gabeeg
02-19-07, 05:59 PM
I have been reading a few threads where users have complained about the limiting factor of poor weather (heavy fog, 15km winds, etc.). I have to admit I am often frustrated by low visibility in heavy fog or trying to make a periscope attack in a rolling sea. But let me tell you there are times when this weather will save your butt.
I was out on patrol off Eastern sea board of North America between NY and Halifax in August 1942. In fair weather I was forced to only surface in the darkest of night due to a plague of Aircraft patrols...and even then I was caught a couple of times in the searchlights of a PBY patrol. Eventually, a heavy fog and high winds came up and I figured my chances of a large tonnage patrol just evaporated with with the weather. About this time I got a Hydrophone contact of a large convoy coming out of NY harbor. I shadowed this convoy hoping it would head for deeper ocean, but by its heading it looked to be making a stop at Halifax. I decided to go in for an attack and positioned myself ahead of the convoy and choose a spot that if they did not change course I would be between two of the outside rows. This has worked out well for me in the past but this time I miscalculated the zig zagging of the lead destroyer and while at periscope depth he zigged right into the flak guns on my IXC causing minor damage. I panicked and attempted to dive to 60 meters (knowing that I was not in the deepest of waters) at silent running. Unfortunately there were only 53 meters to be had and I received 1% hull damage and a damaged compressor. I had to leave silent running to repair the damage. I figured at this point that the gig was up and I was in for a world of hurt. Amazingly the Destroyer that clipped me kept going. It worked out well and even with the heavy fog I was able come back up to periscope depth and make a small adjustment to my course and sink a C2 with 2 torpedoes from the bow tubes and disable a Liberty with a torpedo from the Stern (the second shot missed). So even in heavy fog if you can get within ~400m of a ship you will have a very short moment where you will be able to see the ship even if only as a ghostly apparition and make your shot. After firing my torpedos I dived to 50 meters went back to silent running and set a course to put me in the middle of the on coming convoy (this tactic works very well in keeping the escorts from pinpointing you). Slowly but surely the convoy passed over me, my hydrophone man was able to pinpoint the location to the south east of me where two of the escorts were concentrating their search...we set our course away from them and made good our escape. We stayed in an immediate but safe vicinity, waiting for the escorts to return to their sheep and leave hydrophone range...when they did we went back and sent another torpedo into the Liberty sending her to the bottom.
I decided to make for deeper water and take advantage of the foul weather by surfacing and racing ahead of the convoy to a spot ahead on their likely course. Two days later we got a radio report of a large convoy on the same heading as the one we had attacked. This helpful bit of information gave me their current course and location and indeed their course did not change and within half of a day I would be well ahead of them enough to safely position myself. With engines full ahead we plowed thru the stormy seas and heavy fog on a parallel course 10 km SE of the convoy. After a few hours I ordered a course change to converge with their path. Still at full ahead, we were within 3-5km of their likely future location. At this point I believed that I was at least 15-20km ahead of them. This turned out not to be the case. At the exact moment that I ordered the boat to dive and made one last course change to make us perpendicular to the convoy path I got the dreaded "We've been spotted!" I was confused for a moment and thought it must be aircraft..but in this soup....and why did I not get the normal "Aircraft spotted" report. Before I could get my wits about me came the report that we were under attack. I went up to the bridge and immediately spotted our tormentor to the north west of us less than 300m away it was the east/right side escort to our convoy. I could not risk a crash dive as we were already diving (damn the 35+ second dive times of the IXC!) and I was not confident I could stop the crash before hitting the bottom which was only ~60m beneath us. I went to flank and and just as everyone came off the bridge we took a glancing hit off our deck just in front of the heavy flak gun causing an additional 4% damage to our hull and doing minor damage to the gun. As soon as we escaped beneath the surface we were immediately being pinged. I changed course to the south. Within 30 seconds depth charges were in the water just aft of our position and exploding a few meters above. I stayed at flank speed until a few seconds after the last explosion and reduced our speed to 2knots and silent running. Another 30 seconds and we heard the escort above us and then the depth charges...Flank speed and another course change to the south east. This time the the charges though still slightly aft of us were exploding at our same depth. We finally got to ~58m when the next pass came, luckily for us this one was behind and too starboard...but again they had our depth pegged with depth charges exploding 1-2 meters off the bottom and on the bottom. We were being pinged again! I just knew in my heart this was our last patrol. At this point I remembered the heavy fog above and thought that our best chance maybe to blow ballast and get to the surface where we can make 18-20knots and hopefully make our selves invisible in this soup. At this time the escort was moving away and had not swung around for its third and probably last pass (for us). I then remembered another thing I had forgotten! We had just been outfitted with Bold1's just prior to this patrol! I held off on the emergency blow and released one of the Bold canisters. I went to ahead 1/3rd and changed course to the east. I held course and speed for a minute or so to get some distance between us and the bold, then did an emergency blow. When we broke the surface, I did a quick 360 scan and nothing, Thank you heavy fog! We went to flank not bothering to charge batteries cuz unless we got out of here we would no longer need batteries. We traveled 50km at flank...just for good measure and when we got to deep water dove and took a listen...quiet as a funeral.
