A couple of questions:
In the book I read about the sinking of the Lusitania, the author said that the U-boats always headed back to base when they were down to two torpedoes left - did this rule apply in WWII? Was the route around the British Isles always to go north around the Shetlands, or did the passage between the Orkneys and Shetlands get utilized frequently? In the Suhrer memoirs, he stated that they always attacked on the surface at night. Were periscopes useless at night, or did they have light-gathering technology? |
Back to port
U-123 returned to Wilhelmshaven after 37 days at sea and 75400 tons of Allied shipping sunk
1. Alongside a German tugboat http://i62.tinypic.com/24o6es8.jpg 2. That small merchant was blocking the entrance in the port. What an arrogant ship master! It was the first time I saw that happened. http://i60.tinypic.com/2mqkzg4.jpg http://i58.tinypic.com/epgfag.jpg 3. Flying the colors and victory pennants and being overflown by a sea gull. http://i61.tinypic.com/2upbhwj.jpg 4. The patrol log (not edited , just the names added by SH3C) http://i61.tinypic.com/1zwm6pc.jpg and page 2. http://i59.tinypic.com/15xk74l.jpg Now that I am back , I hope to have a more detailed KTB in my next war patrol. |
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I have to admit that, like you, I like to 'game the game': I especially enjoy luring destroyers until they run aground at the edge of such shallow waters, then pick them off or leave them safely out of the way while torpedoes are used for more important things...
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I want to play something fun. If I deem attacking a major British harbour, 'fun', then that is what I will do. I too used to wander around the oceans looking for ships or convoys, but, one day I got tired of that and decided to hunt the harbours themselves. It worked. So I kept at it. I discovered submarine nets, I discovered mine fields (fortunately none the hard way, but just imagine sitting at the scope spotting those little grey globes bobbing spitefully on their anchor chains -and not telling the crew about them!), I have found sometimes it was a big mistake taking on more than I could chew, and I fail, and that is also a risk. But risking it all to the point of success or disaster is what gives me the excitement of the challenge of the game.
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U 802 has emerged victoriously from its incursion to Loch Ewe.
3 "Hunt" class destroyers remain at anchor. The Illustrious class carrier "name unknown", the Bogue class carrier "name unknown" and the Fiji class cruiser "name unknown" took two torpedoes each and were all destroyed. The large tanker also escaped unharmed. We had two fish left on board but too bad for us they were both loaded aft and still outside in the ext. lockers. Surfacing to extract them would have been an act of suicide. In all, 53,000 tons of warship and 34,000 tons of cargo had been sent to the bottom by the time U-802 broke off the patrol and returned to Lorient. The crew were decorated with 1 Knight's cross -awarded to the 3rd WO-, 2 'hitler's fried eggs', 2 iron cross 1st class and 4 iron cross 2nd class, as well as 4 promotions. The boat remained undamaged and will be quickly resupplied for an immediate departure to patrol grid AM26... |
U 802 has come across a moderately guarded small convoy.
Purely by chance really, U 802 made the daily trim dive when the soundman started registering contacts. The convoy was heading due South as we were heading due North on our way to grid AM26. This would be approximately grid reference AM7921. Then the convoy tacked to the south-west, opening up their flanks for a better gyro-angle, how nice! When we were finished, and crept out of the area at dead slow and 142m, we netted 1 troop ship, 1 medium tanker, 1 medium cargo ship, 2 small merchants and 3 of the 4 destroyers as well as damaged 1 heavy cargo ship, which we later finished, for a grand total of just over 50,000 tons. It was almost the entire convoy destroyed, before we made it to our operational area. The hunt continues... |
U-123 KTB
A very successful patrol ended in a very bad way. Running aground at 18 kts after some 70 days at sea and more than 80000 grt sunk doesn't look good.
What happened? U-123 was on her way back to Lorient doing 18 kts with 0 m/s winds. I had TC at 128 and forgot it. When I came back U-123 was badly damaged with 15 dead crewmembers. Anyway , she survived and will be back in action. Page 1 http://i62.tinypic.com/16702w.jpg Page 2 http://i58.tinypic.com/14uz4u1.jpg Page 3 http://i62.tinypic.com/33jk18o.jpg Page 4 http://i59.tinypic.com/1zgsufa.jpg Page 5 http://i60.tinypic.com/4v0jti.jpg |
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U 802 returned to Lorient with 64,000 tons, 2 warships and 1 patrol craft sunk in addition to about half the small convoy that we stumbled across. Rather than plot a course to somewhere specific, we just reversed track and sailed back to port and whatever we came across is what would finish our payload. We found and sank two medium merchants along the way, and with the weather so bad and seas so strong, it took all of our remaining 6 torpedoes to do the job. Again we escaped being the death ship and our departure will not be delayed by lengthy repairs. Patrol #9 begins in earnest...
