Lol, very true :)

I just looked at the trawler and thought "Do I want to see that trawler go Ka-Boom or do I let it pass and wait for something more worthy of a torpedo?" Then I went for the instant gratification :/\\x:

U56 IIC. Patrol 9.
 

3.okt.40
BF61
2220: Underway from Lorient, bound for BF15.
5 (TII G7E) torpedoes, preset to 3 meters running depth, AZ (Impact).

7.okt.40
BF15
2350: On station.

8.okt.40
BF15
1100: "Sound contact! Medium speed merchant. 325 R. Closing."
1101: New course 325. Periscope depth.
1108: Preset TDC: AOB 90 Stb. 9 knots.
1109: Surface. Leading target by 60 degrees. Both Ahead Flank.
1129: Periscope depth. Contact. New course 242.
1130: Ahead Silent Speed.
1135: Target course estimated at 053, making 9 knots.
1140: New course 244.
1141: Target IDed as Coastal Merchant.
1150: New course 323. English flagged. Open tube 1.
1153: Fire 1! Estimated range 700 meters.
1154: Impact! 39 second run.
1155: New depth 47 meters. New course 053. Ahead One Third.
1157: Target moving Slow.
1203: Target moving less than 2 knots.
1205: Tatget heard to sink.

1927:
To BDU
From U56
BF15. 2.000 tonner sunk. 053-9k. 4 G7E torpedoes remaining.

2010:
To U56
From BDU
Report acknowledged.

11.okt.40
BF18
0823: "Ship spotted! 009. 7.500 meters." Destroyer! New depth 20 meters.
0825: "Warship 009. closing. Medium speed. - Warship. 331. Closing. Medium speed."
0826: Both warships at long range. Convoy closing!.
0828: "Warship. 011. Slow. Closing. Long range."
0847: Course estimated at 260, making 6 knots. New course 170.
0848: Preset TDC: AOB 90 Stb. 6 knots.
0854: Variouse Coursed, Silent Speed. Bow on to lead escort.
0858: Returning to course 170.
0859: Warships at 249, 331, 004.
0909: Open tubes 1, 2, and 3.
0910: 5 degree spread. Targeting 6.000 tonner for 1.000 meter shot.
0912: Detected!!! Fire all! (22 degrees early). New depth 102 meters. Ahead Flank!
0913: Impact x 3! Target sunk! Torpedo run 54 seconds.
0914: Variouse courses, Silent Speed.
0916: New course 124. (45 degrees angle off convoy's track, rearward.)
0919: "Warship lost at 203, short range." Depth Charges astern.
0923: Depth Charges.
0926: "Warship lost at 224, short range."
0937: New course 080. (Reciprical to convoy's course.)
0944: "Warship moving slow at 139. Short range." (Toward our stern).
0951: "Warship moving slow at 071. Short range."
0955: He crossed our bow, and contact was lost at 210.

1100: Surface. Report sent. In persuit.
1641: "Ship spotted! 317. Long range." Destroyer! New depth 20 meters.
1643: DD is Stb Escort. Convoy audible at a considerable range.
1651: Surface! DD at 6.800 meters. Both Ahead Flank!
1712: Dived for long range DD.

Attempted to close with convoy submerged at high speed, as convoy had changed course southward.
Battery down considerably. No further persuit possible.
Last torpedo fired at long range, for a miss.
Report sent to BDU, with new course and speed (228-6k).

14.okt.40
BF61
0705: Docked at Lorient.

Patrol results:
Crew & Hull Integrity 100%.
5 of 5 (TII G7E) torpedoes expended.
2 ships sunk, for 9.951 GRT.

U56's history to date:
9 war patrols completed.
6 merchants sunk, for 30.396 GRT.

U111 was last heard from on 2.okt.40, when she reported sinking 2 ships in the AN grids.

The crew of U56 looks forward to the arrival of U10 & U23 in France.

Targets have become scarce E of England.
Something is always better than nothing.
And time was certainly running out.
Good shot. Well done!

