New boat - new missions...
1 Attachment(s)
Patrol 1 - U-531 - IXC/40 - Leu z.S. Krause - Oct 10700 1943 - Lorient U-boat base |
No patch=no knights cross.
Hello chaps!
Just finished my first patrol in u-111 and scored 96k tonnes sank including a revenge class bb. Got home and no medal. Not even IC2. Playing through steam so cant.patch it.. Roll on my birthday... Good hunting everyone! |
Patrol 2 - U-531 - IXC/40 - Leu z.S. Krause - Nov 171013 1943 - Bay of Biscay |
=War Diary=
U-109 (IXB) 1st Flotilla Kptlt. Egon Roth Wilhelmshaven, Germany Freitag, 3-08-1940 =3:32 PM= Have just returned from patrolling NW/N of Ireland in grids AM51, AM52, and AM02. After a relatively short patrol (12 days total), have managed to sink 7 enemy ship with torpedoes and cannon fire for a grand total of 43,261 GRT. The highlight of this patrol however (and the one for which my crew and I received medals from Adm. Doenitz himself was the sinking of the large passenger liner S.S. Highland Brigade. We received word of a nearby convoy as we were patrolling in AM52, the report told of a Convoy to our west most likely making its way for the relative safety of the shallow waters and large number of patrolling Destroyers present in the so called "Irish Sea". We immediately made our way west, but due to heavy storm weather we could not make visual contact with the convoy, however upon submerging under silent running to "put an ear to the ground" so to speak, my sonar operator (Warrant Officer Karl Creutz) whom wholly deserved the Iron cross 2C he received for his superb work on this patrol), immediately informed me he detected a large number of screws ahead of us just off the starboard bow (about 1-2 o'clock) and they were VERY close, so we altered course to intercept. I immediately raised my periscope and after a couple minutes I began to see ships appear out of the storm Identifying the first one I saw as a Destroyer I lowered my periscope and against what seems like long odds, he drifted harmlessly past our port side (his mistake). once I was sure he was behind me I ventured raising my periscope...and there she was. Looming out of the fog off our port bow was the biggest ocean liner I had ever seen, right in the middle of a convoy was this enormous sea cow of a passenger liner, and she was just plodding along at 9 knots as unaware of us as could be. by a quick estimate I assumed she was around 400 meters away and approaching, and we had 6 fish hot and ready to go. Making a quick decision I ordered both rudders hard over to port and lined up our shot, once the bow was at the appropriate angle I ordered all 4 bow shots released and waited, what seems like moments later all 4 struck her, one just behind the foremost area of the bow, one beneath the bridge, one bettween the funnels and one just aft of the funnels. Immediately I ordered a dive to 90 meters to try and avoid detection and once my sonar officer informed me the liner's engines had gone silent I ordered a slightly circular course to stay near the Liner incase further action against her was necessary. Perhaps god was on our side that day, or perhaps it was dumb luck I do not know, but somehow the hunting escorts (by now well aware of our presence amongst their "charges") did not detect us. Hours later the entirety of the convoy had apparantly passed by (according to sonar) so we came to periscope depth to have a look around, and lo and behold there was the liner, she was dead in the water bobbing uselessly like an oversized bath toy. Since the forward torpedoes had yet to be reloaded (the boat spent the last few hours under silent running) only tubes V and VI in the stern were loaded. Knowing this I ordered U-109 to come around to the port side of the liner (where we had hit her before), and fired off tubes V and VI into her, they both struck her mid ships, and about 2 minutes later she finally rolled over and slipped under. The rest of the Patrol was nothing special, par for the course really, attaining kills over a Small Merchant, 2 Coastal Merchants, a C2 Cargo, and two C3 Cargo vessels, before making our way safely north of Scotland and back to Wilhelmshaven yesterday, the 7th of March. For now we shall rest and refit and go back to sea whenever BdU orders us back out, if we keep having such successful patrols I do not doubt that those "tommies" will be begging to surrender to our forces by next year, or the year after if they are stubborn. ~Hope that wasnt TOO long, but I've never gotten a 'liner before:arrgh!:~ |
september 1941 Patrol21
I am currently in command of U-123 a type IXB u boat. We set sail from the resupply vessel based at Cadiz called Thalia on 06/09/41. We had received heavy damage and 2 casualties on the last patrol from a surprise strafing. He came out of the sun!
