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U-64 IXB update
Patrol No3
November 10 1939 06:03 hours U-64 set off for her 2nd war patrol November 14 1939 Grid AN14 13:10 hours Large merchant sunk by 2 torpedoes November 26 1939 Grid BF17 22:20 hours Medium merchant 38 sunk by gunfire in clear weather November 27 1939 Grid BF17 00:51 hours Medium merchant 17 sunk by gunfire 01:21 hours Medium merchant 38 sunk by torpedoes December 3 1939 Grid BE39 convoy attack 6 torpedoes fired 4 hits scored 00:09 hours Q ship sunk 00:10 hours Medium cargo sunk 00:10 hours Medium merchant 15 sunk 00:15 hours Ammunition ship missed Escorts never knew what hit the convoy. December 8 1939 Grid AM51 02:25 hours Tramp steamer sunk by gunfire in clear weather and calm seas December 11 1939 Grid AM52 02:28 hours Small merchant sunk by torpedo December 13 1939 Grid AM52 06:49 hours Small freighter sunk by torpedoes in heavy seas December 15 1939 Grid AN11 01:37 hours Convoy repair ship sunk by 4 torpedeos December 16 1939 Grid AN61 21:01 hours Medium merchant 39 sunk by gunfire - all torpedoes expended December 17 1939 22:07 hours U-64 docked at home port 38 days at sea 12 ships sunk 50908 tons |
8MAY1945
11:01 U-2541 received a message while transiting along the brasilian coasts http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...222117_265.jpg http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._22298_359.jpg The war is over... Quite a strange feeling after all those years of fighting... Our decision is made, we will surender to a neutral country. Our choice is the port of Natal in Brasil... 12MAY1945 15:10 Kptlt Rudolf Eickmeyer leaves U-2541 and meets William C.Hugues the USS Somers's captain http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...224612_421.jpg This was the last patrol... It was a good one though http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1..._23320_390.jpg Carreer total: 33 ships for 192.536 tons in 10 active patrols +1 shakedown cruise (242 days at sea) between 1-1-1944 and 12-05-1945 Post war: After the war Rudolf Eickmeyer salvaged sunken ships in the Rhine river. Later he worked in the shipbuilding industry. He died on 2 May 1993. http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...105336_593.jpg |
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U-84's kapitan had a certain sense of dread come over him, though it had been a time for celebration.
The crew was in a relaxed state. They were headed home through the North Atlantic. Their small VIIB had sailed to American waters and scored 3 times. 2 Large american cargos and 1 medium canadian cargo. On their way to American waters they ran into a convoy and sunk another 2 merchants. Totaling 5 ships for 36,810 GDT. As usual there had been a few predetonations and a misfire. But still a good score for U-84s second patrol. Still U-84 has not felt the shake of a depth charge nor the rattle of aircraft gunfire. Yet streams of reports were coming in from BdU. This is what had been worrying U-84s kapitan. To: U-84 From: BdU August 14th 1942 We regret to inform that.... To: U-84 From BdU August 16th ...Has not checked in. It is assumed lost with all hands... To: U-84 From: BdU August 20th ...sunk by Aircraft and destroyers.... To: U-84 From: BdU August 25th ...Presumed lost while attacking Konvoi... More and more of these transmissions were being sent to boats at sea. More and more boats were being lost in the Atlantic. Why had U-84 been so lucky? It was still happy times according to U-84 and her crew. Attacking convoys at night surfaced, avoiding the incompetent british. What had changed since June, the U-84s first patrol? It was still a long way home for U-84, still on transit back to Brest. Hopefully it would be uneventful.. To: BdU From: U-84 September 1st 1942 1030//About 2 days out from Brest// Will communicate when in range of escort// To: BdU From: U-84 300// Heavy rains have led to a safe passage into Brest// Last Comminque// U-84 Patrol 2 status 5 Merchants for 36,810 GDT// Onkel Donitz greeted the commander of U-84 and promoted him Ober z. See. The bands were playing and the nurses throwing their flowers. U-84 flew proudly its tonnage flags. Still as the commander walked away from his VIIB, something was just not right. The VIIB would return to the North Atlantic, where all those casualties had been reported. |
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It's not possible to surrender but i played it as if it was. The american destroyer never shot at me as war was over ( 12th of may 1945)
Thanks 'fish in the water'! |
Thanks for the report Unterseemann. Very nice reading about the end of the war. I can't really imagine peacetime right now, I'm playing a career in 1942 and there's still dozens of patrols waiting for me.