Thanks Snestorm :)

I still have two torpedoes left and am hoping for the smoke from a nice convoy or task force to show up in the horizon :arrgh!:

You did what you liked. It is a game after all.
I like the "splat" icon very much!

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!! http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...ies/pirate.gif

How about attacking Scapa Flow on the surface with those two torpedoes, 20 mm Flak gun and an aggressive mind set - I'm thinking stuff like ramming HMS Rodney on some weak spot, like an ammunition bunker. Would that be showing enough Prussian offensive spirit :Kaleun_Mad:

U-10 (IIB, "die Elster"), patrol 9, report 3
 

Ob.Lt.z.s. Harry Wiebus
1. Flottille, Kiel
Orders: Patrol AN41

Statusbericht 23.6.1940

Our last two torpedoes were shot against a 800 BRT Pelagic type trawler, speed 8 knots, course 10 degrees on 19.6.1940 1932 hours, grid AN41. Pistol AZ, depth 3 meters, estimated impact time AOB 90 degrees, range 1200 meters, gyro angle 0. Both torpedoes missed, possibly because of depth keeping troubles. The results of the patrol: one 90 BRT trawler. It seems that after Norway's capitulation there's not much traffic in the North Sea and with our U-boats short range we are almost useless in the battle against the Brits now. I am hoping we'll get a transfer to the French ports and can take part on the battle on the Atlantic.

On returning to base a communique was received:

"Ob.lt.z.s. Harry Wiebus to report immediately to Kiel for reassignment to training duties. Relinquish command of U-10 to your exec.

L. Buchheim
Kapitän z.s. und Kommandant"

Wiebus

Lorient opens up in september.
Why not end a patrol there?
2. Flotilla treats guest boats very well. It gives them a chance to scope out new prospects for one of the big boats.

I used Der Kanal, due to having to patrol a grid at the north entrance.
Problem: There weren't enough hours of darkness, and we had to briefly surface during a quiet periods during the day, for oxygen.
BF coastal grids hold some realy good oppertunities, especialy in finding and reporting outbound convoys, so the big guys can pick them up in deeper water.

My last install had Brest opening sep/okt 40.
Couldn't figure why SH3 tryed sending me back to Kiel, until I checked the files.
In my newer install, Brest won't become a homeport until jun 41.
So eventualy, during the dark months, it'll be back to Kiel for me.

How did the Wiebus Career end?
(How many patrols, merchants sunk, merchant tonnage?)

U-161 IXC Patrol 18
 

Patrol 18
08 November 1942
After almost 3 months of repair time U-161 was ready for action.
U-10 returned from her 9th patrol with 90 tons sunk. BdU ordered Kaluen Wiebus to report to Kiel to assume training duties for new captains.
U-56 returned to Lorient from her 9th patrol with 10K tons bagged. A very good job indeed.

A Meteox RWR was installed on U-161 for better protection
Orders were to patrol grid EE74

20 November 1942
Grid DG78
07:26 hours Ship seen
07:30 hours Positive ID: Small merchant - armed - calm seas
07:34 hours dived to PD
07:57 hours 1 TI(bow) fired - impact - ship listing
08:16 hours Taken position for stern tube attack - TI(stern) fired
08:17 hours Impact - ship on fire - heavier listing
08:18 hours Ship seen sinking

01 December 1942
Grid EE74
21:57 hours Meteox warning - dived to PD
22:17 hours Warship sound contact
22:47 hours Two more warship contacts moving away

02 December 1942
01:14 hours Surfaced

03 December 1942
Grid EE74
20:28 hours Meteox warning - dived to PD
21:21 hours Surfaced
21:47 hours ALARM - Aircraft seen - no RWR - crash dived
21:48 hours DCs exploded - minor damages
22:51 hours Sound conatct - merchants closing fast
23:07 hours Positive ID: Neutral tankers