Within hours of setting sail we met enemy shipping in CG94 and CG86 and I dispatched a Small Freighter and a Coastal Freighter. We were buzzed by aircraft regularly. The allies have definitely increased air cover to the point where I struggle to recharge the batteries fully. We were following the Gibraltar - Liverpool convoy route back to Lorient when we just happened across a convoy visually. I was in a rubbish position and the best shot I had was a 11800m steamer shot to a modern tanker. I fired three scoring one hit at the bow, (no congratulations please I use the automatic targeting). She was sunk within the hour. The Escorts didnt have a clue and never found me. Theres a secret operation being planned for the Type IXs called "drumbeat" and I have orders to return to Lorient asap. The americans may join in. I have returned to course. That s where Im at the moment in the game. |
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Patrol 2 - U-531 - IXC/40 - Leu z.S. Krause - Nov 270347 1943 - NE of The Rockalls |
New computer, new command, new paint job, new lease on life with the Grey Wolves. :arrgh!: TL;DR warning.
Assigned U-53, Patrol one was a standard shakedown cruise in the North Sea. Spent maybe 5 days at sea training the crew to dive, crash dive, surface, load, unload, gun loading, AA tactics on blimps (Okay,..I can imagine, right?) Anyways, We are sent out to patrol the northen end of the Irish sea, and we arrive on station four days before war breaks out,...not that my crew officially knew anything, anyways. Sonar contact picks up a merchant ship. We surface and plot an intercept in the guise of needing a bearing back to Germany. It's a deep sea trawler and I notice he's almost too deep in the water. Ordering a boarding party, we find a number of Jueden on their way to...someplace. Half tempted to sink the trawler, I tell him to drop his...cargo off and not report my position, claiming I would personally find the captain if he did.... WAR! After a number of semi-confusing messages from BdU and others, we begin our official mission. With a bit of luck, we managed to sink a Large Merchant for ~10k tonnes. Fuel and no contacts demand we return home, though after we managed to sneak up o na destroyer and sink her. Patrol 2.....Failed. A storm hid a tiny island west of Scotland and we ran aground...Limping home, we shore up for repairs and relaxation.......after I Answer to the Furher personally... Patrol 3. After..insperation from the Leader to ensure that I take care of the boat in a much more responsible manner, we go around Scotland and slink into the Irish Sea, much more carefully this time. Bagging another large Merchant for another ~10k, my lookouts spot a search plane. Crash diving, we swiftly slink away from the area and head towards Liverpool. Sonar contact on a convoy and I plot an intercept. In position, perhaps with an hour before daybreak, and underwater, I watch as the lead destroyer passes without picking me up. Good, all is well. Then he turns around and does a search pattern. Lowering the scope, I stop the screws and tell the men to be silent. Sonar tells me he has turned and I rish rasing the scope. He's moving away at speed...Perhaps a friendly U-boat? Or just weird British tactics,...Half an hour goes by...I start to make out the silouets of large merchants, tankers, and a battle...wait,..A battleship!? Can't be!...Lets get closer. Risking a brisk pace of 3.5 knots, I move into a more favorable position and raise the scope again. A triple check of the recognition book, as well as my Weapons Officer confirming, we spot a Nelson Class ship...Distinct but we wanted to know which one in particular. Unable to tell, though Suspecting Nelson herself, I order a salvo of tubes one and four launched at a range of 1750 meters. Not risking a dude or defect with the magnetics, as I do not trust them yet, Impact pistols fire. Two hits for two. A swift scan shows no escorts approaching, and the Nelson has slowed down. Fearing she will not sink, I fire the remaining torpedoes from the fore tubes. Again two more impacts. Certain she is doomed, I flood the tanks and take us deep....or as deep as I can, 55 meters with another 12 below me. Silent running and turning away....PING! PING! PING! Flank speed, rudder hard right! In the chaos, hwoever, Fritz also put a full dive on the planes. We bottom out in seconds, though avoid the ashcans. Ordering damage crews to ensure flooding, if any (none) is taken care of, I try something risky. Rasing to periscope depth, and after an annoyed slap on the head of Fritz, I slowly slink away from the British Hunter. Ping...ping....ping...PING PING! Wait for it...wait, steady lads, helm hard left, depth 55 meters! Flank speed! Unfortunantly, the crap that the Brits dropped blasted my stern to hell, diesels damages, batteries damaged...but all functional. Damage repairs get the flooding under control. We bottom out as flooding in the aft crew room takes hold, though the men get ahead on that swift enough. Splashes! I hear In a hushed