SILENT BATTLE In order to stop German U-boats from prowling the Atlantic, it was vital for the British to break the Enima code
ALAMY X2, GETTY X3
The alarms ring out over the Atlantic at midday, 9 May 1941, sending sailors rushing to action stations. A German U-boat, lurking beneath the surface of the choppy waters, is attacking their convoy south of Iceland. Before the crews of the three dozen merchant ships and their escorts know the position of the enemy submarine, two vessels are smashed by torpedoes and sink. The 28-year-old captain of U-110, Fritz-Julius Lemp, congratulates his men and orders another salvo.
Before that happens, though, the hunters become the hunted. Knowing the dangers of crossing the Atlantic – where ‘wolfpacks’ of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine prowl and pounce without warning – Royal Navy destroyers and corvettes are escorting the convoy for part of its voyage to America. They pepper U-110’s position with depth charges, forcing Lemp to order the now-damaged sub to surface and his men to evacuate with the words “Last stop, everybody out!” as if he were a bus conductor. The crew pour out of the hatches, and 15 are killed (including Lemp) by leaping into the water and drowning, or by the heavy fire from the advancing HMS Broadway and Bulldog. The attack over, a boarding party is dispatched to collect anything left by the fleeing crew, who hoped that they would go down with the sub.