Jay Carlson
10-30-06, 07:46 PM
The most fun 17 minutes of game time in many a year. Even wife had to check to see what all the furious, silent tapping was all about.
Finally got around in front of the convoy hiding my escaped medium tanker, the one I put 2 fish into just 10 hours earlier. The foolish ship thought he could plow ahead at 7 knots, even heavily down at the bow.
Now, the lead destroyer is 2000 meters to my starboard rear and moving away so I can come up from 25 meters and turn to meet the convoy in attack position. We are silent of course. My tanker is 2 back in center column with large cargo beyond in the next column. Routine for my spiffy VIIc all tricked out with the latest gear. My first patrol in my nice little U556. Just got the boat from my previous commander, sent to a desk job after 11 patrols. I was the second officer under his command and we went through this over and over in 1940 and 1941. It's November 41 and I feel like an old veteran showing the new crew how its done.
I plan 1 fish for the tanker, 2 for the cargo and a quick spin to stern to hit a medium cargo behind me. I wait for the situation to develop, get solution and fire 3 front and 1 rear. A heavy hit on the bow of the tanker and I consider her dead. 2 on the large cargo but she might keep chugging along. The rear tube surprises us and splits the medium cargo in two. I fire the last fish at the cargo and order the dive to 80 meters with a turn 90 degrees to port. As I dive, the fourth fish hits.
Now we wait. Sonar can't find the destroyers in all the noise up above me but I'm 10 minutes away from my firing position. Safe and secure at 80 meters. Just like the textbook. We simply wait, come to the surface after everyone has gone ahead with the convoy and head home with 36,000 tons to our name, including a Fiji Cruiser.
Little do I know that 80 meters above us a frigate is running straight for our position. First, my sonar tells me we're being pinged. I look on the plot but can't see the hunter/killer from the merchant traffic, but to be safe I assign the damage crew. I learned early not to wait but to get them ready. I go to sonar and take a spin around the dial. Merchant, merchant, merchant . . . and then nothing but screw sounds as a warship speeds over the boat from 10 degrees off the bow. Someone yells of depth charges in the water and I start issuing commands.
Ahead flank, hard port and 100 meters is called back to me and as the ship vibrates under the new power the first explosions are heard. The sound of hissing tells me we're hit. I check the damage control report and find bow torpedo and crew compartment damaged and leaking, slowly sure, but leaking. I send the repair crew to the first compartment, already showing a bit of water. Then, remembering the boat, I call for 1/3 speed, rudder center and keep current depth. Now, back to see the score - repairs are 18 minutes for crew compartment and 11 minutes for torpedo room. We aren't dead. So, let's pull this out and make a victory. And then I notice the boat is at 120 meters.
Call for 80 meters. Dive planes fore and aft are maxed out to kill the dive but the boat does not respond. 130 meters. OK, let's go back 1/3. If you could see the boat from outside, it would be down at the bow 45 degrees with props churning madly. 140 meters. This is worse. I call for back standard. 150 meters. A moment hesitation and we blow ballast, back emergency. Finally, our efforts take hold and the boat stops descending at 160 meters and slowly climbs from the depths. We still fighting. Victory is still possible.
Damage report shows compartments still filling with water. More crew is sent to help. The repair continues as the boat reaches 85 meters and upward momentum stops. She starts to slide into the depths again. We drift lower more slowly this time and at 150 we use another charge of compressed air. 160 meters and no change. We blow again and finally at 170 we start the climb again, firmly up, straight backward out of the depths.
As we cross over the 100 meter mark I notice the pinging again. At 80 depth charges sound around us, but no new damage can change our situation now. At 60 meters the torpedo room is repaired and the flooding is being pumped out. At 40 meters I decide to stop the boat. I think we can control this. Victory will be ours. Torpedo room is under control, the bow crew compartment has under 5 minutes to being fixed - although the water level is dangerously high - 2 charges left in our air compressed air tanks and plenty of time and room to drift lower. Of course, we can't level the boat. On the bright side, the depth charges are away from us so our fight is our own now.
As expected we begin to slide down again. With 2 minutes of repair work left we cross the 100 meter mark. The torpedo room is nearly dry with only 1 minute left to repair the crew compartment as we cross 120 meters. I figure at 150 meters we can again blow ballast and bring the boat up. Then we just need to pump her dry, level her out and be on our merry way. I lean back to watch the depth meter, poised to blow ballast.
But as I watch, my repair crew suddenly turns to red ghosts. I see the report that the bow crew compartment is destroyed by flooding and before I can even swear an oath to the gaming gods, I drift out of my boat. She hangs suspended at 130 meters with props still turning. 49 gone. No survivors. 17 minutes of great gaming action. My lesson: the game does bite back every now and then.
