This piece began in KTB #108, continued from KTB #109

On reaching eleven fathoms (66 feet, or 20 meters) below the surface, the DEUTSCHLAND was checked from stem to stern for leaks or any other problems. Finally, König was satisfied that his command was 'all ship-shape and Bristol fashion'. There was no reason to stay submerged any longer where the best speed was four knots. Ballast tanks were blown out and the submarine broke the surface. As soon as she had, König sprang up onto the conning tower and anxiously searched the area for signs of enemy shipping.

The weather had not improved, but visibility was excellent which was a Godsend. An approaching enemy warship would be seen in plenty of time for the DEUTSCHLAND to dive to safety. This however, was not always necessary. The U-Boat, being so low in the water, presented a very small outline to any observer on a surface ship. Thus, detection was avoided on many occasions by simply taking a wider berth of any shipping seen.

However, there were a number of occasions where it became necessary to go under the surface prior to breaking out into the North Atlantic. There was only one close call experienced on one of these dives. König had run submerged since 11pm (2300 hours) on this particular night because of the twilight conditions of the long summer until he deemed that it was dark and safe enough to risk surfacing.

As soon as the deck was clear, König jumped up onto the conning tower and commenced a search of the area. He had hardly started when, to his horror, he saw the outline of a destroyer in front of him. With one bound, he was below yelling to his Chief Officer to take her down quickly.

Rapid commands followed in quick succession. Suddenly, DEUTSCHLAND adopted an alarming angle and headed for the bottom, bow first! As the minutes ticked by, the angle increased. It became almost impossible to stand up unless holding onto something solid. König had no idea what had gone wrong. He did not have much time to ponder the problem before the submarine struck bottom with a heavy thud. Items not secured were thrown everywhere. The vessel had now come to rest at an angle of some thirty-six degrees from the horizontal!

The first fear was if the stern was protruding above the sea and would be seen by the destroyer that had caused the situation. A quick check showed that despite the heavy encounter with the seabed the craft sustained no damage.

König now set about trying to bring his command to a horizontal position. This he achieved by emptying tanks forward and filling ones aft. Finally, the bow was freed from the bottom and the ship began to rise.

Breaking the surface, it was a relief to find no enemy vessel in sight.

The North Atlantic greeted the adventurers with its customary hostility. This made conditions on the conning tower far from pleasant but below, it was almost murder. To prevent water from entering the hull, it was necessary to keep the hatches closed. The result was that the men were contained in a close atmosphere. When coupled with the incessant rolling, they suffered continual sea-sickness. This, in itself, added to the plight when the smell of sickness filtered to every corner of the hull. These conditions were experienced for some thirty days before the weather improved. As soon as it was safe, König opened the hatches and allowed all the seamen not on watch, to lie out on the deck and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Day followed day as progress was made across the Atlantic towards America. The routine was always the same and tended to become boring. Still, as the saying went, every turn of the screw brought them closer to their destination and the claiming of a world first for their country.

On approaching the coast of the United States, it became important that the arrival was as secret as possible. Whilst thought unlikely, news of the voyage may have leaked out and the Canadian Navy may have a welcoming committee waiting. But it was an ungrounded fear and at 11:30pm (2330 hours) on Saturday, 8th July 1916, the DEUTSCHLAND reached the American territorial waters off Cape Henry, the entrance to the port of Baltimore. Kapitän König and his crew had achieved the first submarine crossing of the North Atlantic, from Europe to America, and was achieved not by a naval submarine but a Merchant Navy submarine - the first in the world. More importantly was the propaganda benefit for Germany. The country had effectively broken through the British blockade and delivered 750 tons of German chemicals and dyes for sale on the American market.

The submarine merchant ship was finally berthed at Locust Point, Baltimore on the morning of the 9th July. Of first concern to König was comfortable accommodation for his crew. After all, they had put up with almost inhuman conditions over the last fortnight. This proved to be no problem. In the port was the North German Lloyd steamer NECKAR.

She had been in the port since the beginning of the war. The Germans were not prepared to risk ordering her home without being armed, and there was no way that America would breech her neutrality by undertaking this task. The ship became the residence of the crew during their stay.

Unloading and reloading started immediately. Security was tight. No visits to DEUTSCHLAND were allowed except official ones.

Meanwhile, the British Ambassador, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice was active. He denounced the submarine as a naval unit and the German story of a merchant vessel was only a ploy to cover her real purpose of a Merchant ship raider. As already stated, the Germans had foreseen this objection, hence the Merchant Navy crew. The Americans must have been satisfied because on 1st August, 1916 the DEUTSCHLAND departed Baltimore for home. The British left no doubt that they would be on the lookout for her.

König did observe an increased number of warships on the return voyage, but he successfully eluded them all. Her arrival home heralded the completion of a voyage of 8,500 nautical miles of which only about 190 of them was underwater. This did however, represent some 47 - 1/2 hours.

Her cargo of rubber and special metals were an important contribution to the country's war effort.

More Kriegsmarine First Cargo-Submarine, Deutschland

Part 1: Design and Construction
Part 2: First Voyage
Part 3: Reaching America and Return to Germany