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U-64 IXB update
Patrol No 4
January 16 1940 22:58 hours After a 1 month refit period U-64 set out to sea January 19 1940 Grid AN48 17:56 hours Large merchant sunk in clear weather with 42 105mm rounds January 22 1940 Grid AN13 03:10 hours Medium merchant 39 sunk in bad weather submerged attack with 2 stern torpedoes January 25 1940 Grid AM52 19:48 hours Large merchant sunk in clear weather with 35 105mm rounds February 5 1940 Grid AM52 08:39 hours Convoy repair ship sunk in stormy weather submerged attack with 2 bow torpedoes 18:46 hours Medium merchant 04 sunk in rainy weather submerged attack with 2 bow torpedoes February 6 1940 Grid AM52 19:54 hours Emprire type freighter sunk in bad weather submerged attack 3 bow torpedoes + 4 stern torpedoes She took 4 hours (game time) to sink. A trully "die hard" ship February 8 1940 Grid AM52 20:45 hours Heavy merchant 01 sunk in clear weather with 37 105mm rounds February 16 1940 Grid AN16 08:24 hours Large merchant sunk in clear weather with 27 105mm rounds February 17 1940 Grid AN14 14:56 hours Small trawler sunk in clear weather with 80 20mm rounds February 29 1940 Grid AM52 17:20 hours Empire type freighter sunk in calm seas submerged attack 3 bow torpedoes , finished off with 34 105mm rounds March 7 1940 Grid AF77 05:55 hours Tugboat sunk in heavy seas submerged attack with 1 bow torpedo March 13 1940 05:52 hours Docked at Wilhelmshaven 58 days at sea 70166 tos sunk 11 ships sunk |
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Besides, it was well deserved... |
I've been experimenting with my modding. To do so, I made a simple shooting gallery of various targets.
I have made some discoveries: - 40 rounds of 2cm FlaK will destroy a tugboat. - 1960 rounds of 2cm FlaK had no effect on a small merchant. - It takes about 200 rounds of 3.7 cm AP to finish off said merchant, aiming all along the waterline. - 100 rounds is sufficient to destroy an intermediate tanker, again aiming along and below the waterline. - 4 simultaneous torpedo hits on an ammunition ship lags my computer due to the number of explosions that follows. - On a perfectly clear day, the HMS Hood destroyed 2 Hipper class and 1 Deutschland cruisers while sustaining one light hit. They were steaming towards each other at 10 knots from 20 km away. The two Revenge class battleships accompanying the Hood didn't even notice there was a fight going on. - The VIIC/41 went to 262 meters before taking slight damage. By that, I mean it was at 99% integrity. |
U-518 IXC
March 11 1940
Wilhelmshaven Transfer order: Kptltnt vonHarris and the crew of U-64 are to commision the U-518 IXC type Uboot. April 12 1940 05:15 hours U-518 set for her maiden patrol (5th for the crew) April 30 1940 Grid CG87 Convoy attack in bad weather 6 torpedoes fired 4 hits scored 22:27 hours Southampton class CL sunk 2 bow torpedoes 22:41 hours Medium merchant 03 sunk 1 bow torpedo 22:41 hours Heavy merchant 01 sunk 1 bow torpedo May 3 1940 Grid CG98 Two ship convoy no escorts clear weather calm seas 07:52 hours Armed convoy repair ship sunk 2 bow torpedoes 07:55 hours Medium merchant 39 with 23 105mm rounds May 4 1940 Grid CG94 04:12 hours Medium merchant 04 sunk 15 105mm rounds 07:26 hours Qship sunk 11 105mm rounds No return fire May 5 1940 Grid CG95 16:39 hours Small merchant sunk with 10 105mm rounds May 7 1940 Grid CG95 Two ship convoy escorted by armed trawler clear weather calm seas Spotted while on the surface closing in. The trawler opened fire first Submerged 09:08 hours Armed trawler sunk with 2 bow torpedoes 09:14 hours Tramp steamer sunk 17 105mm rounds 09:17 hours Medium cargo sunk 30 105mm rounds May 8 1940 Grid CG95 Convoy attack bad weather rain medium visibility 6 torpedoes fired 5 hits scored no ships sunk Reloaded stern tubes and attack again at stationary target when the rest of the convoy had gone 10:20 hours Heavy merchant 01 sunk 1 bow + 3 stern torpedoes Two ship convoy escorted by armed trawler Submerged attack 22:05 hours Tramp steamer sunk 1 bow torpedo 22:05 hours Small freighter sunk 1 bow torpedo Escaped submerged May 21 1940 13:27 hours Docked at Wilhelmshaven 14 ships sunk 63282 tons 40 days at sea |