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U-105 2nd Patrol
01/11/1940
13:00 - Departed from Lorient at 11:52, escort vessel has just broken off. Orders are to proceed to grid ET45 and remain in the area for a minimum of 48h. Current heading 201°, speed 8kn. Clear skies with light fog. Light breeze, direction N. Sea 2. 03/11/1940 07:03 - Grid BF4971. No incidents to report. Course 254°, speed 8kn. Partially coudly. Light northerly breeze. Sea 3. 05/11/1940 08:33 - Grid CG1674. Still no incidents. Course 186°, speed 8kn. Clear skies. Moderate northerly breeze. Sea 3. 08/11/1940 08:16 - Grid DH3915. No incidents to report. Course 188°, speed 7kn. Overcast with heavy rain. Poor visibility. Strong south-westerly winds. Sea 7. 12/11/1940 09:38 - Grid DH7967. No encounters or incidents. Course 194°, speed 7kn. Heavy rain. Moderate winds, direction NNW. Sea 4. 16/11/1940 08:42 - Grid EJ3234. No incidents to report. Weather unchanged. Course 174°, speed 7kn. 17/11/1940 00:24 - Grid EJ3836. Received report of a vessel in EJ6632 heading N at slow speed. Attempting to intercept. 10:43 - Grid EJ63. Have been unable to locate reported ship. It's possible that we have sailed right past them and missed them due to the poor visibility. No sound contacts heard. Received another report of a different vessel in EK45 heading S, will attempt to intercept. 18/11/1940 09:46 - Grid EK48. Unable to locate vessel. Intercepted and followed it's course at speed before doubling back to no avail. Returning to course. Heading 182°, speed 8kn. Strong northerly winds. Sea 6. 20/11/1940 08:30 - Grid ET45. Patrol area reached, adapting a search pattern. Weather has worsened. Gales direction NW, heavy rain and fog - visibility is nil. Sea 8. 22/11/1940 17:29 - Grid ET4532. Patrol grid searched for specified time, have been loitering in grid until receiving new orders. Weather has made possibility of successful attacks very slim. Overcast with strong gales. Sea 9. New orders are to proceed to ET6212 and begin laying a screen off Freetown. 24/11/1940 08:00 - Grid ET6212. Reached assigned position - commencing screen route off Freetown. Weather still poor. Clear skies with strong south-westerly gales. Sea 8. 22:59 - Grid ET3819. Torpedoed and sunk a small merchant for 2,084GRT. Fired two torpedoes from 2,200m with both hitting their target. Massive explosions immediately after initial impacts. Lifeboats observed in water. 25/11/1940 22:54 - Grid ET6273. Spotted enemy ASW trawler - initially moving towards us but has since turned towards the African coast. Continuing with screen off Freetown, about to turn 180° and head NW. Weather is clear with light north-westerly breeze. Sea 2. 26/11/1940 12:08 - Grid ET2698. New orders received - head to the Strait of Gibraltar and patrol on the Atlantic side. Current heading 324°, speed 11kn. Fuel level approximately 60-65%. 20 torpedoes remaining. Weather is unchanged. 27/11/1940 15:17 - Grid EK7896. Attacked by enemy aircraft, dived to evade. Strafed but no damage taken. Submerged to 60m and changed course to 270°. Plan to surface at nightfall. 18:44 - Grid EK7883. Surfaced at 18:00. No signs of enemy in vicinity. Returning to course. Heading 336°. Speed 8kn. 30/11/1940 03:43 - Grid DU7711. Spotted two enemy freighters, moving in to position to conduct attack. 04:41 - Both ships sunk - coastal freighter hit by two torpedoes for 1,871GRT and a small merchant hit by one of two torpedoes and attacked with deck gun for 2,216GRT. Torpedoes fired from 1,900m. Deck gun 1,000m. Lifeboats launched and survivors observed in the water. Continuing on course. 03/12/1940 10:53 - Fuel down to 50%. Continuing towards the Strait of Gibraltar. Heading 060°, speed 11kn. Weather partially cloudy. Slight westerly breeze. Sea 2. 05/12/1940 18:52 - Grid CG9774. Received report of ship in DJ2451, moving NE at medium speed. Moving into intercept. 