So before letting your frustrations at fog take over, realize it may just save your butt one day. Assuredly if we had had anything less than heavy fog that day...we would have been dead. On top of that we have the luxury of traveling on the surface without the dreaded air patrols.
I was out on patrol off Eastern sea board of North America between NY and Halifax in August 1942. In fair weather I was forced to only surface in the darkest of night due to a plague of Aircraft patrols...and even then I was caught a couple of times in the searchlights of a PBY patrol. Eventually, a heavy fog and high winds came up and I figured my chances of a large tonnage patrol just evaporated with with the weather. About this time I got a Hydrophone contact of a large convoy coming out of NY harbor. I shadowed this convoy hoping it would head for deeper ocean, but by its heading it looked to be making a stop at Halifax. I decided to go in for an attack and positioned myself ahead of the convoy and choose a spot that if they did not change course I would be between two of the outside rows. This has worked out well for me in the past but this time I miscalculated the zig zagging of the lead destroyer and while at periscope depth he zigged right into the flak guns on my IXC causing minor damage. I panicked and attempted to dive to 60 meters (knowing that I was not in the deepest of waters) at silent running. Unfortunately there were only 53 meters to be had and I received 1% hull damage and a damaged compressor. I had to leave silent running to repair the damage. I figured at this point that the gig was up and I was in for a world of hurt. Amazingly the Destroyer that clipped me kept going. It worked out well and even with the heavy fog I was able come back up to periscope depth and make a small adjustment to my course and sink a C2 with 2 torpedoes from the bow tubes and disable a Liberty with a torpedo from the Stern (the second shot missed). So even in heavy fog if you can get within ~400m of a ship you will have a very short moment where you will be able to see the ship even if only as a ghostly apparition and make your shot. After firing my torpedos I dived to 50 meters went back to silent running and set a course to put me in the middle of the on coming convoy (this tactic works very well in keeping the escorts from pinpointing you). Slowly but surely the convoy passed over me, my hydrophone man was able to pinpoint the location to the south east of me where two of the escorts were concentrating their search...we set our course away from them and made good our escape. We stayed in an immediate but safe vicinity, waiting for the escorts to return to their sheep and leave hydrophone range...when they did we went back and sent another torpedo into the Liberty sending her to the bottom.
I decided to make for deeper water and take advantage of the foul weather by surfacing and racing ahead of the convoy to a spot ahead on their likely course. Two days later we got a radio report of a large convoy on the same heading as the one we had attacked. This helpful bit of information gave me their current course and location and indeed their course did not change and within half of a day I would be well ahead of them enough to safely position myself. With engines full ahead we plowed thru the stormy seas and heavy fog on a parallel course 10 km SE of the convoy. After a few hours I ordered a course change to converge with their path. Still at full ahead, we were within 3-5km of their likely future location. At this point I believed that I was at least 15-20km ahead of them. This turned out not to be the case. At the exact moment that I ordered the boat to dive and made one last course change to make us perpendicular to the convoy path I got the dreaded "We've been spotted!" I was confused for a moment and thought it must be aircraft..but in this soup....and why did I not get the normal "Aircraft spotted" report. Before I could get my wits about me came the report that we were under attack. I went up to the bridge and immediately spotted our tormentor to the north west of us less than 300m away it was the east/right side escort to our convoy. I could not risk a crash dive as we were already diving (damn the 35+ second dive times of the IXC!) and I was not confident I could stop the crash before hitting the bottom which was only ~60m beneath us. I went to flank and and just as everyone came off the bridge we took a glancing hit off our deck just in front of the heavy flak gun causing an additional 4% damage to our hull and doing minor damage to the gun. As soon as we escaped beneath the surface we were immediately being pinged. I changed course to the south. Within 30 seconds depth charges were in the water just aft of our position and exploding a few meters above. I stayed at flank speed until a few seconds after the last explosion and reduced our speed to 2knots and silent running. Another 30 seconds and we heard the escort above us and then the depth charges...Flank speed and another course change to the south east. This time the the charges though still slightly aft of us were exploding at our same depth. We finally got to ~58m when the next pass came, luckily for us this one was behind and too starboard...but again they had our depth pegged with depth charges exploding 1-2 meters off the bottom and on the bottom. We were being pinged again! I just knew in my heart this was our last patrol. At this point I remembered the heavy fog above and thought that our best chance maybe to blow ballast and get to the surface where we can make 18-20knots and hopefully make our selves invisible in this soup. At this time the escort was moving away and had not swung around for its third and probably last pass (for us). I then remembered another thing I had forgotten! We had just been outfitted with Bold1's just prior to this patrol! I held off on the emergency blow and released one of the Bold canisters. I went to ahead 1/3rd and changed course to the east. I held course and speed for a minute or so to get some distance between us and the bold, then did an emergency blow. When we broke the surface, I did a quick 360 scan and nothing, Thank you heavy fog! We went to flank not bothering to charge batteries cuz unless we got out of here we would no longer need batteries. We traveled 50km at flank...just for good measure and when we got to deep water dove and took a listen...quiet as a funeral.
So before letting your frustrations at fog take over, realize it may just save your butt one day. Assuredly if we had had anything less than heavy fog that day...we would have been dead. On top of that we have the luxury of traveling on the surface without the dreaded air patrols.