shout. Luckily, the British had the wrong depth or the wrong spot, as all missed, even if they rattled the cooks cutlery a bit. As the damage team gets the electric engines fixed, and all flooding stopped and pumping, I wait for the next ashcan run. It's closer. Sliding to periscope depth, I order the stern tube, only remaining filled tube, at present, set to impact and a fast screw. It will be risky...With some clever manouvering I get the British behind me. Raising the scope, I open the rear tube and fire!....NO! It was too far ahead! He turns on me. Flank speed, rudder hard right, depth 55 meters! After perhaps three or four depthcharge runs, the rear tube is reloaded. Periscope depth! Tube five, fast screw, impact pistol! Zero gyro, FIRE! At a range of 460 meters, the eel swims as fast as it's steam engine will go. My weapons oficer counts down Five, four, three, two, one, ze-boom..bwau-bvroooom!!!! I watch as the entire crew ducks as the warship's magazine explodes, taking the bow of the destroyer off from the rest. Now, it's been an hour, maybe three, since the rest of the convoy took off...However, I decide not to surface just yet. Flank speed to 60 meters, course 000. Reducing speed to 2.5 knots, I order silent running and we do a swift circle. Two warships, based on screw sounds, and I return north. We avoid the second and third destroyer, miraculously...and return to port as swift as possible. Upon return, the Furer himself, al lthe way from Berlin is awaiting me to present a medal to me. Now awaiting further orders. |
After my 15th Patrol and having done rather well with my VIIB U-46, when I returned to my home base at St Nazaire early in 1942, BDU wanted to retire me to a shore based appointment while my boat would be withdrawn from active duty to spend its remaining life training new crews in the Baltic. I didn't like this idea so I applied for a transfer to the 2nd Flotilla at Lorient! Now I have a Type IXB boat number U-105 and am most pleased to report that my loyal crew from U-48 have moved joined me along with a few new recruits.
U-105 is a much larger boat and can cruise economically at 9 Knots. We are also carrying a much bigger load out of torpedoes and have bigger guns than our old boat. Our first orders are to cross the Atlantic and patrol the approaches to New York - I have heard that the American ships are much bigger than those of the British and that it is almost like a 'Turkey Shoot' over there because ships often cruise with their navigation lights on silhouetted against a coast where there is no blackout... |
With more private "Me" Time on my hands I've once again started to play SH3 again.
Decided to Launch myself a totally fresh campaign and are starting out in March 1941. (Picked March as this is the month now, and 1941 because I had got to mid 1943 before now but didn't want to roll myself too far Back) Commander's name: Bruno Kerstan Ship/Boot Detail: U107, Type IXB, Based 2nd Flotilla, Lorient Skipper's Log:- BK: Due to brilliant results in training I've been given one of the shiny NEW IX type boats. I am to command U-107. We are due to sail on March 1st 1941. Weather looks good for departure, although I hear we've been assigned patrol Grid in the FF Sector. Forecast for that area is currently looking grim with Strong E'rly's predicted. 1/3/1941 Set sail as predicted. Full load of torpedoes, including a handful of the new black ones, which supposedly have a better warhead and improved magnetic fuses. We'll See. NAV predicts that we should arrive in our patrol grid in around Ten days. 8/3/1941. Radio's been buzzing with activity. Big battles going on 1,000's of KM to the NE of us. Sad news also breaking from BDu, with reports saying that Prien hasn't made contact for days and is therefore presumed lost. :wah: 9/3/1941 Made our revenge on the british by taking down two passing freighter's we spotted close to the Canary Islands. A Quantity of Deck Gun shells were used and on the larger freighter, we gave it the C.D.G by using a torpedo, with the impact setting. Worked well! Following the delays due to the engagement's now predicted we'll reach our grid by 14/3/1941. 14/3/1941 We've now undertaken our patrol of the assigned grid and are now barreling back north again. Considerd a look into freetown, but decided against it when we heard distant hi-speed screws through the hydrophones which are clearly working! We are now looking at heading to the Bristol channel and Irish sea as we feel our fuel will be more than enough to patrol this area. Messages from our sister ships show that both U105 & U106 have been busy! Good for them! ENDS |
North Atlantic / Southwest of Rockallbank
8 Oct. 40, 0115, Qu. A L 8261, Wx: E7, Sea 6, cloud cover, <1000 mb, limited visibility. Detected HMS Ark Royal (91), hiding in outbound convoy headed for Canada - 18 vessels in 3 columns, including 2 American Ore Merchants. Ark Royal probably, looking to join Force H, which is suspected to be operating in the North Atlantic. Convoy also, covered by HMS Bonaventure (31) and one A&B Destroyer.
