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Patrol 6, 9.5.40-12.6.40, 6 ships, 60k tons, Knights Cross and German Cross
No contacts for 11 days then the convoy described earlier with HMS Nelson. Attacked a convoy after that and took out an empire and coastal freighters and a passenger cargo. Later on we sank a lone tramp steamer and whale factory ship. I also attacked a coastal tanker but missed. I've got a feeling the torpedo went under it as it had a draft of only 4.5m and there was a bit of a sea. Am I correct in thinking in GWX torpedoes can travel at a minimum depth of 3m regardless of a shallower setting in the TDC?? |
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"Am I correct in thinking in GWX torpedoes can travel at a minimum depth of 3m regardless of a shallower setting in the TDC??"
Not to my knowledge but of course it's hard to know for certain. Without h.sie's mods the eels keep their depth pretty well and there are no surface runners. With h.sie one might actually rather wait for better weather than risk all of one's eels to fail in heavy seas. |
Commentary of the BdU to the KTB of "U-353" from 17.10.41 to 3.11.41
1.) The lack of other U-boats hindered an efficient attack on the HG convoy. 2.) The heavy seas made depth keeping difficult while attacking. 3.) Torpedo failures hindered success despite two good approaches to the convoy. 4.) For the first war patrol of the crew and commander in difficult weather the result of two ships for 6300 GRT is adequate. |
Thanks :up: My memory is getting worse - thought I could remember reading that somewhere a number of years ago; obviously not :oops:
Very pleased with myself tonight (what is they say about pride again.......?). Latched onto a convoy and sank 11 ships in 3 separate attacks. Some things have finally clicked into place regarding escort evasion and attack positioning for convoys. I'm not saying I'm good - I'm not. Especially as it's only July 1940. But during that patrol I can finally relate to what people have advised on the forum over the years about convoy attacks and evasion. I'm glad I picked SH3 up again, after installing and uninstalling four or five times over the last seven or eight years. The immersion is nice this time too - I'm keeping a simple log (paper and pen, not electronic) and printing out patrol reports from Commander for a hard copy to look back on. I've also bought the U Boat Commanders Handbook and I'll be utilising some of that in my gameplay. Not because I want a hardcore experience, but just to add a bit more immersion. Thank you to those members who have always been here offering advice to everyone each time I've came back. I notice one or two have disappeared over the years, but there's new ones too who obviously have passion for the game. :ping::salute: |
I've been getting into a bad habit lately - playing around with convoy escorts, then taking them out. I'm getting pretty good at it, especially if they are chasing me and my tail is towards them. It's a bad habit, results in poor tonnage per torpedo, but it's fun and satisfying for some reason lol. It's an unnecessary cat & mouse game that Uncle Donitz wouldn't approve of, and overall a bad habit and waste of time.
I found a massive convoy last run and ended up taking out 3 escorts just because. Afterwards, I felt shame for having wasted 3 torps on such small vessels, while watching defenseless merchants sail away after I was out of eels. :oops: I must stop this behavior lol. |
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However, I resisted :rock: I couldn't resist taking out the Southampton though. Well.......if capital ships insist on sailing in the midst of a convoy then they'll get what they're asking for :ping: |
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Harbour raids, a channel run and attacking escorts - there's a pattern forming here :hmm2:
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July 1940
Narrowly missed being rammed by a destroyer (literally within 1 meter of my stern) after a vast miscalculation of his speed and direction. I was trying to go toe-to-toe with my deck gun and got a few good hits, unfortunately not enough to immobilize or destroy him. Once I realized his intention of ramming I quickly ordered hard to port / ahead flank and as mentioned barely squeaked by. I decided that a straight up surface fight with this guy was a bad idea at this point, luckily his shells didn't do too much damage and my pressure hull was fine, so after the near miss I ordered a crash dive and evasive maneuvers. Ran silent for a while at 60m and got out of there. I decided not to re-engage with this guy considering the close call he gave me. Gonna continue to my patrol grid and learn from my mistake. Back to hunting.
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First Patrol - 9/1/39 - 9/3/39
It was Sept. 1, 1939. I had been in command of U-3 for only a short time, following the unexpected death of her previous captain, Captain Lieutenant Joachim Schepke. Still very green around the gills. But orders were orders, and U-3 was shipping out that night. I watched, silently, as the crew came and went from the base, enjoying their last few hours of revelry before boarding the ship that would be our home for the next several days. The youthful innocence of most of the crew struck me. Most of them didn't seem old enough to have enlisted, I thought. But here they were, ready to defend their homeland.