patrol 6, U-451
March 1942
Ob.Lt. z S. Erich Scheide U-451 ("die Elster"), VIIC, 7.th Flotilla, St.Nazaire New orders: Shadow/attack convoy Location: Grid BF 41 Weather: 8m/s, clear, no rain, visibility 9 - 11 kilometers Shadowing an outbound convoy of 5 - 6 escorts and 21 - 22 merchants. The convoy's course is 235, speed 8 knots. The convoy seems to have one escort in front, one in back, two on the left flank and at least one escort on the right flank. There are at least three 10 000 BRT ships on the convoy. The escorts haven't been leaving their guard sites. Either they don't have radar or they keep their posts even if they get a radar signal. The visibility is good, so we would have noticed if they had tried to chase us. My two attacks at daytime at PD from the left flank were detected by the two flank guards and I had to evade. One depth charge attack shook the boat very violently but apparently there was no damage to the boat. One daylight attack at PD from the front was successful. One 10 000 BRT grosses frachtschiff (AOB 90, 1100m), one 8990 BRT tanker (AOB 75, 1700m) and one kleiner frachter sunk. Only the first ship was a sure shot, the tanker I misidentied and the kleiner frachter was unlucky enough to hit an aft shot torpedo that missed it's intended target. Five G7e's and two G7a's left. Escaped amidst the convoy at A+70, making mostly 2 knots, mostly straight ahead and away from the convoy's body. It seems only one escort closed in to really try to hunt us. Avoiding the hunter we got 5 -6 pings from the rear guard, before turning slightly towards him. No DC's anywhere close. Before spotting this convoy we hunted in grids BF 16, BF 24 and BF 19. These grids were patrolled by lone escorts and a group of 3 destroyers. No aircraft sightings. Managed to sunk a mittleres frachter by torpedoes and a trawler by FlaK guns. In those grids it's better to leave sinking sites quickly, as the destroyers patrolling the area will come and try to find the attacker. Managed to evade at periscope depth, but had to be quick about it. Having two FlaK guns on our boat made the sinking of the trawler quicker but it is questionable if giving away the boat's presence and location for attacking such a small ship is worth it. The enemy will try to find you and might divert their shipping to a safer route. |
September 1939.
Lt. z S. Wolfgang Grimm. U-36, a Type VIIB out of Wilhelmshaven. Within moments of war being declared, I started finding targets. Which was largely due to the fact that I was passing by Dover at the time and took a look. At Dover: - 3 small tankers, 5 smaller merchants, 1 Town class cruiser, 1 troop transport, 1 floating dock and 1 motor boat. Weather (and the harbor guard) were poor enough to permit surfacing and using the deck gun. In the Channel, on my way to my patrol grid: - 3 small merchants, 1 medium merchant and 1 large merchant. A convoy I literally ran into in stormy weather: - 1 ore carrier, 2 large merchants, 1 old Revenge-class battleship. On the way back: - 1 coal barge. Discounting the dock, that's about 123k tons of various types there. |
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U122 IXB. Patrol 7.
