The sinking of HMS Avenger

VonApist · 03-05-12, 10:10 AM

It was just after midnight, when Stephan felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, only to see Wolf towering above his bunk.

“Radio message from the BdU, Stephan” his second in command whispered, handing him a piece of paper. Stephan rose from his bunk, blinked hard in an effort to focus his eyes and took the decoded message from Wolf’s hands.

“I guess that this just came in” he enquired after reading the report of a small Allied task force moving west at medium speed, making a pass through U53’s patrol grid.

“Yes sir. I have just checked our current position with Franz. If they keep their current course, there is a very good chance that we will be able to intercept and position ourselves for an attack” Wolf said leaning on the cabin’s wall.

“I will be in the Zentrale. Please give a shout to Herbert and Otto to meet us there in two minutes” Stephan replied, making his way to the command room while buttoning his shirt.
Five minutes later, in the command room, Stephan invited the Chief, Wolf and Otto to take a look at the map table. He took of his cap and pointed towards the estimated position of the Task Force.

“They are currently some 30km to our South East, on a western course. If we keep surfaced at 14Knots, we can position ourselves here in 2 hours, submerge and wait for them” Stephan announced pointing at his suggested interception point.

“Depth in this position is close to 300m which suits us well. If this task force has any interesting targets, I intent to attack from a long distance in order to put some space between ourselves and the escorts.”

He then turned to Otto. “You have one-and-a-half hours to load our bow torpedo tubes with T1s as we need longer range. In tube 5, I want a T2 electric for stealth firing, just in case we need it against any escorts.”

“Tubes 1 and 3 are already loaded with T1’s Sir. We will load our last T1s in tubes 2 and 4, replacing the existing T2 load. Tube 5 is already loaded with a T2 herr Kaleun” Otto replied.
“Ok Otto, dismissed. Let me know when you are done with reloading” Stephan ordered and turned to the Chief as the experienced torpedoman made his way to the bow.
“Herbert, how is Diesel 1 faring and what is your estimate on batteries, assuming we recharge for another 2 hours?”

“Diesel 1 is having a minor leak again, but we are taking care of it. It’s manageable. Regarding the batteries, assuming another 2 hours at full ahead, we should be more than 90%” Herbert replied.

“Ok Chief, make sure you have your damage team in place the moment we reach our attack position. And please report battery status the moment we submerge.”

“Wolf, new course 150, speed 14 knots. Please assume watch duty with the others and be vigilant until we reach our attack position. Let’s do this gentlemen”.

Wolf acknowledged and made his way up, swiftly climbing up the ladder to the conning tower bridge.

***

Ninety minutes later, Otto Moch entered the command room.

“All forward tubes are now loaded with T1’s Sir. Tube 5 is live with a T2 electric. Please note sir, that the only T1’s left for reloading are the ones in the forward and aft deck casings. Except these, we are all T2’s in reserve, total of six eels” the Torpedo-man reported.

“Thank you Moch, dismissed” Stephan replied. Torpedomechaniker Otto Moch offered a crisp salute, turned and moved towards the U-Boats small kitchen, shouting to Jorg the cook to prepare a cup of tea.

Stephan moved towards the map table. The report suggested that the Task Force, 90 minutes ago, was moving at a speed of 12 knots. Assuming that the task force kept its course and speed, it should reach the intercept point roughly an hour after U53 was in position at its pre-determined attack spot. Stephan checked his wristwatch. Another 30 minutes until their attack position, hence the task force should make a pass in no less that another hour and 30 minutes.

***

“We have reached our attack position”, Franz reported half an hour later. Stephan called for Wolf and the rest of the tower watch to descend and secure the hatch.

“Periscope depth”.

Stephan pressed the intercom button to the engine room. “Silent running, Chief “
He then turned towards the sonar room. “Heinrich, keep sweeping and let me know the minute you spot a contact”

The red-headed sonarman put on his hydrophones and gave thumbs up to the captain, closing his eyes to concentrate.

For the next 5 minutes U53 stood at utmost silence at a depth of 13 meters. As if in a movie theater, the crew sat tight on its combat positions, silently, waiting for Heinrich to report.
Stephan was on his toes as Heinrich remained silent. Had the task force changed its course? Maybe its speed? Or this was just another wild goose chase, like those that he and the crew had been sent into, many times in the past?

