U-355 longest patrol... (story about LRT mod in 42/43)

[Hadrys]

Everything was double checked, we were rested, all the damages fixed, fresh food resupplied, warm clothes and double blankets. We were ready for another arctic patrol.

U-355 left its concrete shelter for another ordinary patrol. It was our 4th patrol...

"You know Hanz, I still say _our_ or _us_ ... I can't belive that now 1/3 of the crew are freshman. How could we lost 13 man!!?? And Georg... I hope our new chief will do his best."

"Verdammte Tommies must have some new toys, they seam to find us in the middle of nowhere!"

"That is quite possible but we have our Biscaya Kreuz right? If we can evade DD's why can't we see those RAF boys? They just show up when it's too late."

"But we can't spend all time underwater, we want get to far..."

"Our only hope is arctic night. We spent so much time at the docs that now it should be pitch black all the time near 70°! Our only hope..."

We waved goodbye to our escort, left the fjord and headed 0°. The sea was calm like never. I wonder how it will be out there...

We changed course for Northeast passage, to our hunting grounds at Barents Sea.

"Alarm!!!! Incoming aircraft, bearing 100°, 1,5km!!!"
"Holy **** he's dropping bombs already!"

Huge explosion trashed every smallest piece of loose equipment, thrown every body against the wall and pushed us underwater. Nobody expected this, we were flooding extensively and free falling into the depth. We managed to gain some flotation just before running aground at 200m. Broken arms and ribs were also patched more or less.

"Damages in all compartments Herr Kaleun, minor flooding but we'll make it. Radio room is a total mess, left diesel has a broken base..." Chief went on with his report but I wasn't listening.

"This can't be truth! We lost 2 freshman and nearly we whole sub broke apart! There has to be done something? Where is Luftwaffe? How can that fat ******* do what he wants? How can they let us die like that? Were half a day from Bergen for Gods sake!!!"

Patching and fixing the boat took us few hours, Chief managed to keep us safe from the depth. We surfaced carefully and tried running our right diesel. It worked, still trying to fix what we can, we crawled home. Without any hope for help. The radio was gone.

"Well Menschen, this was our longest patrol! After 2 days we're home for another, AT LEAST one month vacation... Verdammte Tommies!!! Dismissed."

Now I need to produce a report to BdU, they want be happy seeing me so soon.

Maybe it doesn't look that scary but with LRT mod the boat goes down like a rock, repair times reach up to few days and sailors are blown from the deck... I'm checking Stay Alert Crew fix, effects you can see above. Only good thing is the pressure hull takes damages slower so you can lay down on the bottom and try to put yourself together before O2 ends...

http://mrhadrys.com/silenthunter/longestpatrol1.jpg

http://mrhadrys.com/silenthunter/longestpatrol2.jpg

http://mrhadrys.com/silenthunter/longestpatrol3.jpg

[ichso]

Those damage textures look nasty. In a good way ;).

Do you change your skin on midpatrol ? It doesn't look icy anymore :hmm:

I was going to test the lrt mod asap but I'm still on patrol and can play for hours without getting to an end. Some stupid convoy escorts make me work hard to get near any of their freighters and I am currently making the third attempt now.

EDIT: Looking at your last screenshot I have another question: Does the LRT mod disable the compartement status bars ?

[Hadrys]

Hi Thomas,

>>>Those damage textures look nasty. In a good way ;).

Good that you can't see the other side...

>>>Do you change your skin on midpatrol ? It doesn't look icy anymore :hmm:

nope, just switched to this rusted skin as BdU throws me all over the place and icy skin was cool and realistic only for deep north

>>>I was going to test the lrt mod asap but I'm still on patrol and can play for hours without getting to an end. Some stupid convoy escorts make me work hard to get near any of their freighters and I am currently making the third attempt now.


If you don't have any damages try it, want hurt you! Also the DDs are not that hard but minutes ago I had my first rocket attack, took me a while to understand but it was too late, good he missed...

>>>EDIT: Looking at your last screenshot I have another question: Does the LRT mod disable the compartement status bars ?

Yes, you just need to check on your crew. Actually if you get max efficiency you'll see a slight piece of green bar but that's hard to archive when playing realistic (the crew model in LRT is very ok!).

