. Location 50°20N/10°24W. This vessel was attacked along with another tanker and a freighter, both estimated at 7,000grt. The torpedoes fired at the latter two vessels both missed, although Prien believed that one of them had registered a hit on the 5,600 grt Gracia. Prien also initially believed the San Fernando was the 12,000grt Cadillac.
24.06.1940 Steam freighter Catherine (Panama, 1,885 grt), attacked by deck gunfire, sunk. Time of first attack, 0241 hours. Location 50°08N/14°00W. A salvo of two torpedoes are initially fired at the Catherine; but after allowing the crew of the ship to disembark, Prien doesn't risk wasting a third torpedo and proceeds to sink the freighter with the 88mm.
27.06.1940 Steam freighter M/S Lenda (Norway, 4,005 grt), attacked by torpedo and deck gunfire, sunk. Time of first attack, 0338 hours. Location 50°12N/13°18W, sank 150nm SW Fastnet. The vessel is sunk by the second torpedo fired at it; the first passes harmlessly ahead of the target.
27.06.1940 Steam tanker Leticia (Netherlands, 2,580 grt), attacked by deck gunfire, sunk. No time listed for first attack. Location 50°11N/13°15W.
28.06.1940 U-47 fires upon an unidentified steamer at a considerable distance, but the torpedo misses.
29.06.1940 Steam freighter Empire Toucan (United Kingdom, 4,127 grt), attacked by torpedo and deck gunfire, sunk. Time of first attack, approx. 0500 hours. Location 49°20N/13°52W. Prien initially estimates the Empire Toucan to be 7,000 grt; the freighter is sunk finished off with a torpedo after being disabled with deck gunfire.
30.06.1940 Steam freighter Georgios Kyriakides (Greece, 4,201 grt), attacked and sunk. Time of first attack, 1445 hours. Location 50°25N/14°33W. Following this attack, U-47 has only one remaining torpedo, a dud.
02.07.1940 Cruise liner/steam freighter Arandora Star (United Kingdom, 15,501 grt), attacked by torpedo, sunk. Time of first attack, 0758 hours. Location 56°20N/10°40W. Knowing that Endrass' U-46 had racked up over 50,000 tons, the crew of U-47 desperately try to repair the dud torpedo. In one of those cruel twists of fate, the "dud" is fired on the Arandora Star, a former cruise liner en route from Liverpool to St. John's, Newfoundland. The torpedo strikes the target, which quickly finds it way to the sea bed. It is later revealed that the vessel was carrying internees and POWs with 805 lives being lost, among them 243 Germans.
06.07.1940 U-47 returns to dock at Kiel. The initial tonnage estimates were totted up and calculated to be 66,587 tons (although adding up the figures from the pennant flags makes a total of 66,597 which meant that there was either an error on one of the pennant flags or a bad mathematician among the crew!) This figure was proudly painted on the conning tower in time for U-47's arrival at Kiel, although it later had to be dramatically revised.
Total days at sea: 34
Enemy vessels sunk: 8
Total tonnage: 51,189 grt
Total days in port: 51