06/12/1940 04:18 - DJ2515. Failed to make contact. Ran to within 30km of Casablanca in case vessel changed heading. Returning to course. 19:45 - Grid CG9579. Arrived off the Strait of Gibraltar, commencing patrol. Partially cloudy with light fog. Marginal westerly breeze. Sea 2. 07/12/1940 00:06 - Grid CG9557. Sighted enemy vessel. Identified it as a passenger/cargo type ship and attacked with deck gun at 800m. Broke apart and begun to sink after 3 hits for 1,995GRT. Sporadic and large subsequent explosions. Deck and superstructure entirely ablaze. No lifeboats spotted. Turning away and returning to course at speed in case of nearby patrol craft. 05:24 - Grid CG9583. Spotted outward bound neutral passenger liner, believed to be Spanish. Dived to periscope depth to avoid and observe. 09:32 - Grid CG9559. Attacked coastal freighter. Fired 2 torpedoes which were sighted and avoided. Pursued and sunk with deck gun for 1,872GRT. Lifeboat launched, drifting E. Returning to course. 08/12/1940 01:21 - Grid CG9567. Sighted by enemy destroyer at around 23:30. Fired surface weapons and starshells as we dived to evade. Stayed at around 130m as the destroyer made between 6-10 attack runs with depth charges, all well aft of us. Lost destroyer contact at around 00:50 as it moved E at high speed. While submerged we detected and tracked a merchant contact. Came up to periscope depth and sighted merchant at around 01:05. Identified as a small merchant. Surfaced and moved into position to attack. Attacked at 01:10 firing two torpedoes, one hit. Finished attacking with deck gun and sunk for 1,956GRT. Sank very quickly with no sign of lifeboats or survivors. Running SW in case the destroyer encountered earlier returns. 06:24 - Grid CG9581. Spotted an outward bound large merchant. Conducted submerged attack from 1,600m firing 2 torpedoes. Both hit and she began to sink rapidly for 8,273GRT. Sighted 4 lifeboats in the water. Continuing on mission. Torpedoes remaining - 3 fore, 7 aft. 10:47 - Grid CG9557. Spotted a burning ship. Upon closer inspection it has been identified as the previously attacked passenger/cargo type vessel which has drifted slightly WNW. No sign of any survivors. Wreck still well ablaze. Using stern torpedoes to attempt to sink the remaining wreckage. 11:19 - Wreck has sunk. Continuing on patrol, heading 101°, speed 11kn. 20:52 - Grid CG9591. Sighted inbound small merchant. Conducted submerged attack from 600m firing two torpedoes. One hit. Finished her off with the deck gun, sunk for 2,095GRT. Torpedoes remaining - 1 fore, 5 aft. 09/12/1940 15:04 - Grid CG9547. Attacked by aircraft. Sustained minor damage from explosions. Submerged to 60m, heading 156°. Remaining submerged until dusk. 10/12/1940 07:45 - Grid CG9571. Attacked a passenger/cargo type vessel. Fired 2 stern torpedoes, both failed to explode. Forced to surface and engage with deck gun. Attempted attack with last remaining fore torpedo. Failed to explode on impact. Eventually sunk for 1,973GRT. No sign of survivors. Torpedoes remaining - 3 aft. Less than 40% fuel remaining. Beginning return course to Lorient. 12/12/1940 08:16 - Grid CG2722. No incidents to report. Course 001°, speed 9kn. Weather cloudy. Strong southerly winds. Sea 7. 15/12/1940 08:49 - Grid BF5564. No incidents. Course 065°, speed 9kn. Weather clear. Moderate winds, direction WSW. Sea 5. 19:29 - Grid BF61. Have linked up with escort. Now following into Lorient. 19:27 - Docked at Lorient. Patrol ended: 9 ships sunk for 24,335GRT. 42 days spent at sea. Awarded Iron Cross Second Class. |
U 802 has begun patrol #9 and has come across 2 convoys so far. 1 large and 1 small. We sunk a liberty class merchant with a long range shot with a T1, and sank one escort (lucky hit).
We are taking on the smaller convoy right now and have sunk a C2 cargo ship, again, from 10 km away. Totally caught him by surprise. The hunt continues... |
Hello all - I'm rather new, so this is... I think my first post?