04 December 1942
Grid ED94
15:28 hours ALARM - Aircraft seen - no RWR - crash dived
16:05 hours Surfaced

09 December 1942
Grid EC92
11:48 hours Moving to intercept convoy
12:19 hours Meteox warning - dived to PD
12:22 hours Sound contact with convoy
12:47 hours 1 TI FaT I (bow) fired
12:48 hours 1 TI (bow) fired
14:58 hours Both torpedoes missed - surfaced

Several crash dives because of Meteox warnings

17 December 1942
Grid ED94
10:45 hours Meteox warning - dived to PD
10:58 hours Sound contact with convoy - not very good approach
11:40 hours 1 TI (bow) fired
11:49 hours Torpedo missed

18 December 1942
Grid ED95
13:34 hours ALARM - Aircraft seen - no RWR - engaged. We have figured out that in that case the approaching plane was a slow Kingfisher scout plane
13:36 hours Kingfisher scout plane shot down
17:10 hours ALARM - Aircraft seen - no RWR - engaged.
17:12 hours Kingfisher scout plane shot down

Several crash dives because of Meteox warnings.
Unseccesful interceptions of two convoys
Returning home

02 January 1943
Grid DG64
08:48 hours Meteox warning - dived to PD
09:01 hours Sound contact with convoy - 8 escorts + 5 warships at the port side of the convoy probably a Hunter-Killer group
09:31 hours 2 TI(bow) fired at whale ship
09:32 hours 1 TI(stern) fired at an Evarts class DE
09:33 hours Impacts - DE sunk - weather helped in being undetected so far
09:36 hours 1 TI(bow) fired at the whaler
09:37 hours Impact - 1 TI(bow) fired at same target
09:38 hours Impact - converted whale factory ship sunk after huge explosion
09:47 hours 1 TI(stern) fired at Tanker 16 - diving to 100m
09:49 hours Impact
09:51 hours Pinging - Bold launched
09:53 hours Pinging - changed course - bold launched
09:57 hours DCs exploding away
10:01 hours Depth 80m and diving - more DCs dropped inaccurately
10:06 hours More DCs
10:10 hours Depth 100m - leveled the boat
13:30 hours Convoy moved far away - no contacts - surfaced

14 January 1943
22:37 hours Returned to Lorient
68 days at sea
3 ships sunk
15604 tons
2 aircrafts shot down
no casualties
Hull intergrity: 98%

Thanks for the advice Snestorm. A very good idea and I would have definetely followed your advice here, but guess what, I started a new career from july of 1940 AND I decided to try a type IXB this time. I haven't played with a type IX since playing Aces of the Deep back in the good old days. I already took her a mission yesterday night, but haven’t got the notes I took right now, so can’t write a report yet. The difference to a type II is obviously quite huge. I feel like equipped with an atomic bomb cruising along with all those torpedoes and deck and Flak guns. The IX feels very fast too, compared to that U-10 I now had gotten used to. It will be interesting to see what kind of patrols I now get. The first mission has sent me near Iceland, possibly trying to intercept the Halifax convoys. And on the way there I already got a 1800 GRT coastal ship sunk for a nice start.:arrgh!: I still have 21 torpedoes left, over four times more than a type II payload :O:

Wiebus’s career details I don’t have any more, since I deleted the files already. But I think it was like 9 war patrols, one shakedown patrol, 60000 – 70000 GRT of shipping, almost all small merchants about 2000 GRT each, except one large 8000 – 9000 GRT freighter and one C2.

I chose U-103 as my new sub's number and I'm planning on trying to play following the orders they gave to the actual boat - there's some info in BdU's KTB in uboatarchive and also in uboat.net about what U-103 did historically.

Yes! Good move, and congradulations on U103.

If you like long ranging convoy battles, you'll love BC43.

U103 IXB:
First day, of her first patrol was 26.sep.40.
(KTB's will prove hard to find before then).

U124's first day on patrol was 19.aug.40, if that's helpful.
Both boats did 11 patrols.
Either way, I recommend 56 days in port.
It should keep your number of patrols closer to reality.

See you in the 2. Flotilla. I'll get there sooner or later.