Our orders came through at 23:00 hours. We were to sail out of Wilhelmshaven and head northwest to the Scapa Flow region just off the northern coast of Britain. "Great," I thought. Our first cruise, still trying to get these guys to tell the front end of the torpedo from the back, and these dummkopfs were sending us to the coast of Britain? Near the Naval Air Station north of Scotland? "Someone in High Command doesn't like me very much," I muttered. After a rousing speech to the crew, we fired up the engines, and off we went. It was 3 minutes until midnight, 9/1/39. Heading at a modest speed out of port, we sailed around the coast and entered the dark gray waters of the North Sea. It was beautiful weather - clear skies, the stars seemed to light up as if to say, "Follow us!". With anticipation rising, the crew began their regular shifts, eager to find our first targets. 9/3/39 - Two days at sea, and already getting an itchy trigger finger. Suddenly, a message starts printing out from the transmitter box. We are now at war with Britain. High Command has told us that we are free to engage and sink any British ships we encounter. Gladly. These Tommies will never know what hit them after we finish with them! 9/5/39 - After another two days, we finally enter region AN16. Slowing our speed, we begin a nice little search patter around the area. With our being so close to Scapa Flow, I don't want to attract too much attention. All of a sudden, the deck watchman calls down to tell me that he's spotted the HMS Johnston - a J Class destroyer - about 45 degrees off our port bow, heading due north. A bit panicked, I order the crew to crash dive - forgetting to take a sounding of the water, first. We hit the bottom pretty hard, damaging several systems and the hull a bit. After waiting a while, our sonarman reports that the Johnston has proceeded to the north and is no longer a threat to us (unless she turns around). Surfacing the boat, I put the damage control team to work on repairing the damage caused by our hasty crash dive. They don't take long to get it completely fixed up, and we resume our patrol. This was NOT the way I wanted to have my day start after breakfast! Around 1350 hours, all has been quiet, but then the deck watch reports a British merchant about 3700 yards away. We dive to periscope depth and begin to plot a solution. Looking through the periscope, I can see we've found the Sherwood. She has no clue we're here, either. The torpedoman tells me he's got a firing solution. I look through the scope and order 2 torpedoes to be fired, from about 800 yards away. The time is 1506 on 9/5/39. The first torp strikes the Sherwood at just behind midships, but the second one misses. No matter, though. The Sherwood is listing to starboard pretty badly. At 1507, she begins to slip beneath the waves, and U-3 has claimed her first kill of the war! For the next several hours, nothing much happens. The excitement is building with the crew, fresh with confidence at their early success. At 9pm, we spot a coastal merchant, the Dover. We try to sneak up on her, but she sees us and leads us on a bit of a chase through the area. Just before 0200 on 9/6/39, we finally catch her in our sights and get a good firing solution. At 0148, two fish leave the U-3's tubes, 870 yards away from the Dover. Soon two huge explosions rock the U-3 and shatter the silence of the night. The Dover is blown to pieces, with what's left of her burning hulk beginning to slip beneath the waves at 0149. Kill #2. With only one fish left, not much else I can do. All of a sudden, sonar tells me he's picked up a warship in the area. Not really wanting to tangle with a Tommy warship when I only have 1 torpedo, I hurriedly bring the periscope down, order the boat to dive to periscope depth, and change course to the SE. Staying at 2mph for a while to avoid giving the Tommies any idea where we are, we increase to flank speed when we're somewhere off the eastern coast of Scotland. Travelling underwater for a while to avoid any searching planes, we finally surface early on the morning of 9/7/39. At 0920, sonar tells me he's picked up a Norwegian merchant near us - but with only one fish left, I just want to get home. We continue on a ESE course back to Wilhelmshaven, arriving at the base around midnight on 9/9/39. Upon speaking with my flotilla commander, I learn that Command was impressed with the way my crew handled themselves on their first run. Sinking 2 boats for a tonnage of 8491 isn't too shabby. Torpedoman Dieter Goldbeck even earned a U-Boat Front Clasp for his skillful work in bringing down the Sherwood and the Dover. The crew and I are looking forward to a few days of well-deserved rest, but we know the next patrol is not far away. |
U-108 in Lorient
Third patrol complete. 62,956 tons. Hull Integrity: 75.75% Was unintentionally rammed by merchant shortly after firing a salvo. |
I kept a war diary for most of the 3rd patrol of U-353. Three attacks against a convoy for one ship. Torpedo malfunctions ruined the attacks. Was able to keep hidden or escape without danger. I cruised home after the third attack with x2048 TC, so no report on the journey back. The weather didn't work like I thought I had edited it.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...al_q0TscHE/pub |
Currently in the North Sea on September 24th and just sank a Polish freighter for my first kill of the war. Was quite surprised when I saw the Polish flag flying from the mast.
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