U-45 has just completed its second patrol in late 1939. Deciding that fortune favored the brave, Herr Kaleun decided the boat would brave the English channel for the high traffic and easy pickings. The initial sightings were light and a fishing boat and small tanker were sunk via sustained 20mm cannon fire. Days passed with only military ships breaking up the monotony. These were avoided with discretion. Finally, a small merchant wandered into view in the night. She was alone and running no lights. U-45 fired a T1 into her side, the crew celebrating as the ship shuddered. However, with their bloodlust sated, the crew realized their error. They had fired on an Irish ship! U-45 quickly dove and left the area, hoping that they had not yet been identified and the ship would remain afloat. (:/\\!!) Seeking to make up for this travesty, the kaleun ordered a large patrol grid, finding a large lone merchant escorted by an armed trawler. A salvo for tubes 1 and 4 was prepared with minimal spread at a 4.5 km range. The fish were let loose and U-45 slunk away at a slow pace. Two(:D) impacts were heard and soon thereafter, the shearing of bulkheads as the ship sank to the bottom in the early moments of first light. The trawler gave search, but came no where close to the sneaking uboat. After a half hour, the trawler gave up and returned to port. U-45 surfaced approximately an hour later, with the trawler still in view! :down: Crash dive orders were given and the u-boat inched closer to the bottom of the channel (46ish meters). Charges were heard, but fortunately none were accurate. After a few more hours, the trawler left and the brown trousers were exchanged for new pairs. A few more small cargo ships were sunk in the following week, wearing out the stock of torpedoes remaining. With that, U-45 returned home. Days at sea: 13 Tonnage sunk: 22,000 (2,000 of which was neutral!) Well, live and learn. The U-45 has had a stern talking to about proper target identification prior to engagement. :rotfl2: |
Good post Andrakis.....Welcome :sunny:
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I'm not having any luck finding out why I am having this problem: I received a BdU message in April, 1940 (a couple of patrols ago) that Type VIIC boats were now available. So, after my tenth war patrol, which ended in late June, 1940, I transferred to Erprobungsstelle in order to pick up a VIIC (currently in a VIIB). However, my only boat options to switch to are II's and IX's. Does anyone know why the VIIC is not listed?
Edit: never mind, after I screwed things up with SH3C (lost track of personnel transfers), VIIC (and others) were available for me! |
Hola everyone, so well, like ships to a greater extent (not like submarines, but also treat to subs with great respect - they have played a major role in World War II).
really liked the game, along with modes such as the GWX and WS 06.09.1939 I have started my patrol with type-1936 class des. 6th of September we went into coastal german waters to protect and safeguard our maritime routes http://s7.postimg.org/u5s8bg6t3/sh3_..._04_07_333.jpghttp://s18.postimg.org/4fxk91r39/sh3..._03_53_573.jpg ... 4 days of patrol and nothing - clear horizon... 10th of September - the weather has not changed / no precipitation - 10:27 AN69 / nearly Netherlands Trawler has been seen by the watchman - 10:49 http://s30.postimg.org/wzwug4lh9/sh3..._07_17_436.jpghttp://s13.postimg.org/5ax0ratsj/sh3..._07_45_080.jpg --- engines are off - 16:11 changing watch - 17:42 --- ahead one third - 17:44 the sun goes down and the ship is in high alert///everything is as usual 7 hours later - weather is improwing - 18:13 On the horizon is visible silhouette of a large ship / AN69 14 kilometers away from the previous place of the trawler http://s3.postimg.org/4k343y13j/sh3_..._47_44_206.jpghttp://s1.postimg.org/tfd9bh5rf/sh3_..._48_06_332.jpg will hope that the Greeks knew its course :) Our destroyer change heading to north, will try to go closly AN66 / - / Report sent |
welcome aboard!
Andrakis & Shipcap!:Kaleun_Salute:
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U 802 took out 8 of 12 ships in a small convoy. 3 of the escorts were destroyed leaving only one protector zipping up and down the lanes and in a tiny way it was like "night of the long knives" all over again. Our final kill was a medium (T2) tanker, which we got on the surface with the gun. The escort came back and forced us to dive, dropped a few charges on us, scratched the paint, and after a short while, zipped back to the head of the (greatly reduced) pack. In all, we bagged about 59,000 tons before returning to base
Patrol #10 begins very soon... |
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