While shadowing convoy, was able to get as close as 1500m during night and 4500m during day. I'm approaching the convoy from the port side. Submerged attack against HMS Ark Royal in the middle column, with a spread of two, scattering angle 1°, G7e, Pi-1 (G7H), K-b, Contact Pistol, Running depth 6.5m; Distance to target 580m, Inclination 80° to port, Target speed 6 kn, Firing angle 005°. Both torpedoes are hits after 38 sec.! Just before firing a second spread of two torpedoes at a South-African Tanker, I have to dive from an approaching merchant of the port column. When back to periscope depth, the aircraft carrier has disappeared - I notice debris and survivors in the water. As I am gathering the torpedo firing data of a large merchant in the stbd column, I have to dive again from an approaching tanker of the middle column. Too late, the tanker ramms the uboat, fortunetly, without serious damage. The stern torpedo aimed at HMS Bonaventure, which is trailing the convoy, understeers and runs underneath the cruisers forecastle: G7e, Pi-1 (G7H), K-b, Contact Pistol, Running depth 4.5m; Distance to target 540m, Inclination 90° to stbd, Target speed 5 kn, Firing angle 020°. This concludes the first round of this convoy battle... |
I died with my crew in the Bay of Biscay.:wah:
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Set sail on our maiden voyage from Wilhelmshaven on Friday, March 1st 1940 with Leutnant ZS Gerhardt Johlke. Our type VIIB is assigned a patrol in the Skagerrak. Sail north in fine weather and spot nothing other than a couple of German ships.
After 24 hours patrolling, we're about to head west when our watch spots an unlit vessel. It's a little tramp steamer heading west and sure enough it's British. She's dispatched to the bottom quickly for our first sinking. We're now going to head north-west for the Northern Isles. |
"Come to the mittelmeer", they said.
"It'll be fun." they said. For the life of me, I can't remember why we thought it was a good idea to transfer to the 29th fleet to help out the macaronis. I liked to think it was because I was lending a hand to my old friend Erwin and his Afrika Korps, but could just as easily been something I said out of context back at fleet HQ. Either way La Spezia is our home for the time being. This is our 3rd patrol here and our 16th overall. We departed La Spezia at 10:21 am, the morning of June, 18, 1942. While we were in base, after our last outing, the naval armaments office added a few upgrades to our boat (U99, too bad about Kretschmer)and we are just looking them over now. The most important of all (besides some of the prototype torpedos) is the new advance in electro-engineering, the Fumo-29b radar. Previously, radar was too large and bulky to have on anything other than a heavy cruiser on up, or a land installation. It looks so small and unworthy and I am doubtful, but maybe it will surprise us and prove itself. As we left port I noticed something different. Maybe it's nothing, but it seems like a bad omen. In France, even Norway, the navy band plays us off. Out here in Italy, no music for u-boats. We learned a few things about our new radar set. It worked fairly well, helped us keep track of a few friendlies in the dark, so we feel if we had to rely on it we could, and, it doesn't like salt water. Who knew? Ok, so we can't use it unless the sea is reasonably calm, or else the thing shorts out. Fine, we still have our ears. One of the things that makes me happy this patrol is that my contacts at HQ managed to secure me a consignment of the new zaunkönig "acoustic seeking" torpedos, 4 in fact. 3rd time in a row he's done it. I don't care how or whose strings are being pulled, just as long as they keep coming in. I have found them to be immensely useful and am reluctant to end a patrol until the last one is fired... June 21. Patrol is complete with no shipping sighted. Totally routine. Decided to check out Malta. The last time we were in the area of Valletta, we left behind 4 sunken warships and 2 tankers. The place is probably getting a bad name, but I know a few tricks. Afternoon, June 21. Malta. Through the lens I see pretty much what I was expecting. Apparently the Tommie skippers had been spoken to about shoddy seamanship because now the heat is on. 5 DDs I count. My sonar man tells me about 3 more outside of visual range. Nope, not today I think. Even 4 seekers would not sink enough of them before the others finished the job. I have nightmares about this... "Helm, set new course". "Keep us close to the island, but get us out of here". "Jawohl, Herr Kaleun". Cursing our misfortune, we leave Malta behind, in search of shipping elsewhere. June 23, 12:18pm, lunchtime. Our 1WO spotted smoke on the water. Bright sunny day, flat seas, winds calm. Deck gun weather. Perfect. A slow smile brightens my face. I head below and work out the charts with the OberSteuermann and before long we have the range and speed for intercept. "Prepare for surface action, gunnery crew to the bridge". In a clear moment, the 3 man crew dashes up the ladder, and down to the foredeck, quickly strapping