31st January 1942
U-2548 is currently sat in DM77, having just polished off its 4th victim of this trip. So far an intermediate tanker, a large cargo, a whale factory ship, and a landing tank ship have been dispatched.

Heading up towards Havana/Key West.

:arrgh!:

Juicy, but challanging targets to infiltrate in mid 1940 (from the desk of o.b.l. Rolfe Hass who read your report with interest)
4th patrol report - 87% realism

June 1940:U122 captained by Rolfe Hass in his IXb waited until low visiblity weather conditions for their forays into British strongholds. Bad weather make it possible to maintain "decks awash" while gaining entrance to their heavily protected ports. Previous reconnasance operations had provided general information about minefield, submarine net, and gun emplacement locations.

By setting eel depth at 1.5m, it proved possible to conduct a 2-3km range shot at the floating dock located within about 10km from Scapa's west entrance.
This depth setting put our single torpedo shot over the top of the sub net located within 300m of the stationary floating drydock, and thence into the exploding center of 32,000 tons of what is identified as a "minor warship" in GWX.

July 15, 1940: Loch Ewe was tougher. Getting past the harbor entrance was one thing. We spent the afternoon safely out of sonar range monitoring the timing and locations of British pickets.

Once inside the harbor approaches , our IXb eased over the sub net about 3km from the harbor docks in force 6 rainy weather right around midnight. With visiblity at roughly 400m, we stayed on the surface to avoild the DD which is always posted at the south end of this net. We also knew to avoid shore based gun emplacements to the north by crossing the net at its mid point. An underwater approach within this confined port bay area would have likely been detected, and certainly anything but "ahead slow" spells disaster if you are under the waves at Loch Ewe.

Earlier"Arial Reconnisance" had revealed the presence of two floating docks and a Dido Crusier. Thanks to this we knew generally where to find the combined 64,000 tons of British FD's... One torpedo was launced at each FD which were set at 5m to hit them both at their central beam ends... then we went after the stationary crusier in similar fashion.

After torpedoing the first FD, we skulked next to the nearest shoreline staying on the surface. Once the enemy's search lights stopped dancing through the misty rain, we proceeded to find one of the pursuing DD's sitting motionless, waiting to hear something from us. It did. The sound of our T-1 coming towards its keel at 44 knots. Scratch one less ash can delivery boy.

Our secret: long ranged shots. We approached our stationary targets to just within our visual range, got a torpedo run fix with 0 degrees heading to mark (bow pointed directly towards zero torpedo setting), then while maintaining course, backed off so far there was little chance of being caught in the beams of those anticipated frantically waving searchlights (about 1km +).

Once things quieted down after each target was attacked, all we had to do was retrace our path out of there by following marked course lines made during our earlier approach. We generally knew there would be mines outside the harbor approaches near each shore, so retracing the inbound course lessened this hazard. We also dived the boat intermitantly to check on picket activity.

Total haul for these two nights: about 110,000 plus tons worth of British naval units. And then we knew we would be in for quite a debriefing once back in Wilhelmshaven.

Happy hunting fellow wolves.

Well that Boat was sunk on its next patrol.

Thought I would take a shot on the south end of the channel ( just outside and west of BF19). Well came across a large convoy. Was able to hit 4 of its largest ships with an eel.

Then dove to 200 meters went to 2knots and silent BUT was hit by a depth charge a at 180meters (surprised me) :o. Diesel engine compartment filled rapidly and Hull damage went from 100% to 70% to 50% to 25% so fast I could not even manage more then a "BLOW BALLAST" before my bowquarters filled with dead and not long after I was in menus :)

So goes another Sh3 patrol!

Almost impossible at this weather, but I fired one torpedo (using tube IV) on a small merchant Irish sea.

http://i1016.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1247844236

:arrgh!:

He he... Nice. A hit is always a hit, no mattter what. :arrgh!:

LOL ... I made a mistake, it was TUBE V :yeah:

The one that you mostly don't or can't use!

