U-23, August 1st 1939.
Orders are to depart Kiel for a 5 day shakedown cruise. First command and going to get used my new crew and boat. Weather outside of Kiel is horrendous. Hoping it clears up once we pass Rostok. Best wishes. |
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For a while, the destroyer was spotting for several different aircraft, and they picked up where he left off. He was definitely out of ammo, the best he could do was rattle our nerves with the continuous asdic pings. Worked too. But, after 2 and a half game hours later, he seems to have given us up, and is gone. I will wait until it is dark to surface, and then back to base with us. |
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Good job ! I hit a 1944 NYGM convoy yesterday, 8-10 escorts at least. But I got five ships out of it over two game days, three attacks. Last one, took a few game hours to shake the escorts too. |
Reporting back to duty after many years of absence!:Kaleun_Salute:
It's great to be back in my IXB (stationed at Lorient) in September 1940, I really missed my GWXperience (nowadays even with ARB WS-mod!) Good hunting, fellow Kaleuns!! |
NYGM February, 1944
My last NYGM ended via a FIDO torpedo. Had another get dropped on me in this current campaign but managed to dodge this one.
BOLD...........don't leave base without it. |
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Likewise and Welcome Back! |
U-04 7th successful patrol with my Uboat II-D.
Started in Kiel on the 12 of March and had to patrol in front of Bergen. For 1 week I faced heavy rain and fog. As soon as I arrived in the designated Patrol point in went down to 25 Meters and started to look for ships. Was lucky. Sonar guy found one signal at long distance and I immediately went up and went after the contact. It was extremely hard since it was 10 PM and heavy rain and fog was to hard for the watchcrew. For a day I had to surface and dive to catch up to the ship. The fatigue of the crew was extremely high. At 9.10 am I had the sonar contact really close so I surfaced. My watch crew didn`t see the ship but I spotted it at 800 M. It was an English big Merchant with camouflage on the side. Went to the UZO and fired after a small calculation 2 torps, which both hit and sank it for 6900 BMT. For other 7 days with similar conditions I tried to find something else to shoot the remaining 3 torps, but my crew was really low on endurance so I set course to the base of Kiel and earning two Medals for my crew. On the way I encountered huge ships but all neutrals. (Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and Estonia) Tonight my 8th Patrol will start. |
I found a flaw in my plan to blockade Gibraltar in early 1941, with my IX B.
This place must have large Battleships, which will be my focus for the trip. The area is protected by numerous aircraft and Destroyers, so surface cruising is risky, but I got tempted by juicy steamers, like you do, so by the time I got to Gib, all my remaining torps were outside on the deck. There are 5 Destroyers above, so I can't surface to reload. What a to do. .. |
U64
Patrol 1 Kaleun : LsZ Georg Schulz 0529 = 1lt = 1lt = 168 = JSE SJX ERZGU TYJW DLEC BMGJ WKYM WDZX PKFN TSDZ YHRR SNGE DZAZ HOAQ UIZL XHYF VORU SBYC IDQV PCQC LHPQ JTDT DPRW QTCM JNYB YBHT NUGE EMSN SJHD FDOK AKUZ ZJIQ XJKH PCXL MXHN RZGA LUVG HRIE AFCA ZTXT AQQA MDXG UBII GYW Quote:
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U 11 Type IIB 1940/2020
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** Left W'haven on Thursday, 15 February 1940 for Fifth War Patrol in Qu.AN 73 (East coast of England). Our sister boat U 10 (Preuss) operated off the Dutch coast during the same time period. Medium seas but very good aircraft visibility while in area of operation and during the outbound voyage. Only during the return voyage, some heavy seas and cloudy skies. During transit, we by-passed Qu.AN 66 and AN 69 to the north, due to the British mine fields in the area north of Terschelling. Medium enemy air patrols in area of operation and during transit, which increased the closer we got to the English coast. Had to dive to 31m to reload the torpedoes during heavy seas and slightly damaged the battery, both diesel engines and pressure hull, when touching the ocean floor in shallow waters, due east of Skegness. U-Preuss returned to W'haven two days before us, having sunk 2 steamers for 6356 BRT. We returned to W'haven on Thursday, 22 February 1940, having sunk 2 merchants for 11913 BRT and damaging a large steamer of 8290 BRT. Torpedo hits: 4 Torpedo misses: None Torpedo failures: 1 Eto understeered Crash Dives: None My Machinist was transferred to another Uboat and was replaced by a Fireman 1cl. Received orders for Sixth War Patrol: - Patrol area Qu. AN 55 (East coast of England) - Departure scheduled for 21 March 1940... |
NYGM, July, 1941
July 17th, 1941, BE31