themselves on to the gun. Loading the High explosive ammunition they await the order to fire. On the bridge, with the 1WO, I raise my binoculars and scan the enemy ship for evidence I can use against it. Looks like... coastal merchant, 2000 tons. Greek. Good. A target. What's that? There on the after deck. A gun! Great, she's armed we can claim 'self defense' -a snicker. Decks loaded with crates, don't really care what's in 'em. "Range?" "3000m, sir". "Gun crew!" "Aim for their bridge." "Try to put their helm and radio out of action". "Let's cause some confusion over there." Feuer frei! The boatswain rips at the firing lanyard and with a roar, the 88mm cuts loose with the first HE shell. "Counting...3, 2, 1 Hit!" "Nice shot!" "Quickly, a few more while the range is good!" Our luck is good and our aim is true, and as a result, we got a little sloppy. No worries, I assure the chief engineer blithely, as he directs the damage control parties, I will gloss over this in the war diary... Seems some of those Greek sailors were paying attention in naval gunnery class and they managed, much to my chagrin, to return some of our "medicine". Fortunately for us, the damage was more severe to my pride, rather than our hull. Dashing back to the bridge I survey the scene. We are laying on some speed now, pulling ahead. The merchant is on fire and his bridge is smashed, but his turret still works and I guess the helm wheel is not on the bridge, because he is still taking evasive action. Through the UZO, I see he is 1300m at 210 degrees. "Open tube 5, set 4m, aim...and...loss!" Normally the seeker would only be sensitive to targets going 12 knots or faster and this guy is only doing 9, but he's starting to lay on the speed, and he's on a bearing favorable to our attack anyway at this point. Just as expected our seeker does its job and slams into the props and rudder of the merchant as he tried to turn a broadside on us to keep shooting. Raising the glasses, I see the plume of water jetting up the side, aft, of the merchant, glittering as it falls back down. Soon fire, smoke. Was pretty sure I saw the gun crew get blasted from their mount but was too hard to confirm with the confusion. Within minutes, an oily slick and a few burned crates are all that's left. After the damage is repaired and the spare externals hoisted in readiness, we resume course towards Gibraltar. June 24th, 6am, surfaced. Up enjoying some fresh air, while we can, because, well...you never know... W/T message sir. Cargo ship in the area, be on the lookout for opportunity. Worked it over with the Navigation officer again. "Take us to periscope depth"! Clips pulled, vents closed, crew piling into the forward torpedo compartment to hasten the sinking, U99 slips beneath the waves, until the surface is peaceful and quiet again. Our hydrophone guy has a good set of ears and once below, has our bearing worked out for us. Sounds big. Heavy. Engine labouring even though the seas are fairly calm. I ask for a weather report. Calm enough for the deck gun? Yes, comes the reply. Looking back into the control room from the radio shack, I still see the signs of our last encounter. Broken glass, missing bulbs, a few blown bolts. Pretty sure I can hear a dripping coming from somewhere, but nevermind that now, how's that freighter doing? "Range, 4500, bearing red 340, speed, 7 knots" "We'll stay under" "open tubes 2 and 3", set 9 meters, standby to fire" I hop up the ladder and take my seat at the captain's saddle. Up scope. Papenburg shows 13.5m. Let's have a look. Eye to the lens I see a C2 class merchant edging into range. Greek. Aft turret. Again seems to be cargo. Range, 2950. Not yet. Just a little closer. The angle looks off, and if I fire these fish now, they almost certainly will not hit. I study the target a little more to kill some time to go. Looks old, worn, a workhorse. Probably why the engine is working so hard even though the seas are pretty nice today. And those stacks on her decks, she must weigh in at 6000 tons, easily. Choice morsel for the lack of success lately. Oh my! what time is it? Better check the range... 2100 meters and closing, bearing 350, solution positive for firing. "Tube 2, fire!" Waits 5 seconds "Tube 3, fire!" The boat shudders as the fish leave their tubes, and the diving officer has to put on the trim so that the bows won't break the surface, giving our position away. Down scope. Back down the ladder. Sharing an earphone with the hydrophones guy, I notice his cheek is rather scratchy and he has an odd smell, likely the colibri that he got from the watchman. Listening... waiting... counting down the minutes... Times up! first fish... impact! Second fish... impact! Checking the observation scope because it's closer, I get the lens up in time to watch an abandon ship operation in progress. Note time and position in the log, so that when feasible, we will radio that information to help facilitate the rescue of the survivors... "Helm, resume course to Gibraltar". "We'll stay under for now". |
^ Very nice :cool:
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Current campaign
Part 2.
