[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

95% hull integrity! Welcome home Kaleun Here is your Mauser and orders for Stalingrad

Originally Posted by Von Tonner

At what percentage of hull integrity would one justifiably turn back for home ?


The sky lit up and I was under heavy fire from both ships. I should have immediately crash dived as these ships were going nowhere with no escorts to help them from a submerged attack.
My officers were screaming out the damage we were taking but one kinda becomes so transfixed in one's game plan that reason becomes the first casualty.

Though the two torpedo's did their work I now sit submerged with hull damage at 62% and wonder if, for the sake of my crew and boat
.

AHH! NOW IT'S 62%... THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT. What settles it for me is if I still have flank speed and can dive to 200 meters or not. As for the other matter; even in pitch dark be 'heavy' at 5-6 meters which shaves off dive time by at least 50 seconds when suddenly 'lit up' by those 'docile looking' merchants. In strong air cover area such as Biscay, it's actually defense #1. Case in point as I recall is Hans Goebeler's book about U-505 which was EXTREMELY heavily damaged just as the crew were 'thinking' about exactly that procedure (and extra lookouts as cloud cover was 'ambush' low) as radar and air activity was prevalent, off Trinidad. The heavily damaged IX U-505 limped back to port and is now on display at Chicago. Fighting any aircraft on the surface iss verboten-whatever ADM Dönitz may say!