U47 - Lt.z.S. Willi Hartmann - 9th patrol - July. 1940 050130 - Wilhelmshafen

Ready to depart on Patrol 9. Patrol 8 was rather confusing. We were assigned a patrol area just west of the Shetlands. However, on our way there we were instructed to support Operation Juno, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau's foray against the Allied withdrawal convoys from Northern Norway. We proceeded almost North to the Vestfjord with a good hope of intercepting some fat convoys but nothing essential turned up.

Proceeded down to the Western inlet of Scapa Flow. Finally, a fat target. The battleship HMS Rodney accompanied by a V&W destroyer and a Southampton class cruiser heading towards the Scapa inlet. While proceeding surfaced on AK to achieve a good position we were discovered and had to dive, the V&W firing and turning towards us. When we finally had him down Rodney and the cruiser had started maneuvering violently. The cruiser got away but Rodney was hit twice by our torpedoes. The cruiser proceeded at max. speed towards Scapa. As Rodney was lying half-submerged, but still not registered as sunk, it suddenly disappeared. The cruiser, too. So, no credit for HMS Rodney. We returned for home, going through the Orkney/Shetland gap, bagging a couple of enemies on our way.

Our present assigned patrol area is the south-western part of the Rockalls.

HMS Rodney with its consorts in the far distance:

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U47 - Lt.z.S. Willi Hartmann - 9th patrol - July. 1940 200004 - North-Western Approaches

Proceeded directly towards our assigned patrol area - The Rockalls. Nothing happened there. Set course Eastwards to see if we could ambush something in the North-Western Approaches. Was informed of a large eastbound convoy by the BdU, managed to make contact and pass it.

In the bad weather we were able to pierce the escort screen from its starboard side. Halleluja, in the middle of it a battleship, probably Renown or Repulse. However, we had torpedoed two ships already so the escorts were now upon us. While evading and defending ourselves the convoy got away. At one time we had to descend to max. depth which at the place was no more than approx. 60 meters. We got out of it and restarted the pursuit. That battleship shall go down!

We have now achieved a good position on the convoy's forward starboard side again. We are at the narrowest point of the Approaches, not very deep here. There is a Black Swan in the front of the convoy, much of the escort has been diminished by our earlier contacts - see the sheet. Weather is excellent for our venture, choppy seas and the light at its darkest for this time of they year.

Here goes!

Excellent position:

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...7/bd3fffcf.jpg


Much of the escort has already been put out play by us:

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...7/f8f80eaf.jpg


This one is going down!:


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U47 - Lt.z.S. Willi Hartmann - 9th patrol - July 1940 251600 - Wilhelmshafen

Safely back in Wilhelmshafen. Well, the battleship didn't "go down". I believe we had mr. Murphy onboard. First, I should have learned by now not to use the G7e on magnetic fuze in choppy seas. It pre-ignited after a few hundred meters. The second one, with impact pistol, hit a small-fry freighter that came between. At that time the Black Swan was warned and approached us fast. The third torpedo missed as it, it was HMS Revenge, had started maneuvering. I disregarded the approaching Black Swan and continued at max submerged speed towards the battleship. A fast G7 finally did it from less than 700 meters. I turned the boat around and also gave it the last one from the aft tube. Good hit! No more torps and, as it was, our close encounter with the major ship and the Black Swan had them destroy both of our periscopes. No vision and no weapons, I went for the deep, which was about 90 meters. With the choppy seas and a lot of other sonar confusion around the large convoy should give us a chance. Not to speak of a damaged battleship to take care of.

The Black Swan didn't hang around for long. When we surfaced we followed the convoy eastwards for a while to see if there was any sign of a heavily damaged battleship. Nothing to see so I turned around to take the safest road home. No weapons (except the deck gun, of course) and no under-the-surface vision called for a minimum of heroics. I chose a long northward swing away from land.

Nevetheless, when we encountered a large freighter in the Orkney/Shetland gap the temptation was too great. We started intercepting it with the intention of using the gun. We had only just started firing when an Elco MTB turned up in the horizon. Diving was an instinctive reaction which I regretted right away but as it approached fast I could not countermand the order. We turned and started following the freighter submerged, homing on its sonar signals. Then, at a time when MTB was out of contact we made a quick surfacing, manned the guns and started up on the freighter. The MTB was not far away but now we were ready for it.

I should have learnt from last time, when we lost a crew member in the exchange of fire, but this time we expedited it without such misfortunes. It was a tough one, though. They usually are. At the time we were safely through the gap we had an Ore Carrier to our credit, too.

Approx. 32.000 tons in total, then. With the Revenge it would have been 70.000. According to the B-dienst it made it back home.

Oh, yes: 25% Hull Integrity upon arrival in Wilhelmshafen......:)

Thank you!

Fred

U124 - Lt.z.S. Willi Hartmann - 11th patrol - Jan 1941 231600 - off Lorient

Just left Lorient, our new base, with an almost completely new boat, the U124 - a Type IXB. It has only had 3 patrols before so practially just run-in. The torpedo load-out is impressive compared to my earlier boat. Also has a twin-20 mm FLAK and a 37 mm gun on the aft deck. My whole crew has followed me over, having just had to add a few new ones to cater for the handling of the somewhat larger boat. Two of my officers are soon to receive their own boats.

Patrol 10 was quite succesful compared to the one before. This mission was also a transfer leg to our new base in Lorient. Went through the Orkney/Shetland gap and hit a terrible weather which lasted for the rest of the mission. We hang around the area between the Rockalls and the North-Western Approaches for several days. Then messages started coming in on an eastbound convoy that had already been set upon by a wolfpack.

We picked up its accoustic signature in extremely bad visibility, 200-600 meters, and just had to let it roll over us. After having hit a couple of merchants what pops up out of the heavy rain....?....HMS Rodney! And not an escort in sight. We had him on our port side, going in the opposite direction. I made a sharp starboard turn and gave him a stern shot at minimum distance. No fiddling now, a fast G7 on impact pistol. When it hit him we had already continued the turn and started lining him up along our bow tubes. When stabilized I gave him two more. Before the third torpedo hit him the others had done the trick.

From there on there was sort of anti-climax. While reloading two Large Merchants passed near by and we set off a casual pursuit to catch them when ready. In the meantime we were chased off once by escorts (Flowers..), but lost them fairly quickly - in an outboard turn we surfaced when they were out of sight and set off at max. surface speed, dispensing of battery loading for the time. With that weather they had real problems detecting us and we could outrun them.

70.000 tons inclusive of the HMS Rodney. And some Brilliants added to my Knight's Cross...:)

Our mission area is now BF17.

U-124 - beautiful boat:

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...7/8a04e45f.jpg

Well, that was that. A CTD is one thing - a TCC a totally different thing. Saved missions, modifications, upgrades, JoneSoft - all gone. Do I want to start up again? Maybe I should wait till I get a new computer - mine is 8 years old, even if with a few upgrades. I do need some better capacity to run the movies made in the mission creator, too. I'll have to see - for now I am comforting myself with a simple mission around Malta - without any trimmings.