FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Do you mean then that you had reports from U-boat commanders about rescue measures?
DÖNITZ: I received these reports whenever a U-boat returned, and subsequently through the combat log books.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: When was this order which we have just discussed formally rescinded?
DÖNITZ: To my knowledge this order was captured or salvaged by England on the U-13 which was destroyed by depth charges in very shallow water in the Downs near the mouth of the Thames. For this boat, of course, this order may still have applied in May 1940. Then in the year 1940, after the Norway Campaign, I again made the open waters of the Atlantic the central field of operations, and for these boats this order did not apply, as is proved by the fact that rescues took place, which I just explained.
I then rescinded the order completely for it contained the first practical instructions on how U-boats were to act toward a convoy and later on was no longer necessary, for by then it had become second nature to the U-boat commanders. To my recollection the order was completely withdrawn in November 1940 at the latest.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: Admiral, I have here the table of contents of the “Standing War Orders of 1942,” and that may be found on Page 16 of Document Book Number 1. I will submit it as Dönitz-11. In this table of contents the Number 154 which deals with the order we have just discussed is blank. Does that mean that this order did not exist any more at the time when the “Standing War Orders of 1942” were issued?
DÖNITZ: Yes, by then it had long since ceased to exist.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: When were the standing orders for the year 1942 compiled?
DÖNITZ: In the course of the year 1941.
FLOTTENRICHTER KRANZBÜHLER: When you received reports from commanders about rescue measures, did you object to these measures? Did you criticize or prohibit them?