Receive radio report of a convoy. Plot an intercept course only to be slowed by a trio of unrelated destroyers and an aircraft. Over time, still manage to find the convoy in the early evening. Call in the contact, told to shadow. Clear weather, 9 m/s winds. Am driven off a couple of times, regain contact each time. Nights are short this time of year, not believing the pack can make it before the fast approaching sunrise, I decide to attack on my own in the meantime. Tough convoy to get into position on; constantly zig-zagging with the related speed changes. Finally have a perfect attack course going. Just under 3k meters away, off the starboard front beam. Decks awash, 2 knots speed. Starboard escort has peeled off in the distance for a random search pattern. Except for the clear weather, perfect. Literally seconds before I was going to fire, convoy changes course again. Damn ! Then it happens. The pack unexpectedly attacks. No wonder the convoy had been changing course so often ! This draws the starboard escort back to the scene, and I have to get out of there before I can do my planned attack, but manage to get off two and have turned away from the escort going at flank when he spots me anyway and starts firing. Crash dive, manage to evade over time. He doesn't spend much effort with me, but returns to the convoy to help against the pack attacking. I'm submerged, now to far away to attack again, so not a concern in his eyes. After a bit, surface. I won't have time for another night surface attack so I plot a general course for a submerged daylight attack. Shortly before the sunrise finds me well ahead of the convoy, still off it's starboard beam. The pack has continued it's attack throughout. Convoy in disarray, many ships sunk or on fire. I see ships hit, ships going down, escorts depth charging and firing at the pack members, escorts rounding up the convoy and getting it back on course again. Even see a distant scope of one of the pack. The convoy is decimated. While the nearest escort is tied up with the pack, I plot a course to intercept the nearest ships who are forming up again, and starting to steam off on a course of 10 degrees. I'll have to thread my way between two escorts to get close enough for a submerged attack.; one the attacking one mentioned above, the other leading the convoy. I'm coming in on a 225 degrees course, with the rising sun not yet breaking the horizon. For approx. 45 game minutes, I just observe the convoy getting back into formation, to see what course it finally takes. What's left of the convoy finally settles on a straight north course, I swing the boat around for a 270 degrees course of attack, finally close enough with help from the rising sun at my back, and submerge at around 4 - 4.5 meters away, just before the sun breaks the horizon. At point of attack, boat should be between 2 and 2. 5 meters away. Not a bad distance, would like to get closer but the increasing daylight won't allow that. Winds are now 10 m/s; any higher I won't be able to attack. All said and done, I manage to sink a cargo steamer which I hadn't aimed at, (the two fired during the night before the escort spotted me) and damage another freighter which I had. (the morning submerged attack.). I fired a total of eight torpedoes at the convoy, two per target. Not the best results, but satisfactory considering the pack results. Currently trying to make a submerged escape to the east. Have escorts hunting/depth charging the boat, but nothing to worry about. Yet. |
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WOW! I had the chance to observe a pack attack a convoy once or twice so far. Makes you want to get in there and join the action, before all the nice juicy target are gone ... |
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As an update; the freighter I damaged was left behind by the convoy, so I got to sink it too. Two stern torpedoes left. Time to start heading back to port. |
Feb 19, 1945...
U230 engages moderately sized tanker convoy, heavily guarded by American and Canadian escorts. 12 tankers and a destroyer for each. Somewhere near the coast of Nova Scotia, convoy en route to the British isles. Slipped past the outer ring, began the attack. Hit and sank the least capable escort with the first homing torpedo... Hit and damaged a t3 tanker with another homer which was intended for a JC Butler DE Hit and sank a third escort, before sinking both a light tanker, and another heavy. Ducked and dodged for a bit, and finished off the first tanker we hit. Damaged another escort with a homing torpedo, but it stayed afloat. Pounced on and pounded by the remaining escorts, until so much damage rendered us incapable of further action. U230 was ultimately destroyed by HK action, with only the captain as survivor. We were at periscope depth when the last round of hedgehogs came down. Blown free of the wreckage and forced to the surface, the captain was taken prisoner by victorious American forces. Time to start a new career... |
New career, September 1 1939
Type VIIb, U 48. Now on the 5th patrol. Current date, April 16, 1940. U 48 in 1st place overall with tonnage count around 150,000 tons. Altantic war on commerce has been suspended pending an allied invasion of Norway. U 48 to patrol ocean grid AF59, outside the fjord to Trondheim. Radio reports of German auxiliary cruiser not far from Bergen. So far, our current location is AN36, on course 275 degrees, seas and skies calm and clear. Nothing further to report, U48, out. |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:53 PM. |
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