[Kapitän]

Originally Posted by Kapitän

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

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Sunday, 10 May 1942 - South of the Azores -

- Fifth week at sea completed -

0510 - Morning Dawn.

0545 - Breakfast for the Port-Machine-Watch.

0547 - Sunrise. Weather and Sea unchanged since Etmal.

0600 - Port Machine-Watch on duty. Wake-Up and Morning Wash of remaining crew.

0630 - Breakfast for the remaining crew.

0700 - Swap-the-Decks for the Off-Watch.

0845 - Daily work routine for the Off-Watch.

1200 - Qu.5257DG - Days Run: 290.7sm - ↗ (24h).
169cbm (8cbm/24h). Battery 10000Ah. 6 internal Ato. 10.5cm: 28xLkG. On course 70°. Weather and Sea unchanged in 24h. – Lunch Break –

1300 - Daily work routine for the Off-Watch.

1310 - Qu.5255DG - On new course 53°.

1600 - WNW3/2, clear, very good visibility, >1000mb.

1715 - Dinner for the crew.

1800 - Port Machine-Watch on duty.

1812 - Sundown. NNW3/2, clear, very good visibility, >1000mb

2100 - Lights-Out for the Off-Watch.

2125 - Qu.2955DG -

2340 - Wake-Up for the Stbd.-Machine-Watch and the 1st Sea-Watch.

2400 - "Mittelwächter": Mid-Night Coffee for the Watch on Duty.

Boat on return voyage.

RST
Kptlt.&Cmdr.

Started new career in August 2019 to commemorate the beginning of WWII, 80 years before ...

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Monday, 11 May 1942 - South of the Azores -

0450 - Morning Dawn.

0530 - Sunrise. Weather and Sea unchanged since Sundown, 10 May.

0545 - Qu.3455DG -

1200 - Qu.3273DG - Days Run: 281.6sm - ↗ (24h).
161cbm (8cbm/24h). Battery 10000Ah. 6 internal Ato. 10.5cm: 28xLkG. On course 70°. Weather and Sea unchanged since Sundown, 10 May.

1316 - Qu.3249DG - "Smoke Plume Ahead Stbd.24!". E=16000.

Looks like a destroyer. Does it belong to a task force or a convoy? Running toward on course 90°, Full-Ahead.

1327 - Further smoke plumes come into sight, from what appears to be a south going convoy. Visibility is 8.5-9sm. Altering course to 135°. "Maneuver Stations!".

Convoy consists of 14 ships in 5 rows and 3 columns, and 6 escorts: Forward Sweeper and Forward Stbd. are C&D Destroyers, Rear Stbd. is L-Class Destroyer, Back and Rear Port are Flower Corvettes, Forward Port is a Dido-Class Cruiser. None of the escorts seem to have any radar fitted, except for the Cruiser, with a range of 3000m.

Boat is positioned to the stbd.-beam of the convoy, which is running with 11kn on course 190°, and keeping a distance of about 8000m on parallel course. Overtaking the convoy is slow, as the boats max speed at Full-Ahead is a mere 12.5kn, wind and sea state is NNW3/2.

Cmdr.: A south going convoy in this area must belong to the OS-Convoys, going from Liverpool to Freetown, Sierra Leone. Main concern at this point are the diesel engines and I don't want to risk damaging them further by going A.K.

1345 - The Stbd.-Rear L-Class Destroyer goes on a search pattern of about 6000m to stbd., and returns back to the convoy at 1355h.

1428 - The Stbd.-Rear L-Class Destroyer goes on a search pattern of about 6000m to Stbd., and returns back to the convoy at 1443h.

1500 - The Stbd.-Rear L-Class Destroyer and the Forward Stbd. C&D-Class Destroyer go on a search pattern of about 6000m to Stbd., the L-Class returns back to the convoy at 1515h, and the C&D-Class at 1535h.

1600 - On new course 175°. Both Stbd. Destroyers go on a search pattern until 1623h.

1638 - Back to course 190°.

1655 - Both Stbd. Destroyers and the Forward Sweeper go on a search pattern until 1714h.

1730 - The Forward Sweeper goes on search pattern.

1747 - Sundown. Weather and Sea unchanged in 24h.

With the setting sun, the Stbd. Forward Destroyer goes on a search pattern until 1800h.

Cmdr.: With the current weather and sea state, and due to the fact, that except for the Cruiser, none of the escorts have radar fitted, we can wait until dark for a surface attack.

1753 - The Forward Sweeper goes on search pattern until 1815h.

1824 - The Stbd. Rear Destroyer goes on a search pattern, goes out of sight at 1837h and does not re-appear when back at the convoy at 1857h.

1830 - The Stbd. Forward Destroyer goes on a search pattern until 1849h.

1900 - Darkness. Visibility 10000m. Small-Ahead.

1905 - The Stbd. Rear Destroyer goes on a search pattern until 1915h.

1915 - The Stbd. Forward Destroyer and the Forward Sweeper go on search patterns.

- to be continued –