U-19 Mayday!

[Mittelwaechter]

Did you check the weather recently? Fog may be your only chance.
You will be safe at 14.5 meters - even if the corvette passes over you - and you'll have the opportunity to catch a glimpse.

Your ASDIC aspect is low at periscope depth while showing your six to the group of hunters.

I use to hunt within the 25 miles zone off shore the British east coast in 1940, to attack some juicy large freighters in the coastal convoys.
Shallow waters everywhere, but reverse 1/3 directly after the launch gives me some good distance, while the guards rush in.

It may confuse them, if you sneak away backwards and your hull may even cover the noise of your screws. Not sure if this really works, but usually I stay undetected.

[Jimbuna]

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

[danasan]

Yeah! There is no sense in waiting until the O2 is gone... Take your chance

[Andrewsdad]

Now, mind you, I'm not suggesting anything, but....

I was in firing position against a cruiser. "Torpedoes... LOS!!" Down periscope and CRUNCH SCRAPE BANG !!! Something hit my turm.
Both periscopes damaged and the turm was banged up. Next thing I hear is the sounds of a ship breaking up.

Seems that one of the destroyers tore her bottom out against me.

I didn't get credit for the sinking, but there was one less to participate in the hunt.

Good Luck !!!
AD

[Kielhauler1961]

Kameraden,

Thank you to all those who have taken an interest in this tale of woe. I apologise for the drawn out nature of the account but RL keeps getting in the way.

@ Mittelwaechter: Good to see you around. I like your idea of going astern - it might work. Going forwards certainly hasn't.

@ Andrewsdad, I think trying to get one of my tormentors to shred the watchtower in the hope of self-destruction might require a bit more luck than judgement but thanks for the suggestion. If it happens by accident I'll take it.

@ Zosimus: I'm driving a Type II (max surface speed 13 kts downhill). I can't outrun a corvette but it's almost the last option!

U-19 has made one attempt at periscope depth to use the 'surface layer' that sometimes works as a shield but the Tribal had read my script and was waiting for me. The boat couldn't get near enough to the surface to use the 'scope before the DD cut right in front, backed his screws to a dead stop and shined his searchlights into the depths bathing my boat in an eerie blue light. I had no room to turn and no option but to duck under him. He's good, very good.

My kaleun has two last chances. One is MW's suggestion of going astern but the very last is this: There have been more sounds of gunfire up above. I suspect that the enemy is as tired and frustrated at the length of time this action is taking as U-19 is and is shooting at shadows.

If I can pick the right moment to show my 'scope just as one of the escorts (the corvette?) passes by, that might cause a 'friendly fire' incident? Worth a shot as air is almost exhausted and battery 10%. This may divert the enemy long enough for us to abandon ship if escape on diesels is not possible.

The code books have been eaten by the crew or dissolved in yesterdays curry and the Enigma machine has been destroyed, its parts dispersed throughout the boat and the rotors given to selected PO's for dropping overboard once we are topside.

Scuttling charges have been set and the crew mustered at evacuation stations with life preservers on. Family men have priority over single men in escaping, except officers, who are last. Those are my orders.

The next entry will be the last.

KH

[maillemaker]

I think you might be dead. 50 m of water isn't enough really.

Yes, you are screwed.

Even if they run out of depth charges, they will not leave you if they can hear you. They will simply circle and circle until you are done for.

In this situation, I go to periscope depth and attack. But you have no torpedoes. So you are done for.

Steve

[Kielhauler1961]

03:31 GMT, 27th January, 1940.

From: H.M.S. Afridi
To: Admiralty

Have sunk U-Boat in position 54°49'34.4"N 1°15'07.7"E following a long hunt. The enemy surfaced and scuttled before a boarding party could reach them.

Rescued 26 survivors who are surly and uncooperative. Their captain does not appear to be among them.

Ends.

[scott_c2911]

Ive played and "died" in lots of video games and simulations in my time and Ive never felt as emotional about it as losing my ship and crew on sh3. A career can last for 6 months or more and in that time you get sucked into it emotionally. Bad luck mate and good luck on your future commission

[flag4]

Originally Posted by Zosimus

If the escorts get far enough away from their convoy they will abandon the attack and rejoin the convoy.