BdU reports on convoys and Task forces were not extremely accurate or reliable, unless the source had been another U-Boat which trailed the target and provided intelligence. In this case there was no U-Boat mentioned, so this must have been a report by the Luftwaffe. These were quite untrustworthy most of the times. U-Boat captains had tried many times to subtly suggest to their superiors that these reports were far from being accurate. Following up on Luftwaffe reports was usually a waste of fuel and effort. But one had to be careful not to complain too much or he could find himself in trouble, even court-martialed.

Stephan was checking his wristwatch when the silence was interrupted by Heinrich’s excited voice

“Sir. Multiple contacts, warships, bearing 280 medium speed…. There must be at least 3 of them…no, 4 of them. Three screws sound like escorts….the other one sounds like a big fish Herr Kaleun. Sounds like a cruiser” Heinrich reported, a grin on his face.

“Ok Heinrich, keep your ears with them. Franz, move your maps in the sonar room to get fresh updates every 3 minutes. Let’s try to figure out their course. All stop” Stephan ordered and moved towards Wolf.

“I think we should go for it. Three escorts, that might give us some trouble, but if we attack from a relatively long range, we should have enough time to go deep and silent before the escorts are on to us”.

“I suggest a firing range of 1800m. Accurate enough and far enough” Wolf suggested; Stephan agreed with a nod.

Ten minutes later, Franz moved towards them, holding an attack map. “According to their current course, they should make a pass ahead of us at a 70 degree angle and at a range of approx 2,000 metres. In about…40 minutes”

Stephan studied the markings on the attack map and pressed the intercom button. “Chief we are assuming our attack position. Speed 1 knot, Silent Running. Please report on batteries”. He then turned to the helmsmen

“ Rudder 30 degrees to port .”

“Batteries recharged 90%, my damage control team will assume positions in 3 minutes. All in place from our side sir” Herbert’s voice came back instantly through the intercom.

The electric engines silently pushed U53 at the snail speed of 1 knot. “Rudder 0 degrees to port, keep current speed, depth and heading” Stephan ordered, moving towards the sonar room.

“Any changes Heinrich?” the Kaleun enquired

“No sir. The 2 destroyers seem to be positioned one ahead and one behind the “big one” doing occasional sweeps of relatively small diameters while the third seems to keep a course parallel to the “big one’s” port side at about 300 meters”

“Ok Heinrich, you know the game, let me know if anything changes”. Stephan patted the sonar man on the back and moved towards the command room.

As the minutes kept ticking away, anticipation amongst the crew grew. The experienced U-Boat men aboard U53 knew that Task Forces are tough nuts to crack. And dangerous for that matter. But everybody had faith on the U-Boat’s experienced officers and especially Stephan. If there was anxiety, everybody hid it well. The crew performed their assigned tasks silently and efficiently as the U-Boat moved towards its attack spot.

“All stop. Periscope up” Stephan ordered. He performed the usual chore, taking off his cap and slinging both his arms over the handles. He performed a quick sweep and focused on the shadows of the approaching ships.

“Wolf, bearing 320, we have 1,2,3 Flower Class and … Scheisse. The big one is not a cruiser! It’s an escort carrier! Check number D14! Wolf! Check the Book! ” Stephan whispered to his second in command

Wolf opened the “Book” - a manual containing the details of most types of Allied warships - and frantically went through the pages searching for British escort carrier D14.

“D14….D14…Mein Gott!! Its HMS Avenger Stephan! “ Wolf replied, the excitement in his voice hard to conceal.

“Ok people we will have only one shot at it, so let’s make it right” Stephan replied with tight lips. He took out his note book and pen and started scribbling.

“Wolf, bearing 320, 0.75 degrees, mast height 27m, length 140m. Estimated range… 2063m. Please confirm”

“Range calculation double checked and confirmed” Wolf replied

“Ok Wolf. Open tubes 1,2,3, set depth 4meters, impact pistol”
“Tubes 1,2,3 open sir” Wolf replied.

Stephan kept his eyes glued to the periscope.

“Wolf, get ready to calculate solution”

Heinrich’s voice interrupted them “Sir. Warship, approaching fast, bearing 230”

Stephan turned the periscope towards the indicated heading. One of the 3 escorts had broken away from the formation and moved towards their direction.

Wolf looked at Stephan with a wary glance. “Do you think we have been spotted?” he enquired
“I don’t think so Wolf. Its dark, we are silent and all the other warships have kept their course. No lights or flares” Stephan replied.

“Let’s take our shot” he continued. “As a precaution, tell Otto to open aft Tube 5 setting magnetic, depth 4.5m, in case the Flower gets too close”

“This could prove a high risk strategy Stephan” Wolf whispered to his Kaleun.

