Featuring never before published photographs of the Type 1XC/40 U-boats, this war memoir follows the career of an officer in the Kriegsmarine who made four combat patrols in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, including one of the last forays to North American waters in 1945. Starting with his pre-war childhood through his wartime service in the German Navy and post-war life in Canada, the book gives readers an authentic insider's view, based primarily on Hirschmann's wartime diaries, his remarkable photograph album, and historical documents. Included are his experiences on board a destroyer that escorted the Bismarck on her last operation, a Mediterranean U-boat base patrol, an encounter and escape from American soldiers in the French port of Lorient, and his last patrol to North American waters during which his submarine U-190 sank a Canadian warship. This illustrated memoir is a valuable record of the U-boat service and the technical details of the U-boat experience.