[u-168]

damn tommies


but they struck a good hit to the middle section.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[ichso]

If you don't have any damages try it, want hurt you!
I must have got some hull damage yet but dunno, it doesn't get displayed. My Flak was slightly damaged twice though :>

I will just make a backup of my saves and try it.

The DD's are no good in hunting me. They throw depth charges all over the place but not where I am. But they are good as hell in spotting me where I barely can see their funnel smoke (slight fog overcast at the horizon). So I will make my next approach at night time (as the first one) and if I get damaged I will see if LRT holds what it promises :arrgh!:

[ichso]

Wha, I loaded my older savegame. Before I already got some broken glas at some of the dials and gauges. With LRT they kept breaking after I reloaded this savegame. Guess I have to get home for repairs before I activate this :88)

[Hadrys]

Wha, I loaded my older savegame. Before I already got some broken glas at some of the dials and gauges. With LRT they kept breaking after I reloaded this savegame. Guess I have to get home for repairs before I activate this :88)

Yeah, slight damage takes a lot of glass to brake after reload ;) But probably your rupf is still ok - that's why I turned on to get used to new damage model.

PS I'm heading for Murmansk... nothing happens here, null :(

[ichso]

Where the * is Murmansk ? Ah, just found it on the map :D

Stupid escorts are too good for me :oops:
The convoy is screened by 5 DD's and not even the crappy flower corvettes. This was the third time I tried to get into the convoy. Approached it from the front, submerged. Let the first escort pass me by, drove at 6kn to get away from her, she hasn't recognised us but when she turns on her default patrol route she finds us with ASDIC.

So if the screen is too tight to sneak in submerged I should try it surfaced the next time, with decks awash. But I'm pretty sure they will see me nearly as close as I am able to see them... :shifty:

Perhaps we should turn off some of the front deck party lights :hmm:

[spork542]

If it's 1942, as you say, running decks awash to attack a convoy is a very bad move. Remember the device known as RADAR? Yes, that disguised medieval torture device over there, on that PBY your crew didn't spot. It's also on many escort vessels, and they sure do have an eye for torturing you. Try attacking from one of the sides of the convoy and maneuver based on the escorts' maneuvers. Always keep a repair team available, if worse comes to worse you may need it.



RADAR: I'm on an aircraft, preparing to torture you.
U-boat commander: O rly?
RADAR: Ya rly.

*boooooom*

CE: We're taking damage sir!
CE: Hull damaged sir!
CE: We're taking damage sir!
CE: Diesel engines destroyed sir!
CE: Electric engines destroyed sir!
CE: Watch tower destroyed sir!
NA: Shut up will you?!
...
CE: Current depth 280 meters.
CE: Hull damaged sir!
U-boat commander: No wai!


Internet meme version of a 1944 aircraft attack. :shifty:

[ichso]

Maybe you mixed some things up a little there ;).
On my current patrol I'm still in early '41. Or is radar available to the allies that soon ?
Hadrys started the post and he is in somewhere in 42/43, so he really shouldn't run surfaced or with decks awash, that's right.

My problem is that I cannot get near teh convoy because they detected me visually.
In my last attempt it was night and I tried to get around the escorts, but not from the side as you said, they were just driving in too close circles, there was no possibility to sneak past them from there.

So I decided to sneak in from the front and submerged. I got past the rightmost forward escort but when I was already past it and approaching the convoy it turned on it's regular patrol course and when it was facing us it got a ping on us with it's asdic.

Maybe I was going too fast ? (half) So that it heard me and turned on it's ASDIC ?
Or I was going too slow and should have tried to get farther away from this escort more quickly ?

Anyway, after a long time of depth charging my mouse's akku got empty and I had to save and quit :doh:

[Hadrys]

As I wrote in another damage post I find escorts very easy... still! Last time I just took a bad estimate while overtaking the convoy and had to attack it from 4km because it was doing 9kts and no way to repeat the attack. Even using steam torps near a DD haven't changed anything. The more brave I get it becomes easier. This rule doesn't apply to airplanes as in the example above....

Place yourself before the convoy on its exact path, but do it earlier not in the last minutes. Just sit there at 15m with your scope up and count the smoke stacks on the horizon. As the first escort passes you, you're home! He can't hear you behind his back and in front of 30 ships.