“High risk strategy? Jesus!” Stephan fumed, taking his eyes off the eyepiece. “It’s a calculated risk Wolf. This is a premium target! High risk is the last thing I would expect to hear from you. The second officer of Prien in the Scapa Raid feels that this is a high risk strategy?” Stephan shot back in a low voice, sure that he had hit bulls eye with Wolf’s enormous ego, but careful not to be overheard by the rest of the crew.

Wolf took a step back as if being slapped by an invisible hand. He recovered in a millisecond.
“Let’s send these Tommies to the bottom of the sea Stephan” Wolf said loud enough to be heard across the command room. “Waiting for your data Herr Kaleun” he continued.
Stephan resumed his position on the periscope. “Prepare to calculate solution for a salvo shot. Tubes 1,2 and 3”. He started relaying the data.

“Bearing 350 mast height 27m … range … 1900m. Speed…10 Knots” “Impact angle: 90, leading angle 30”

“Solution ready sir” Wolf replied.

“Tubes 1,2,3 FIRE in salvo” Stephan ordered, pressing the starter of his stopwatch. At the same moment he turned the periscope towards the Flower Corvette which kept its course towards their position.

“Torpedo 1 is out….Torpedo 2 is out…. Torpedo 3 is out” Wolf confirmed

“New heading 50, speed 1 knot” Stephan replied, his face glued to the periscope and through it, the shadow of the approaching escort. “Wolf, please confirm that aft Tube 5 is open”

“Tube 5 is open sir” Wolf replied.

“Maintain course and speed” Stephan continued. “If she comes closer than 800m before our torpedoes hit the escort carrier, I will take a shot at her” the Kaleun whispered wiping his forehead from perspiration.

***

VONHARRIS · 03-05-12, 10:58 AM

Nice reading.
Looking forward to reading the next chapter.

Luno · 03-05-12, 01:37 PM

But...but...but...the spoiler's in the title!

VonApist · 03-05-12, 05:29 PM

well here's the catch... its not!