June 25, 1942. 13:46hrs. Seas, moderate. Sky, medium fog. We're submerged at 40 meters. Not long after we left our last victim, we had surfaced to refresh the air, and because the weather rushed up in a sudden squall, I had decided it was better to find smoother sailing under the waves. Checking the map, we found ourselves at grid CH76, when our soundman caught a tramp steamer in his hydrophones. Going to periscope depth and taking a look through the "pencil" we see a lone, small merchantman, of about 2400 tons. British. Probably on his way to Gibraltar. Angle and range are O.K., so with a bit of careful plotting, we work out a more favorable solution. Torpedo depth setting, 6m. Range 2.5km. AoB-66 to port. "Open tube 4" Just..a..few..more..seconds.. "Fire!" This time I watch at the scope and time the run, until I see the effects of our torpedo strike, confident that in these seas, our scope will remain undetected. With a single, massive explosion, the torp strikes home just under the midships. Engine and boiler rooms. Like gutting a fish, the critical parts were instantly torn out, and with neither time for an SOS call or evacuation by lifeboat, the steamer heels over and sinks without a trace. June 26, 1942. 10:00hrs. Seas, dead calm. Sky clear, winds slight breeze from the south east, visibility, perfect. Surfaced. Map reference, CG96, close to land. Given our location, I take the precaution of manning the surface weapons, with the explicit warning to be watchful of aircraft. Expecting my orders to be obeyed, I head back down below to my 'office', to compile my reports. I'm barely 15 minutes into my paperwork, when a jarring blast sends me against the writing table. Near miss, but not by much... "What the hell!?" Climbing through the hatch to the control room, I lock eyes with the Chief. We trade concerned glances, and I continue on up to the bridge. Poking my head through the upper conning tower hatch, I see our 1WO crouching behind the dubious safety of the tower bulkhead. "What the hell, man!" "I said watch out for aircraft!". Coming out fully on to the bridge I too duck below the the tower structure. Not that I think it will protect me, I just want to be less of a target as now that I am forced to deal with this situation. Quickly scanning the skies I see 2 flights of 2 British hurricane fighter/bombers. One set outbound, obviously the ones who just attempted to bomb us, and one set inbound, looking to fix the aim of the first two. Our AA guys are a bit new at the job. Still getting used to firing at airplanes from a tiny submarine platform. Over and over we hear the jack hammering of the AA guns as they swivel and fire at the British fighters. We've gone through about 4 magazines when the lower platform AA gunner hit his first target. Looks like through the cockpit. No fire, no smoke, no fuel tank explosion. I raise the glasses to see the stricken fighter pull a snap roll to the right, and fall silently into the sea. I think to myself 'I'm gonna put that guy down for a medal when all this is over. If I remember his name...' When all of a sudden, a sharp blast grabs my attention, and I look up in time to see the upper tower AA guy bag his first kill. The Brit was flying just ahead and our guy must have tagged him in the fuel tank, because he just came apart in a massive explosion. Close enough off our starboard bow, that we could feel the heat from the wreckage, as the main fuselage, minus the wings and tail, fell in a crumpled heap, into the sea. Looks like I have at least 2 new medals to award. Funny thing, but I don't recall these crewmen. I can't remember them before today... Seeing that two of their wingmen got shot down so quickly, the remaining fighters left the area. Within 2 minutes, the sky is clear and the sea is peaceful. Which means they're flying off to get reinforcements. Keep an even sharper lookout now. Expect to see aircraft and destroyers. I look at the watch officer, "I'm going below to finish my reports. Keep the speed at maximum so we can get out of this area a.s.a.p. Give us 1 hour and if nothing else by then, dive." |
Bought the Farm
Alas, U-1009 went down with all hands on 6 Jan 1945, SW of Ireland, on Oblt. Fricke's 3rd patrol. It was a successful convoy attack, except for the getting-away part. Damn those Hedgehogs! :dead:
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Part 3.
Grid CG96, 50km east of Gibraltar, heading south. Midday. That itchy feeling I've come to rely upon suggested to me that maybe we should dive sooner than the hour time limit I originally ordered. Reducing to 1/3 ahead, our soundguy, Heinrich I think, picked up the sound of slow screws, closing from the left. Playing the wheel about the dial, he then tells me "contacts, sir, 3, fast screws, closing, bearing green 020". Ah, the welcoming committee that I was expecting a few minutes ago has show up to escort a lone frieghter into the Gibraltar staging area. Possibly to reload and head out to malta, or Alexandria, or who knows where really, but if I have my way, there is a destination for them already picked out...