...hmmm...not necessarily true.

[Kielhauler1961]

Originally Posted by flag4

...hmmm...not necessarily true.

Quite.

In my case the convoy had been gone beyond sonar range for over 12 hours.

The destroyers never gave up, even without DC's they kept attacking.

U-19 was down for over fifteen hours of real time... I still can't get the PINGING out of my head!

KH

-----PING----

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Kielhauler1961

03:31 GMT, 27th January, 1940.

From: H.M.S. Afridi
To: Admiralty

Have sunk U-Boat in position 54°49'34.4"N 1°15'07.7"E following a long hunt. The enemy surfaced and scuttled before a boarding party could reach them.

Rescued 26 survivors who are surly and uncooperative. Their captain does not appear to be among them.

Ends.

Outstanding. I like that.

I think it is some kind of rare game bug. Once I sank a large merchant escorted by a single destroyer. Same thing. Once he ran out of depth charges he continued to run the same pattern as if he still had some. Like he was caught in a loop. I got frustrated and quit the patrol. Your solution Kielhauler1961 was so much more imaginative.

[flag4]

Originally Posted by Kielhauler1961

Quite.

In my case the convoy had been gone beyond sonar range for over 12 hours.

The destroyers never gave up, even without DC's they kept attacking.

U-19 was down for over fifteen hours of real time... I still can't get the PINGING out of my head!

KH

-----PING----

yes, a similar experience, damned frustrating before bed time. you're trapped. you cant save and exit if you're down - you've just got to sit it out. and if you TC you're dead.

[Zosimus]

Fifteen hours of underwater swimming and the deepest water you were able to reach was 50 meters?

Where were you?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by flag4

...hmmm...not necessarily true.

IIRC the timing factor is 45 minutes without a contact and the escorts leave the area.

[Kielhauler1961]

Originally Posted by Zosimus

Fifteen hours of underwater swimming and the deepest water you were able to reach was 50 meters?

Where were you?

The North Sea, about 50km ENE of Flamborough Head. The nearest 'deep water' (only 130m max) was about 80km north in AN55 - the same direction the large slow convoy was taking. The average depth of the North Sea is only 95m, less in the southern and coastal areas where the convoys lurk. Fifteen hours may sound a lot but most of it was at 50-80 revolutions to minimise my noise signature and we weren't running in a straight line. The boats' final resting place was only about 16km from where we had dived.

I had originally planned my intercept for AN55 but I couldn't get there in time for a number of reasons and had to settle for a position further south in shallower water. The timings were tight enough anyway as the boat had had a minimum turn-around in Wilhelmshaven of just over 24 hours to refuel and re-arm, followed by a full speed dash across the North Sea. The weather was also slightly worse than I had predicted which cut my top speed by a critical 0.5 - 1 knot, enough to make AN55 unreachable and that had been our last known RCR reference. From there I had to estimate the convoy's position by its probable course and speed. When we were spotted and attacked by an Avro Anson we fought back instantly as I couldn't afford to lose any time by diving. We shot him down and just kept on going.

The main problem was one I didn't know about until after we had found and engaged the first convoy - that there were TWO other convoys in the same area: a small NW medium speed and a large N slow. It was escorts from these convoys that did for me as I had sunk two DD's and two Empires from convoy 1 and we were relaxing on the surface when an enraged V&W and Tribal came charging at us from over the horizon. Like I said before, the Tribal had already read the script. It was like they had radar.

My best course for escape was back out to open water and directly away from the convoys, so I tried to head ESE or SE but the escorts kept cutting my path. The one that did the bulk of the pinging was the Tribal but it was the later arrival of a corvette that forced me to keep evading until he too ran out of DC's. By this time the air was gone and the battery finished: surface and scuttle. It was a good fight and I'm glad the bulk of the crew were rescued, but the captain and boats' black cat are still missing... I took some screenies during the action and I'll post these when I have more time.

Never mind, the good news is that U-19 has been avenged by another boat from her flotilla but more about that another time.

@ JB, yes the 45 minute rule was something I was counting on but the stopwatch never went more than 3 minutes before they re-established solid contact, even when I was lying motionless on the sea bed.

Thanks for all the replies.

KH