03-05-12, 10:10 AM	#1
VonApist Navy Dude Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 175 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	The sinking of HMS Avenger It was just after midnight, when Stephan felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, only to see Wolf towering above his bunk. “Radio message from the BdU, Stephan” his second in command whispered, handing him a piece of paper. Stephan rose from his bunk, blinked hard in an effort to focus his eyes and took the decoded message from Wolf’s hands. “I guess that this just came in” he enquired after reading the report of a small Allied task force moving west at medium speed, making a pass through U53’s patrol grid. “Yes sir. I have just checked our current position with Franz. If they keep their current course, there is a very good chance that we will be able to intercept and position ourselves for an attack” Wolf said leaning on the cabin’s wall. “I will be in the Zentrale. Please give a shout to Herbert and Otto to meet us there in two minutes” Stephan replied, making his way to the command room while buttoning his shirt. Five minutes later, in the command room, Stephan invited the Chief, Wolf and Otto to take a look at the map table. He took of his cap and pointed towards the estimated position of the Task Force. “They are currently some 30km to our South East, on a western course. If we keep surfaced at 14Knots, we can position ourselves here in 2 hours, submerge and wait for them” Stephan announced pointing at his suggested interception point. “Depth in this position is close to 300m which suits us well. If this task force has any interesting targets, I intent to attack from a long distance in order to put some space between ourselves and the escorts.” He then turned to Otto. “You have one-and-a-half hours to load our bow torpedo tubes with T1s as we need longer range. In tube 5, I want a T2 electric for stealth firing, just in case we need it against any escorts.” “Tubes 1 and 3 are already loaded with T1’s Sir. We will load our last T1s in tubes 2 and 4, replacing the existing T2 load. Tube 5 is already loaded with a T2 herr Kaleun” Otto replied. “Ok Otto, dismissed. Let me know when you are done with reloading” Stephan ordered and turned to the Chief as the experienced torpedoman made his way to the bow. “Herbert, how is Diesel 1 faring and what is your estimate on batteries, assuming we recharge for another 2 hours?” “Diesel 1 is having a minor leak again, but we are taking care of it. It’s manageable. Regarding the batteries, assuming another 2 hours at full ahead, we should be more than 90%” Herbert replied. “Ok Chief, make sure you have your damage team in place the moment we reach our attack position. And please report battery status the moment we submerge.” “Wolf, new course 150, speed 14 knots. Please assume watch duty with the others and be vigilant until we reach our attack position. Let’s do this gentlemen”. Wolf acknowledged and made his way up, swiftly climbing up the ladder to the conning tower bridge. * Ninety minutes later, Otto Moch entered the command room. “All forward tubes are now loaded with T1’s Sir. Tube 5 is live with a T2 electric. Please note sir, that the only T1’s left for reloading are the ones in the forward and aft deck casings. Except these, we are all T2’s in reserve, total of six eels” the Torpedo-man reported. “Thank you Moch, dismissed” Stephan replied. Torpedomechaniker Otto Moch offered a crisp salute, turned and moved towards the U-Boats small kitchen, shouting to Jorg the cook to prepare a cup of tea. Stephan moved towards the map table. The report suggested that the Task Force, 90 minutes ago, was moving at a speed of 12 knots. Assuming that the task force kept its course and speed, it should reach the intercept point roughly an hour after U53 was in position at its pre-determined attack spot. Stephan checked his wristwatch. Another 30 minutes until their attack position, hence the task force should make a pass in no less that another hour and 30 minutes. * “We have reached our attack position”, Franz reported half an hour later. Stephan called for Wolf and the rest of the tower watch to descend and secure the hatch. “Periscope depth”. Stephan pressed the intercom button to the engine room. “Silent running, Chief “ He then turned towards the sonar room. “Heinrich, keep sweeping and let me know the minute you spot a contact” The red-headed sonarman put on his hydrophones and gave thumbs up to the captain, closing his eyes to concentrate. For the next 5 minutes U53 stood at utmost silence at a depth of 13 meters. As if in a movie theater, the crew sat tight on its combat positions, silently, waiting for Heinrich to report. Stephan was on his toes as Heinrich remained silent. Had the task force changed its course? Maybe its speed? Or this was just another wild goose chase, like those that he and the crew had been sent into, many times in the past? BdU reports on convoys and Task forces were not extremely accurate or reliable, unless the source had been another U-Boat which trailed the target and provided intelligence. In this case there was no U-Boat mentioned, so this must have been a report by the Luftwaffe. These were quite untrustworthy most of the times. U-Boat captains had tried many times to subtly suggest to their superiors that these reports were far from being accurate. Following up on Luftwaffe reports was usually a waste of fuel and effort. But one had to be careful not to complain too much or he could find himself in trouble, even court-martialed. Stephan was checking his wristwatch when the silence was interrupted by Heinrich’s excited voice “Sir. Multiple contacts, warships, bearing 280 medium speed…. There must be at least 3 of them…no, 4 of them. Three screws sound like escorts….the other one sounds like a big fish Herr Kaleun. Sounds like a cruiser” Heinrich reported, a grin on his face. “Ok Heinrich, keep your ears with them. Franz, move your maps in the sonar room to get fresh updates every 3 minutes. Let’s try to figure out their course. All stop” Stephan ordered and moved towards Wolf. “I think we should go for it. Three escorts, that might give us some trouble, but if we attack from a relatively long range, we should have enough time to go deep and silent before the escorts are on to us”. “I suggest a firing range of 1800m. Accurate enough and far enough” Wolf suggested; Stephan agreed with a nod. Ten minutes