Increasing speed it still takes us about twenty minutes to close the range and angle for attack, the three destroyers shadowing about 8km away. They have yet to notice us, but I'm willing to bet that as soon as we hit this merchant (totally unaware of our presence), they will move in at high speed to investigate. That moment will give us our chance with the remaining 3 seeking torpedos. Forward tubes 2 and 4, and aft tube 5 are loaded with these technical wonders, and I am eager to set them loose. Tube 3 on the other hand, has the early compressed air torpedo loaded. The one that leaves a visible wake on the surface. No time to take it out and swap with another, I will just have to make do. Up scope. Take a look. Coastal merchant, 1990 tons. British. Favorable solution to fire. Speed, roughly 6 kts. "Weapons officer, open tube 1, set depth 6 meters, standby to fire" The loading crew cranks open the outer door for tube one, with the PO standing by to squeeze the firing handle. "Tube one, fire!" U99 rumbles a bit as the torpedo starts its fateful journey, with the LI telling the guy at the trimming panel, "pump 1000L forward", "maintain trim". "Bow planes, down 3 degrees." Taking a chance, I keep the scope raised to watch our progress, telling Heinrich to keep an ear out for those escorts, and if he notices any change in their disposition, to tell me right away. Checking the chronograph, I watch the seconds tick down until the last moment, when our torpedo glides under the merchant hull. With a singular explosion, a jet of water blasts up midships and fully engulfs the steamer, still completely unaware that there are sharks in these waters... Expecting to see a ship sink more or less in half, I am surprised to see it still making headway. Not as quickly as before, but still going forward. "How about those destroyers?" I ask the soundman. "No change, sir, constant speed". Taking a look through the lens, I now see the effects of our strike. Nose down, forecastle awash, the merchant is sinking. No time to abandon ship, but looks like plenty of time to radio an SOS. "Sir!, 3 contacts, speed increasing, bearing green 015, range, 7km and closing". Yep, that got their attention. "Slow to 1/3". "Open tubes 2 and 4, get our star performers warmed up". Swinging the scope around to the bearing supplied by our soundman, I up the magnification on the lens to see a Tribal class destroyer (with 2 hunt 1 destroyers as outriders), shear off suddenly and start closing the distance to our position, not the one radioed by the sinking ship. Like he spotted our scope... "Tube 1 ready to fire, sir". Informs the weapons officer. It looks like a normal torpedo will work for this one, the math is encouraging, so rather than fire a more valuable seeker, I quickly change to tube one. Still a prototype, but one of the standard wakeless models with better range and yield. Lining up our shot on the lead escort, I send the fish from tube 1. on its way. By this time one of the Hunt destroyers had sped into the area where the merchant sank, and now turned around on us from another vector. Lining him up in the brackets, I order "tube 2, fire!" Quickly checking the status of the tribal destroyer, I notice with dismay that our angle is off now and there is no way we will hit. Nice going "captain", you just wasted 25,000 reichsmarks. The standard monosyllabic curse. I didn't want to, but I probably should have anyway... "Tube 4, fire!" Suddenly, a bang, and a scratchy, static-y sound from the earphones, when Heinrich tells me "tube 2 hit, sir". Angling the scope around, I see the hunt class destroyer is not closing quite as quickly as he'd been a few seconds ago, fire and smoke now coming from the afterdeck. "Oh yeah," I mutter to myself, "that's gonna make them mad..." Swinging the scope around to the right again, I catch it in time to see the tribal class get hit by the seeker from tube 4. Suddenly, the 3rd escort comes into view, to the right of us. Closer by the second, we don't have a lot of time for finesse with this shot. "Tube three, fire!" The compressed air torpedo leaves an agonizingly obvious trail of bubbles as it speeds towards the last Hunt 1 destroyer, now aware of our location, and heading to intercept at 20 kts. By this time, the first Hunt destroyer has gone under the waves, and the Tribal class is going down by the stern quite rapidly. "Weapons officer, get ready for tube 5, set depth 3 meters, raise the cover, standby..." Putting my eye back to the lens I see our lives flash in front. This may have been a mistake. When suddenly, totally unexpectedly in fact, we take out the third escort. Like a boxer landing the knockout punch into the left cheek of his opponent, our T1 slams into the forward quarter, right into the powder magazine. Squinting a bit, I am bit blinded by the flash as the whole front end of the enemy ship disappears in a massive fireball. Down scope. Coming down from the tower I take up a position at the charts table. With the navigator, we lay in an exit course. "Helm", I order, "take us down to 30 meters, ahead full, let's get out of here, we've done enough for today". Going back to my bunk I compile the results of our actions thus far. 9 units lost, 3 of them warships. Current patrol tonnage, 16,645. 2 aircraft shot down. Resuming patrol in the quadrant east of Gibraltar. |
part 4.
