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Section Z (20th February 1941, Lorient - start of 10th patrol)

Z01. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Prien steps aboard U-47 prior to what would be his last patrol. During his Christmas leave he had set foot upon German soil for the first time since U-47 departed from Kiel on 26th August 1940. As U-47's previous patrol had ended a full two and a half months ago, it might be assumed that her commander would be refreshed. However, comparisons between this photo and J03 suggest that despite the gap since the last patrol he may have been far from fresh. A year and a half of continual submarine warfare takes its inevitable toll upon even the strongest of men, both physically and mentally. The strain of serving in a U-boat, the nerve-wracking depth charge attacks, the torpedo failures, the pressure to attain results, the burden of command: they were just some of the pressures which served to age Prien remarkably within such a small space of time. He would be promoted to Korvettenkapitän days later on 1st March. (Int 8 & 9)

View Photograph: Z01. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z02. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

The leftmost object of the three at the top right hand side is a tension adjuster for one of the rear jumping wires; the other two are insulators.

The open hatch on the deck is the galley hatch, which would be closed when sea. Before a patrol, the supplies would be loaded through this hatch by hand. Often the crew would arrange themselves in a chain gang to facilitate this major undertaking. The food had to be stored in the reverse order from which it was intended to be consumed. (Verdammter)

View Photograph: Z02. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z03. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

In the commander's buttonhole is a camellia, presented to him by a girl. Having chatted to the girl for a time, and fastened the flower to his freshly-starched leather coat, he reported his readiness to sail to the commander of the 7th U-Flottille, Korvettenkapitän Herbert Sohler.

Wolfgang Frank, who came to wish Prien and his crew success on their impending patrol, relates that the commander told him that he had a "hunch this is going to be a momentous patrol." It certainly would be, but not in the way that everyone present at Lorient would have wished. (Greift)

View Photograph: Z03. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z04. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

This high quality image shows the starboard navigation light, the grill on the air trunking and the commander's flagstaff with the Pillkoppen pennant. The commander's flagstaff is lighter in colour than the conning tower.

Prien's stiff and shiny leather coat had just come back from the cleaners, as had his freshly starched and dazzlingly white cap cover. Only commanders were allowed to wear the white cover on their caps. (Grieft, Enemy, Stier)

View Photograph: Z04. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z05. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

The only difference between this image and Z04 is that the Pillkoppen pennant has been rotated, allowing a good view of the intricate pattern.

The pennant was associated with Pillkoppen (today Pilkopiai in Lithuania), a fishing village on the Kurische Nehrung (Curonian Spit). The Kurische Nehrung is a spit of land 100km long which lies on the coast of the Baltic Sea, just to the west of Lithuania. (Högel)

View Photograph: Z05. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z06. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941 (?), Lorient

The positions of Prien, the crewmembers saluting from the conning tower, and the crewmembers standing to attention on the aft deck, look very like those seen in Z06.

In the photos taken on the 3rd November, such as V06, V07 and V08, four officers and Prien are situated around the bulwark, rather than saluting from the rear of the tower. However, this photo could very easily show the departure of U 47 on its 9th patrol on the 3rd November 1940 from Lorient, since the rust residue stains on the horizontal part of the air trunking and below the small drainage holes above the saddle tanks look similar to those seen in V06. (Int 4)

View Photograph: Z06. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z07. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Prien and the crewmembers assembled on the conning tower salute those wishing them success on their impending patrol. In just over two weeks time all these men would be dead.

Most commanders initially served extended apprenticeships as U-boat watch officers, but some only required a "confirmation" patrol. The latter group were called Konfirmanden - a term borrowed by the navy which denoted youths awaiting religious confirmation - or Kommandantschüler. Such a prospective commander was Korvettenkapitän Karl-Eglof Freiherr von Schnurbein, who served aboard U-47 for the duration of this patrol in order to gain experience. He would never get the chance to command his own boat. (Admiral)

View Photograph: Z07. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z08. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

This photo shows the breakwater, the net cutter at the bow and the hole through which a tow rope could be attached. The Type VIIB U-99, commanded by the "tonnage king" Otto Kretschmer, sails behind U-47. U-99, notably lighter in colour than U-47, was painted in the light grey Hellgrau 50 (RAL 7001) paint throughout her career.

U-99 would also be lost on her next patrol, which began on the 22nd February. Its skipper Otto Kretschmer was forced to surface and scuttle his boat. Forty crewmembers, including Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer, were rescued to become POWs; three crewmen, including a Konfirmanden Korvettenkapitän Horst Hesselbarth, lost their lives. (Admiral)

View Photograph: Z08. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Z09. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

Farewell! This was the last time U-47 and its crew were to be seen in France. The U-boat was reported missing on the 7th March 1941 in the region around Rockall Banks in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, approximate location 60°00N/19°00W. It is widely believed that the U-boat was sunk during the 7th or 8th March following a depth-charge attack by the British destroyer HMS Wolverine, while other sources have suggested that U-47 was sunk either by one of its own torpedoes that had gone offline, by a mine, by an attack by British corvettes HMS Camellia and Arbutus, or that the U-boat suffered a diving accident. It is extremely likely than definitive proof of the true cause off U 47's demise will never materialise.

The 45 men aboard U-47, including the "redoubtable" U-boat ace Korvettenkapitän Prien, were lost to the sea. (Admiral)

View Photograph: Z09. Start of the 10th patrol, 20th February 1941, Lorient

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