:arrgh!:

Yeah, it occured to me.:haha:
Still, a hit is a hit.:yep:

HAHA ... I am better in, 1 2 3 4 5 then the year I was born MCMLVII :D

Currently sitting on the bottom somewhere near lorient, waiting for daylight.
Im using realnavmod so dont get any map markers to show where i am and since its been stormy for the last 3days in game i couldnt see any stars so i have no clue where i am.
I plan to crawl slowly east and hopefully will spot a lighthouse marking the enterance channel in this damn fog.

Spotted a lot of submarines as U-198 left Lorient harbour on the fresh patrol, after successfully completing her 26th for 100,451 GRT sunk. Type IX in harbour, Type VIIC passing me on its way back into harbour approx. 75km from the channel entrance, and then two U-Flak cruising up from the South-East whom I formated on for a pair of screenshots (soon to be uploaded to the screenshots thread and one replicated here) before carrying on across the Bay of Biscay.

I intend to make use of the IXD2's best cruising speed to travel to Norfolk for a spot of harbour raiding, then travel down the middle of the Atlantic, skipping over the Caribbean, and visiting our "friends" on the South American coast. Then to the patrol grid halfway between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, then a return to base.

Unless, of course, BdU orders me to Penang. We're rapidly approaching September of 1943 and according to the manual, GWX will soon shift my boat with the Gruppe Monsun boats over to the I.O. I've been waiting patiently since 1939 for this. Hopefully some of the resupply boats will still be around.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j8...yBiscay_43.jpg

U-2548 has just expended her final torpedo of another drumbeat patrol, having sunk 48,000 of mostly tankers, and two Clemson destroyers, one of which was a sitting duck near Curacao.

Just notified BDU that I'm starting my return passage, as we head West past Guantanamo towards the Atlantic. Then a Catalina spotted, but the twin AA did for her as she went on her attack run. :up:

We have been notified of a base change as well. We're going to Brest. :shifty:

0025/0203Z/19.5.1940/UUU45
L57:26N x λ003:56E outbound C299/S6 x
proceeding to AL 65 via Fair Island x
no contacts x Wx: Clear x no rain no fog x
wind 5/360 x sea 2 x
Ajax sends

For some reason when I left port I felt like I was going to find a Convoy, so.....I did found it, got a report around 3:30 am about a convoy exiting the english channel, turned 180° and went after it, speed of convoy was reported at 8 knots so I estimated the time it will take me to reach the grid and the distance they will travel in that time, to my surprise I was like 2km ahead of them when I detected them with Hydrophones, set up the crew in their positions and spent the best 40 minutes of my first patrol :arrgh!:

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/t...n/57df1e5e.png

What a rotten 2nd patrol for Rudolf Schnee and the crew of U100. Away on patrol for 72 days and nothing to show for it but two cargo ships and a tribal destroyer sunk. Ridiculous. Nothing to be found anywhere, plied around the Western Approaches for days at a time, diving and listening to find NOTHING. Making transit through the Irish sea THREE times to find nothing also. Getting reports of convoys and task forces but the'yre always too far away to make an intercept possible.

What a rotten patrol. France has recently been invaded so French ports should be avaliable soon I imagine. Only bright spot was a promotion for me on return to Kiel. Other than that, pure rubbish :(

I have exactly the opposite situation. I'm transfering from Toulon to Trondheim, and before I entered the Gibraltar, I had two convoys within the hydrophone range, and another one reported less than 50km away. But I didn't have any torpedoes left. :cry:
It's going to be a long and boring cruise...

Dec 1944. U-1151 sailed out od Trondheim and set course to the assigned grid, BE33. Somewhere west of Hebrides the radio operator handed a report of a task force, going NE at 7kt, 250km away. The Kaleun set an intercept course.

Upon reaching the point, they found nothing. U-1151 submerged, with snorkel out, and proceeded slowly along the suspected TF's course.

A few hours later, a contact! But just a lonely destroyer, searching for u-boats. They let her pass.

Not long after, another contact. Again a patrol? No, there was a distinct sound of an aircraft carrier! After a while the Kaleun estimated that the TF is heading on a northern course.

They surfaced and set a converging course, flank speed, periodically diving to check the situation.

The hours passed, and it was evident that the task force is pulling away. They obviously increased the speed, and the constant radar signals of approaching planes, and the rough seas didn't help the u-boat's effort. During one crash dive, out of many, decision was made that the further chase is pointless. U-1151 stayed submerged, slowly going away.