later, Franz moved towards them, holding an attack map. “According to their current course, they should make a pass ahead of us at a 70 degree angle and at a range of approx 2,000 metres. In about…40 minutes” Stephan studied the markings on the attack map and pressed the intercom button. “Chief we are assuming our attack position. Speed 1 knot, Silent Running. Please report on batteries”. He then turned to the helmsmen “ Rudder 30 degrees to port .” “Batteries recharged 90%, my damage control team will assume positions in 3 minutes. All in place from our side sir” Herbert’s voice came back instantly through the intercom. The electric engines silently pushed U53 at the snail speed of 1 knot. “Rudder 0 degrees to port, keep current speed, depth and heading” Stephan ordered, moving towards the sonar room. “Any changes Heinrich?” the Kaleun enquired “No sir. The 2 destroyers seem to be positioned one ahead and one behind the “big one” doing occasional sweeps of relatively small diameters while the third seems to keep a course parallel to the “big one’s” port side at about 300 meters” “Ok Heinrich, you know the game, let me know if anything changes”. Stephan patted the sonar man on the back and moved towards the command room. As the minutes kept ticking away, anticipation amongst the crew grew. The experienced U-Boat men aboard U53 knew that Task Forces are tough nuts to crack. And dangerous for that matter. But everybody had faith on the U-Boat’s experienced officers and especially Stephan. If there was anxiety, everybody hid it well. The crew performed their assigned tasks silently and efficiently as the U-Boat moved towards its attack spot. “All stop. Periscope up” Stephan ordered. He performed the usual chore, taking off his cap and slinging both his arms over the handles. He performed a quick sweep and focused on the shadows of the approaching ships. “Wolf, bearing 320, we have 1,2,3 Flower Class and … Scheisse. The big one is not a cruiser! It’s an escort carrier! Check number D14! Wolf! Check the Book! ” Stephan whispered to his second in command Wolf opened the “Book” - a manual containing the details of most types of Allied warships - and frantically went through the pages searching for British escort carrier D14. “D14….D14…Mein Gott!! Its HMS Avenger Stephan! “ Wolf replied, the excitement in his voice hard to conceal. “Ok people we will have only one shot at it, so let’s make it right” Stephan replied with tight lips. He took out his note book and pen and started scribbling. “Wolf, bearing 320, 0.75 degrees, mast height 27m, length 140m. Estimated range… 2063m. Please confirm” “Range calculation double checked and confirmed” Wolf replied “Ok Wolf. Open tubes 1,2,3, set depth 4meters, impact pistol” “Tubes 1,2,3 open sir” Wolf replied. Stephan kept his eyes glued to the periscope. “Wolf, get ready to calculate solution” Heinrich’s voice interrupted them “Sir. Warship, approaching fast, bearing 230” Stephan turned the periscope towards the indicated heading. One of the 3 escorts had broken away from the formation and moved towards their direction. Wolf looked at Stephan with a wary glance. “Do you think we have been spotted?” he enquired “I don’t think so Wolf. Its dark, we are silent and all the other warships have kept their course. No lights or flares” Stephan replied. “Let’s take our shot” he continued. “As a precaution, tell Otto to open aft Tube 5 setting magnetic, depth 4.5m, in case the Flower gets too close” “This could prove a high risk strategy Stephan” Wolf whispered to his Kaleun. “High risk strategy? Jesus!” Stephan fumed, taking his eyes off the eyepiece. “It’s a calculated risk Wolf. This is a premium target! High risk is the last thing I would expect to hear from you. The second officer of Prien in the Scapa Raid feels that this is a high risk strategy?” Stephan shot back in a low voice, sure that he had hit bulls eye with Wolf’s enormous ego, but careful not to be overheard by the rest of the crew. Wolf took a step back as if being slapped by an invisible hand. He recovered in a millisecond. “Let’s send these Tommies to the bottom of the sea Stephan” Wolf said loud enough to be heard across the command room. “Waiting for your data Herr Kaleun” he continued. Stephan resumed his position on the periscope. “Prepare to calculate solution for a salvo shot. Tubes 1,2 and 3”. He started relaying the data. “Bearing 350 mast height 27m … range … 1900m. Speed…10 Knots” “Impact angle: 90, leading angle 30” “Solution ready sir” Wolf replied. “Tubes 1,2,3 FIRE in salvo” Stephan ordered, pressing the starter of his stopwatch. At the same moment he turned the periscope towards the Flower Corvette which kept its course towards their position. “Torpedo 1 is out….Torpedo 2 is out…. Torpedo 3 is out” Wolf confirmed “New heading 50, speed 1 knot” Stephan replied, his face glued to the periscope and through it, the shadow of the approaching escort. “Wolf, please confirm that aft Tube 5 is open” “Tube 5 is open sir” Wolf replied. “Maintain course and speed” Stephan continued. “If she comes closer than 800m before our torpedoes hit the escort carrier, I will take a shot at her” the Kaleun whispered wiping his forehead from perspiration. *** __________________ "Submariners are a special brotherhood, either all come to the surface or no one does. On a submarine, the phrase all for one and one for all is not just a slogan, but reality.” -- VADM Rudolf Golosov Last edited by VonApist; 03-05-12 at 10:22 AM.

03-05-12, 01:37 PM	#3
Luno Ensign Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 234 Downloads: 123 Uploads: 0	But...but...but...the spoiler's in the title! __________________ Career: Feb. 13, 1942 "Cpt. Johny Goodwood" Porpoise class: USS Shark, SS-174 Patrols: 2 Victories: 1 Merchants (4519 GRT), 0 Warships (0 GRT), 0 Aircraft Sunk with all hands lost.

03-05-12, 05:29 PM	#4
VonApist Navy Dude Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 175 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	well here's the catch... its not! __________________ "Submariners are a special brotherhood, either all come to the surface or no one does. On a submarine, the phrase all for one and one for all is not just a slogan, but reality.” -- VADM Rudolf Golosov

03-05-12, 10:58 AM	#2
VONHARRIS Konteradmiral Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Greece Posts: 1,992 Downloads: 300 Uploads: 0	Nice reading. Looking forward to reading the next chapter.