June 27, 1942, 07:21hrs, Grid: CH81, heading east.
Came upon a small British merchantman, worth about 2400 tons. Fully loaded, on his way west, likely into Gibraltar. All conditions conducive to surface attack, but decided not to overplay my hand, and dove to periscope depth. Textbook run out. Perfect shot, 1 hit, 1 kill. My torpedo weapons instructor would have been proud... June 27, 15:18hrs, Grid: CH58, heading east. Came upon a lone, British C2 cargo vessel. 6446 tons. Clear skies and seas, again, perfect weather for surface action, but decided to dive. Took them out with a hit from a T1 torp, fired from tube 2. We now have 3 eels left on board. A T2 wakeless loaded in tube 1, a TIV seeker in tube 5, and a T1 spare for tube 5. Damaged, the C2 cargo ship does not sink right away, and after about five minutes of observing the target from 2 km off, I give the order to surface, and finish them with the deck gun. The enemy ship spotted us when we broke the surface, and did what they could to lay in a ramming course, but with hardly any forward motion, it didn't amount to much. Our deck gun crew is pretty good at their job, and before long, the 6400 tonner is standing on its stern, flipping us off like a giant middle finger, as it slides down under the waves. June 28, 03:24 hrs. Grid: CH91. Early morning but with no light on the horizon yet, and with the weather and waves perfectly calm again today, I put the radar set on watch. Pretty soon the operator has some encouraging news. Confirmed by the bridge crew. Found another lone merchantman sailing along, not a care in the world. All that changed a few minutes later, after the last eel from tube 1, introduced itself... With fire and smoke now raising up into the sky, providing some kind of light, I then order the gun crew to finish this one as well. About 10 HE rounds it takes, and after the seas are quiet again, I head below to contact BdU. Date: June 28, 1942. Map reference, grid CH91 Time, 03:45 From: U-König To: BdU RE: Patrol report. Status: 2 aft torpedoes remaining Sunk 7 merchant, 3 warship and shot down 2 fighter-bombers. Total patrol tonnage, 27,556. Reply: "Return to base for some R&R, U-99, you've earned it". At the end of 16 patrols, U-99, under my command, has put down 93 cargo ships, 29 warships, and shot down 3 aircraft. Not bad for the underdogs... |
Okay, first career when I have a decent idea of what I'm doing. The basics:
Starting with U-27 (VIIB) 60% Realism (Fuel and other limits, but still have automatic targeting and the WO) Running GWX 3.0 and SH3 Commander. Only edit made with SH3C was to split the qualifications (Helmsman and Watch) on a double qualified petty officer (since double quals on a petty officer has no effect as I understand). Patrol 1. (August 1939) Shakedown cruise. Tooled around in the North Sea for a few days. Qualified a petty officer in radio and sonar. Patrol 2 (8/15 - 9/10) Sent to BF19. Moved up to observe traffic in the Dover straights as tensions grew and war was declared. Once all clear was given U-27 would move to deliver an early blow in Dover Harbor. A Southampton class cruiser (SH3C: HMS Southampton) was anchored outside the breakwater. Two torpedoes set for magnetic fired at her bow magazines and engines but the engine shot failed to detonate. A third torpedo set to impact finished her. With the shots fired just inside 5km the single ASW trawler had no chance of finding U-27. Once the alarms died down the harbor was infiltrated, though U-27 did bump the anti-sub net. A small merchant, and a floating dock went down as dawn approached. A small tanker was also hit and was assumed to be a navigational hazard in the making but it steadfastly refused to sink. The idea of surfacing and attacking the harbor with the deck gun was entertained but a dawn shot at the ASW trawler just missed as he saw the incoming torpedo. With the ASW trawler still circling the idea of using the deck gun was ruled out. After sneaking out U-27 moved East rounded into the Thames Estuary and claimed the biggest prize of the patrol. A 24,000 ton large troop transport at Southend. With 3 patrolling defenders and very dicey shot angles and with the idea of being caught this far inshore at daylight in the back of the Captain's mind. U-27 chose not to push its luck and moved back out to sea. The remainder of the patrol was spent off East Anglia attacking inshore traffic. With adequate weather conditions U-27 saw good success even only a very limited quantity of torpedoes left. Total tonnage: 121K, 10 total ships, 8 Merchant, 2 Warship. |
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