How Capt. Paul Koenig of the _Deutschland_ Turned Incredible Fiction
Into Practical Reality
There was a very positive thrill throughout the world when the
startling report was published that a German submarine had crossed the
Atlantic and, on July 10, 1915, entered an American port. It had not
been believed possible at that time for a submarine to make so great
and perilous a voyage, and the first news of the unique achievement was
somewhat sceptically received. But when there was no remaining doubt
that the _Deutschland_, dodging and evading British hostile craft, had
actually voyaged from Bremen to Baltimore, Capt. Paul Koenig, commander
of the U-boat, was prominently head-lined in the press.
This historic event was interesting not only as something new and
wonderful in marine annals, but there was a graver interest in the
demonstration of the fact that distance from the base of operations
was no sure protection from submarine warfare. No little alarm was
manifested in the United States for a time. But this subsided, and the
romantic side of the exploit appealed to the dullest imagination.
When Capt. Koenig returned to Germany he wrote his experiences in book
form, parts of which have been translated into several languages. No
more absorbing story than Koenig’s own could easily be written, and
from an American version of it the following excerpts were made.
After leaving port the _Deutschland_ traveled submerged until they
were far out in the North Sea on their westerly course. It was about
two o’clock in the morning. Capt. Koenig thought it safe to rise to
the surface and gave orders for the emptying of the tanks. But as the
boat approached the surface it began to toss and plunge in a way that
gave warning of a storm above. The nearer the surface the wilder the
antics of the boat, which occasionally indulged in regular leaps. The
emptying of the tanks went calmly on nevertheless, Capt. Koenig being
of the order of men not to be moved from a purpose by so inconsiderable
a thing as an ill-mannered sea. They got to the surface without too
much disorder. Then says Capt. Koenig:
“I was just about to give orders to put on the oil-engines—when—what
was that? That dark stripe over there—wasn’t that a smoke-flag?
_Donnerwetter!_ It’s a destroyer!
“With one leap I am back in the turret and have closed the tower-hatch.
‘Alarm—submerge quickly—depth rudder—go to twenty meters.’
“The whole boat trembles and shakes under the increased pressure and
makes a couple of real jumps; it literally reels in the wild sea. Will
it not go down pretty soon? With a sudden jerk the _Deutschland_ darts
below the surface and now, bending her bow lower and lower, rapidly
descends into the depths. The light of the just dawning day disappears
from the turret windows, the manometer shows in quick succession, two,
three, six, ten meters. But the bow drops lower and lower.
“The boat had bent forward in an angle of 36 degrees and stood on its
head, as it were. Its bow rested on the sea’s bottom and its stern
was violently swinging back and forth. The manometer showed a depth
of about fifteen meters. I quickly realized our situation. It was
something less than comfortable.
“We were revealing our position by a peculiar buoy, and we expected
momentarily to hear the crashing blow of a shell in the stern. But
everything remained quiet. The screws could no longer betray us. Also
it probably was still too dark up there, and the destroyer perhaps had
enough of its own troubles in the wild sea.
“There must have been a combination of several causes. Aside from the
fact that only in the most extraordinary and rare cases is it possible
for a big boat to submerge against a high sea, it is conceivable that
in the haste which was forced upon us by the destroyer the tanks were
not completely emptied of air.
“But, above all, I recall that my first thought was the cargo. ‘Is the
cargo safely stored? Can it lose its equilibrium?’ Curious as it may
sound in retrospect, that is what I instinctively thought of. A ‘big
steamer’ captain doesn’t easily get rid of his second nature, even on a
U-boat.