5.dec.41 to 20.feb.42
Began the patrol along the Freetown - UK shipping lanes (What else is new?). Upon completion was redispatched to the NW Atlantic. 1 convoy engaged, consisting of CA 24 merchants, and 5 escorts. 4 attacks were made, resulting in the sinking of 3 merchants for 17.103 GRT. Although the weather was Clear & Calm, and the escorts were all "Elite", U122 remained undetected. In the escorts favor, they did keep us from getting near "The Queen Of The Convoy" (A T2 Tanker). With the completion of this patrol U122 will be retired as a front boat, and begin a school boat carreer. Her history to date is: 7 war patrols, with 29 merchants sunk, for 211.398 GRT. (The final tonnage count would have been historicaly good, had it taken a few more patrols. Guess I'll have to make sinkings a-little harder in the next campaign's early years.) U159 IXC will begin her maiden voyage, to Cape Haterus (USA), in april of '42. |
U-451, port
March 1942
Ob.Lt. z S. Erich Scheide U-451 ("die Elster"), VIIC, 7.th Flotilla, St.Nazaire A successful 44000 BRT patrol behind, most of the crew now on leave visiting their loved ones back in Germany. I'm very happy that the boat is now being fitted with a launcher for small metal canisters filled with calcium hydride, nicknamed BOLD. The contraption is used to launch decoys when submerged. The escorts should start following the decoy and not our boat. We really need something to fool them, since the enemy's location capabilities seems to be getting better. The escorts detected our boat at periscope depth in two out of four attacks against our last target. My fellow Kaleuns have had good experiences with this new BOLD invention. Maybe with the help of it, we'll be alive to see the day this war ends. On our last patrol, the enemy's escorts seemed to stay at a maximum distance of 2000 meters from the convoy in daytime and in good visibility. During nighttime we were twice forced to evade a lone destroyer. My estimation is that the destroyer was at least 5000 meters from the convoy. I am not sure of my estimation however. It might have been us being closer to the convoy than thought or the enemy sending one of the escorts to try to find us in worse visibility conditions. Thankfully the bridge crew were very vigilant, but we have to keep our eyes open when a convoy is near. After the sightings I changed the distance of following the convoy from about 10 kilometers to a distance of 20 kilometers and there were no sudden destroyer sightings after that. |
U159 IXC. Patrol 1.
Underway 17.apr.42.
BDU changed the patrol area from Cape Haterus, to the Freetown lanes. Encountered 3 armed merchants. 3 torpedoes fired at lead ship (C2 Cargo). 2 hits scored with no apparent effect. A fourth torpedo was wasted attempting to hit a second target. Miss. Persuit was not possible, due to aircraft. A convoy was encountered, and engaged via a moonlit submerged attack at dawn. Weather was Calm & Clear. A position was obtained just off the convoy's starboard side. There initialy appeared to be only 2 destroyers as escorts (Fore and Aft). 3 G7E torpedoes were fired, scoring 2 hits, and sinking a T3 Tanker for 11.654 GRT. U159 crawled down to 98 meters, at silent speed, evading detection for a prolonged period. Then it happened! 3 more escorts showed up, from I don't know where, and detected us. Ping, ping, ping. Tommy got his new ears, and they work well. Down we crawled to 165 meters (max depth is unmodded). For the next 2 hours we were haunted, taunted, kicked, and beaten. Aft diving planes were destroyed, and the DC guys were kept busy throughout. Decoys were eventualy depleted. I have no idé if they helped, but they sure didn't hurt. U159 pulled into Lorient with the aft diving planes destroyed, and 2 piles of scrap that had been the flak and deck guns. Surprisingly the hull was not weakened through the ordeal. Guess we don't get any ekstra days off for repairs. 7 of 14 torpedoes were expended. Things are getting rough now. Hope we make it. |
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This sounds really bad, more escorts (and apparently of a higher skill level) suddenly appearing and joining the fight. Thanks for the warning and I'm glad you escaped! |
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Thanks for the kind words. Checking the dates, your VIIC and my IXC seem to be in this thing together. I hope we both make it to war's end this time. Could be realy interesting to watch the 2 types progress through the same time periods. |
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