BC43? I'll keep that in mind if my orders allow me to check it out. And I did consider U-124, as it starts it's patrols earlier, but the historical information on it stops in April, 1943, as it was sunk then. (On the other hand it might well be that I have already moved to a different boat or have been sunk at that point. :O:)

I'll check what SH3Commander is giving me as port days and I'll change that closer to reality, if need be. I'll get the historical departure dates from uboat.net.

We'll soon see in the second Flotilla, although I'm kind of hoping to be able to play in those Flotillas I haven't yet tried and might apply for a transfer at one point or another. I'm keeping a bigger boat, though. No more type II's - for a long, long time :arrgh!:

U-161 IXC Patrol 19
 

14.2.43. 0651 Patrol 19
U-161, U-Flotilla Saltzwedel
Left at: February 14, 1943, 06:51
From: Lorient
Mission Orders: Patrol grid DH47
12:33 Grid BF 56 Aircraft destroyed! Catalina
18.2.43.
10:04 Grid CG 19 Aircraft destroyed! Sunderland
27.2.43.
19:31 Grid DS 29 Ship sunk! USS Long Island, 16300 tons
11.3.43
13:38 Grid EO 21 Ship sunk! USS Stephen Potter (Fletcher class), 2325 tons. Crew: 358. Crew lost: 243
13:46 Grid EO 21 Ship sunk! SS Abosso (Ceramic-type Ocean Liner), 14595 tons. Cargo: Troops. Crew: 644. Crew lost: 437
14:20 Grid EO 21 Ship sunk! SS Pskov (Liberty Cargo), 7335 tons. Cargo: Aircraft. Crew: 57. Crew lost: 32
14:41Grid EO 21 Ship sunk! SS Joshua W. Alexander (Liberty Cargo), 7336 tons. Cargo: Trucks. Crew: 46. Crew lost: 12
14:55Grid EO 21 Ship sunk! SS Empire Kingfisher (Turbine Tanker), 10761 tons. Cargo: Aviation fuel. Crew: 45. Crew lost: 15
1.4.43.
03:06 Patrol results
Crew losses: 1 dead
Ships sunk: 6
Aircraft destroyed: 2
Patrol tonnage: 58652 tons

USS LONG ISLAND
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3700/longisland1.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8259/patrolmap2.jpg

U-103, Patrol 1, Report 1
 

Lt.z.s. Walter Harländer
U-103, IXB, "die Elster"
2. Flottille, Wilhelmshaven
Orders: Patrol AL32

Statusbericht 17.7.1940

7.7.1940
A Norwegian 1800 BRT Küstenmotorschiff sunk in grid AN31 with one G7e, course 125, speed 7 knots. AZ pistol, depth 3 meters in 15 m/s winds. The range to the target was 700 meters, the AOB at impact time 90 degrees.

17.7.1940
At 0235 hours a Revenge class Schlachtschiff sailing in a convoy torpedoed in grid AM01 with two G7e's, course 45, speed 8 knots. AZ pistol, depth 2 meters in 2 m/s winds. The range to the target was 1600 meters, the AOB at impact time 90 degrees. Bow tubes couldn't be used as turning the boat would have been risky because the escorts were too close, so stern tubes were used shooting from inside the convoy. The shots were aimed at the bow and stern gun turrets. Both torpedoes hit were intended and secondary explosions on the stern turrets were observed on the periscope immediately after the torpedo hit.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2720/sh3revenge.png

Later explosions were heard in the Zentrale at 0237. The ship is assumed a sure sinking. Incredibly the ship was travelling inside a large convoy of 4 escorts and 4 columns of 4 ships each, making only 8 knots as were the merchants of the column. Such a slow speed for a capital ship must have meant that the battleship was somehow very badly damaged - or the Admiralty is insane.

Escorts didn't notice us. Clear, visibility 9 km, wind 2 m/s from 323 degrees. We are now surfaced, reloading and trying to get into position for a second attack. 21 torpedoes left.

Harländer