Operation Drumbeat or the Med ?
 

I'm in April 1942 and my next choices are either Operation Drumbeat or going down to the Mediterranean. I am saving Bergen & the Northern convoys for another career.

So far i've earned 1 Milkcow for resupply which feels a bit tight to start Drumbeat. The Mediterranean feels interesting too, if only for the challenge to pass Gibraltar, but i have a feeling that with the increased air cover down there it will be the likely end of my boat & crew with potentially very slim pickings up until that point.

Anyone been in the same position ? What have you chosen & what were your feelings about it afterwards ?

My timeline is currently Oct ‘41 in the Med. Hardest part for me was passing through Gibraltar, that place is crawling with patrol boats. I was detected but managed to get through without any damage. Equipped with NAXOS and Mk II Eyeballs and I haven’t seen any aircraft. Otherwise it’s a target rich environment and also the first time I encountered freighters that can shoot back..

Though the Port of Alexandria has shore batteries it isn’t that well guarded IMO, sneaking in at night is maybe too easy, but maybe I’m just getting better ;). Regarding Alexandria’s harbor depths you may see a freighter with a 8 meter draft tied up at the dock but there might be a sand bar 5 meters deep in front of it preventing your torpedos from striking the ship. So far torpedo depths of 3 meters or less have had no problems reaching any target.

Malta is another target rich environment guarded by shore batteries but little else.

The friendly Port of Tunis isn’t finished hopefully that will change with new updates.

Selecting the Med’s eastern most patrol sector will take a toll on fuel. But only if you’re careless will you find yourself running on fumes by the time you get back to La Spezia

I have made my way down to the Mediterranean and have arrived in La Spezia on April 17th 1942. But i'm left somewhat concerned...

I have made contact with a lightly defended small convoy heading North off the Portugese coast and figured i might as well pursue it until my torpedo's were all spent before continuing to Gibraltar.

Unaware of my presence the lead escort was an easy target. After i sunk him i sped off into the convoy before 2 flower class corvets could come up from the rear. The first was an easy target for my stern tube as it searched where i had been before. With it's colleague sunk the remaining Flower corvet seemed almost unsure of itself in the midst of the convoy and while trying to avoid a merchant it presented itself in an almost perfect angle infront of me. One shot from my bow sunk this corvet too & the convoy was now unprotected. Now surfaced i used most of my torpedo's and some deck gun rounds and eventually finished of the convoy. It was now time to press on to Gibraltar.

I decided to hug the Morocco coast but before i could position myself i ran into another convoy, this one heading to Gibraltar. I broke contact and moved as planned to the coast line and found a fog that really affected visibility. I decided to run flank speed on the surface gambling that i'd find little to no enemies this close to the Moroccan coast. I imagined that i was running parallel to the earlier sighted convoy and maybe that plus the fog conditions kept the British busy enough to not be looking out for me. I cleared the straight without contact or incident and submerged while turning South to continue hugging the coastline a bit more and here my hydrophone operator informed me on 2 warship contacts that passed me by quite closely, but without detecting me. I stayed submerged for a while longer after which i surfaced and ran flank speed to the East again.

I've stalked around the Western part of the Mediterranean for a few days with my last 2 torpedo's but only found 1 small merchant before heading to La Spezia. We arrived with another 48000 GRT to our name and the crew is happy to get some leave but things have gone so smoothly that i'm left wondering if this hasn't been the last of the good days.