Then the sonar officer reported that a destroyer is getting closer. Could it be that one of the planes spotted them and alerted the escorts? Apparently not, since the destroyer didn't make the high speed noise, characteristic for a chase. And the sound of the carrier was also growing louder!

The Kaleun couldn't believe his own luck. The TF changed course, and according to the constant bearing, they were heading directly at U-1151!

They soon appeared in the periscope. The Bogue class, escorted by three destroyers. Speed 16-17kt, course 131.

The four bow tubes were flooded, waiting for the right moment. The Kaleun popped out the periscope and watched in disbelieve the entire task force turning to port. He quickly followed their maneuver and fired a salvo, basically a snapshot based on previous data, only adjusting the angle of bow.

All torpedoes missed. The Kaleun could only observe the carrier getting away at full speed.

Perhaps some other time...

Starting a new campaign in 39. Not sure why my orders to sink the " 2 ship convoy in the bay" was necessary. But anyways I'm now stationed in Kiel.

Wish me luck!

D.I.D

Jan 1942, operation Paukenschlag.
U-521 type IXC, New York harbor.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/367...9192020140.png

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/749...9192036993.png








http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9...0918302176.png




http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2...9185617936.png


Sunk aprox. 58000 ton at this day.:arrgh!:
Now heading for cape Hatteras after receiving some radio reports talking about this crowded area.

It's October 1944 and the type IXD2 u-boat U-196 under the command of KptLt. Yngve Yung has left a French port for the last time and is headed to Bergen via the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The departure from St Nazaire in early September was more exciting than usual. Naval gunfire erupted as U-196 emerged from its pen. It seems a boat in the harbour was taken over by the Maquis and was firing on German vessels. It was quickly silenced, but no sooner was its hull resting on the harbour bottom than a flight of 8 Liberator aircraft attacked, sinking a couple of ships.

Yung decided not to wait for the Vorpostenboot, which had been forced to reduce speed due to damage, but put out to sea at high speed. Before he reached water deep enough for a crash dive, U-196 had been attacked by no less than 24 aircraft, in three separate waves. Most of these were Sunderlands. Several were shot down by the eight 20mm FLAK guns on U-196's wintergarten. The u-boot only suffered superficial damage, which was soon put right.

When U-196 surfaced the next day, there was an almost immediate attack by two Hurricanes (too close for a crash dive), then four Liberators, two more Hurricanes and then 18 more Sunderlands. Again U-196 avoided serious damage (by careful high speed dodging, and a lot of luck), and shot down several of the attackers.

For the next week, U-196 was subjected to daily air attacks and was never able to get his batteries fully recharged. However, U-196 was able to crash dive for all but one of these attacks, and continued to avoid serious damage.

Once out of the Bay of Biscay, the pace of air attacks relaxed a bit, and then a stretch of bad weather allowed U-196 to proceed westward unmolested for a few days. Overall progress was still slow, as on most days U-196 stayed submerged at less than two knots for 22-23 hours. By October 20, U-196 was 1500km NE of the Azores when she detected a lone merchant. Attacking on the surface in bad weather, U-196 sank a C2 with a single torpedo. Three days later, U-196 made a successful attack on a large freighter, again only needing a single torpedo. The next day saw another large freighter go down after a single fish, this time helped along by a few shots from the deck gun.

Throughout October there have been aircraft sightings on most days. A pair of Lightnings caused a bad scare in mid-October, but the next day a pair of Catalinas were surprised in turn when Yung decided they were too close for a successful crash dive, and chose to stay up and fight. Both PBYs were shot down.

By October 23rd, Yung had bagged three more ships, using only four torpedos. That's seven shots, seven hits and six sinkings for about 34,500 tons. As of October 27, 1944, he's about 1000km NW of the Azores, has no unrepaired damage, 85% of his diesel, 19 torpedos, and nearly all of his deck gun ammo left but is running short of 20mm shells.

Will Yung survive a circumnavigation of Anticosti Island and get to Bergen before February?...

The initial patrol is intended to act as a shakedown.....you were given an additional 1000 renown to compensate for sinking the two neutrals (everything is neutral in August 39).