submariners, searching for WW2 submariners

I am an English writer, working on a book for Conway Maritime which looks at WW2 through the eye-witness accounts of the submariners who served in it. So, I am using patrol reports, extracts from published autobiographies/accounts, unpublished material - and, especially, the memories of those veterans still alive. Thus far I have found veterans from many of the countries whose navies participated in WW2 and which operated submarines. I would do with some help on Romania.
If you know any Romanian WW2 submarine veterans, or have contacts with anyone who knows them. I would be very grateful.
Also, are you aware of any published stories written by former WW2 submariners?

I don't know any Romanian, but apart from English I can use French, Italian or German. Thanks

have you try here
http://www.worldwar2.ro/memorii/?article=108

Thank you for the reply. I had already found the site and emailed the site owners, asking if I can use the material. I hope it will be possible. But I expect they will have to ask the author first of all. I hope he will be happy to have his father mentioned.

There are some recollections of a former crew member of the NMS Marsuinul, published in the 2nd volume of N. Koslinski & R. Stanescu's Marina Romana in al Doilea Razboi Mondial, Bucharest, 1997.

Thank you for that information, but unfortunately I do not read Romanian. If anyone belonging to the Forum would be willing to translate a portion I would be very grateful indeed. I know it is a lot to ask, but it would be a way of getting a Romanian view into the book.

U-Boot (spanish)

http://www.u-historia.com/uhistoria/basehtml/main1024.htm

http://www.tankhunters.net/articulos/u-boot.htm (only type VII-c)

http://www.uboat.net/index.html (english)

I will see what I can do, but probably not very soon.

Dear Victor
That is very, very kind of you. I don't need a lot. Just one story - say, 200 words - describing an intersting incident would be enough. I am not asking for a whole chapter! The book contains lots of stories which are really just one or two paragraphs, although there are longer pieces as well. Some are from veterans who are still alive, others from patrol reports and unpublished diaries or memoirs.

Don't worry about naval terminology. I can make sure that we get that right here. For example, in emergency Royal navy submarines make a "crash dive". The French make a "Plongée de catastrophe" which translates as "disaster dive", but obviously I would use the Royal navy term. I only need to know what the writer 'means'.

I am away for most of the next two weeks . Thanks again.

OK, I will also be away for a while, so you won't have your fragment before 1 May.

Sorry for the delay.

N. Koslinski & R. Stanescu's Marina Romana in al Doilea Razboi Mondial, Bucharest, 1997, page 308

Marsuinul's only war patrol started very badly when, after exiting the mine barrage, on 11 May, at 0100 hours, a German R-boot confused it with a Soviet submarine and fired its machine-guns on it. After signaling the day's password, the problem was resolved. In the morning, it was bombed by a German seaplane and forced to submerge. The situation became critical because several KFKs with Croat crews responded to the alarm given by the seaplane and launched no less than 420 depth charges from 0830 hours until late in the evening. The submarine descended to 80 – 90 meters below sea level and was rigged for silent running. There was a moment when the captain tried to surface, but, after getting to as much as 20 meters, the explosions got closer and closer and had to return to the safety of greater depths. Fortunately the damages it had suffered were not serious.

Here is the description of teh ordeal through the words of Camil Cernat.

We heard the explosions of the depth charges sometimes closer, sometimes farther, and at the underwater listening station, master chief Eremia was counting eaxh exposion, reporting to the captain the direction where he heard it. This allowed him to put the aft in the explosion's direction, trying to distance the ship fro mthe pursuers. We all knew that an explosion at less than 8 meters could have provoked very serious damage, even breach the hull.

The crew put up with this attack for a while, but after 2-3 hours the captain, after having observed the weakening of everyone's nerves, ordered - against regulations - to open teh hatches between the compartments so that the men could see each other and raise their morale.

The air became increasingly difficult to breathe. The captain ordered to ventilate the air between the compratments and, eventually, to start the air cleaning system, the chemical boxes installed in the ventilation system.