U - 154

[Ian Adrian Millar]

U-154

Quiet tomb, this sailor's tomb,
Where it rests upon the floor,
The "Happy Time" came to an end,
For the U- one fifty four.

Quiet tomb, this sailor's tomb,
Which even fish ignore,
Sleep on, sleep on, the onetime foe,
Far from their homeland shore.

Quiet tomb, this sailor's tomb,
What was the dying for,
And yet the swells roll gently,
Above the U-one fifty four.

Quiet tomb, this sailor's tomb,
So far from homeland's shore,
The coral builds a sacred shroud,
For the U - one fifty four.

Ian A. Millar

[Keith at Tregenna]

Again congrats on such meaningful words.

I found another of my own from years ago,
guess I always intended to fine tune it but,
in reality gave up.

Maybe one day, for now best left to those that can do and do well.

Keith.





Black May (1943)

The phoney war had ended,
the happy time was done.
The U boats they saw splendid,
now meant Wolf packs on the run.

The tide she was a turning,
Kreigsmarine, at full strength.
But fewer ships were burning,
Black May was at arm's length:

Unknown to the Germanic,
a turning point had begun.
In the Battle of the Atlantic
and how a war was won.

May 43 saw the greatest losses,
of U-boats up to that time.
Fewer Iron Crosses,
and more so, less war crime.

The sinking of allied ships,
continued to decline.
Dönitz had been eclipsed,
and he took it as a sign.

Back in May 43 on the 24th day,
The U-Boats would no longer roam.
They were ordered from the fray,
back to the fatherland and home.

Black May saw das boot defeated,
a temporary halt to the campaign;
Enemy subs retired, others not completed,
or would not sail again.

Shaken by all, the order to retreat,
was meant to help recoup.
Black May saw them near beat,
and a lesser coupe.

Black May was not a new weapon,
no major new machine.
But a winning formula,
That swayed how it may have been.

Black May was not a code word,
but a reminder of the day.
When the emphasis transferred,
and how the tide turned in 43 in May.

This change was the result of a winning formula:

A combination started then,
allied air power and technology.
Determination from our men,
the sheer numbers of allied ships at sea.

These came to fruition in Black May,
with devastating results for the enemy.
Our life line was much safer from the day.
our history safeguarded for king and country.

Black May is seldom mentioned now.
But, should not be forgot.
A turning point that was allowed,
And changed our lot, a lot.

The escorts were getting better;
These groups were becoming more skilled.
Fewer kings letters,
higher hopes, fewer hopefully killed ?

Scientific advances saw more efficient tactics.
New weapons like the Hedgehog and FIDO,
Were both drastic, yet fantastic,
They helped defeat the physcho.

A creeping attack by Capt. Johnnie Walker.
convoys re-routed away from trouble;
Walker repelled or destroyed the stalker.
Saving many from the previous muddle.

In the Year of the Convoy remember today.
The Battle of the Atlantic and all the affairs.
Remind all of the day and of Black May,
And of those that won, he who dares.

There was not too much in print in regard to Black May then, hence I sat and typed some stuff years ago. I hope that if I made mistakes they would later be corrected, meanwhile Black May should be remembered as a turning point that may hopefully have prevented, many more names engraved on monuments or all of the above if allowed, being typed in German ?

KG.

[Ian Adrian Millar]

Keith: I think you should fine tune your efforts here, there is plenty to work with. In my lifelong efforts to comprehend the war at sea I also contacted a fair number of former U-Boat crewman in order to learn something of their side of things.

Ian

[Keith at Tregenna]

Now having more time on my hands
will give all more thought.

K.