Out of respect, I decide not to start another crew tonight. Let U556 have the day.
Finally got around in front of the convoy hiding my escaped medium tanker, the one I put 2 fish into just 10 hours earlier. The foolish ship thought he could plow ahead at 7 knots, even heavily down at the bow.
Now, the lead destroyer is 2000 meters to my starboard rear and moving away so I can come up from 25 meters and turn to meet the convoy in attack position. We are silent of course. My tanker is 2 back in center column with large cargo beyond in the next column. Routine for my spiffy VIIc all tricked out with the latest gear. My first patrol in my nice little U556. Just got the boat from my previous commander, sent to a desk job after 11 patrols. I was the second officer under his command and we went through this over and over in 1940 and 1941. It's November 41 and I feel like an old veteran showing the new crew how its done.
I plan 1 fish for the tanker, 2 for the cargo and a quick spin to stern to hit a medium cargo behind me. I wait for the situation to develop, get solution and fire 3 front and 1 rear. A heavy hit on the bow of the tanker and I consider her dead. 2 on the large cargo but she might keep chugging along. The rear tube surprises us and splits the medium cargo in two. I fire the last fish at the cargo and order the dive to 80 meters with a turn 90 degrees to port. As I dive, the fourth fish hits.
Now we wait. Sonar can't find the destroyers in all the noise up above me but I'm 10 minutes away from my firing position. Safe and secure at 80 meters. Just like the textbook. We simply wait, come to the surface after everyone has gone ahead with the convoy and head home with 36,000 tons to our name, including a Fiji Cruiser.
Little do I know that 80 meters above us a frigate is running straight for our position. First, my sonar tells me we're being pinged. I look on the plot but can't see the hunter/killer from the merchant traffic, but to be safe I assign the damage crew. I learned early not to wait but to get them ready. I go to sonar and take a spin around the dial. Merchant, merchant, merchant . . . and then nothing but screw sounds as a warship speeds over the boat from 10 degrees off the bow. Someone yells of depth charges in the water and I start issuing commands.
Ahead flank, hard port and 100 meters is called back to me and as the ship vibrates under the new power the first explosions are heard. The sound of hissing tells me we're hit. I check the damage control report and find bow torpedo and crew compartment damaged and leaking, slowly sure, but leaking. I send the repair crew to the first compartment, already showing a bit of water. Then, remembering the boat, I call for 1/3 speed, rudder center and keep current depth. Now, back to see the score - repairs are 18 minutes for crew compartment and 11 minutes for torpedo room. We aren't dead. So, let's pull this out and make a victory. And then I notice the boat is at 120 meters.
Call for 80 meters. Dive planes fore and aft are maxed out to kill the dive but the boat does not respond. 130 meters. OK, let's go back 1/3. If you could see the boat from outside, it would be down at the bow 45 degrees with props churning madly. 140 meters. This is worse. I call for back standard. 150 meters. A moment hesitation and we blow ballast, back emergency. Finally, our efforts take hold and the boat stops descending at 160 meters and slowly climbs from the depths. We still fighting. Victory is still possible.
Damage report shows compartments still filling with water. More crew is sent to help. The repair continues as the boat reaches 85 meters and upward momentum stops. She starts to slide into the depths again. We drift lower more slowly this time and at 150 we use another charge of compressed air. 160 meters and no change. We blow again and finally at 170 we start the climb again, firmly up, straight backward out of the depths.
As we cross over the 100 meter mark I notice the pinging again. At 80 depth charges sound around us, but no new damage can change our situation now. At 60 meters the torpedo room is repaired and the flooding is being pumped out. At 40 meters I decide to stop the boat. I think we can control this. Victory will be ours. Torpedo room is under control, the bow crew compartment has under 5 minutes to being fixed - although the water level is dangerously high - 2 charges left in our air compressed air tanks and plenty of time and room to drift lower. Of course, we can't level the boat. On the bright side, the depth charges are away from us so our fight is our own now.
As expected we begin to slide down again. With 2 minutes of repair work left we cross the 100 meter mark. The torpedo room is nearly dry with only 1 minute left to repair the crew compartment as we cross 120 meters. I figure at 150 meters we can again blow ballast and bring the boat up. Then we just need to pump her dry, level her out and be on our merry way. I lean back to watch the depth meter, poised to blow ballast.
But as I watch, my repair crew suddenly turns to red ghosts. I see the report that the bow crew compartment is destroyed by flooding and before I can even swear an oath to the gaming gods, I drift out of my boat. She hangs suspended at 130 meters with props still turning. 49 gone. No survivors. 17 minutes of great gaming action. My lesson: the game does bite back every now and then.
Out of respect, I decide not to start another crew tonight. Let U556 have the day.