The very English ENGLISH CHANNEL

[PapaG39]

They don't call it the French channel or the Dutch channel or the German channel... No! They call it the English channel for a very good reason...The Brits own it! They own the top of the water and they own the bottom. They own both shores and they own everything over the damn thing.

In early 1940 I had to go through it from Wilhelmshaven to AM something & just about didn't make it then, so when I was ordered to go to that area again I said "to hell with this" and I want around Scapa Flow and down to just below Ireland. At that time I thought I was being transferred to Brest...HA HA jokes on me. NOT!

I originally left Wihelmshaven on 5th December 1940, and it is now May 1941 & I am still trying to get back to Kiel where my new base is.

My first try was to go back around via Ireland/Scapa flow to Kiel, but I ran right smack into a damn convoy, and while I did get 4 ships with my six torpedos I almost got myself killed & my ship a little worse for wear making it my #1 priority to return to Brest for fixen up da boot.

My next try didn't fare much better, while I did sink another 4 ships those pesky aircraft made my life a living hell & drove me back to Brest for more fixen up da boot.

Now I am in the middle of that very English channel trying to make it to Kiel once again.

Aircraft keep me down all day and twice at night they dropped bombs around me, but to no avail on their part...

I made it as far as the Dover/Calais area where after being hounded for the past two days by those English PT boats which are everywhere I finely had enough & when I had a good sound on a DD I poked my scope (very slowly) up & shot a torpedo under his stack....Yea! whoopie & other such exclamations of joy were very short lived. I don't know where they were, but the next thing I know I have 6 PT's & two Trawlers and another DD all over the place.

Through all of this I am 17km from Calis which is full of German fighting ships. I sent a msg to Bdu, but they did nothing. No help from Herr Goring & his Luft-waffel either. I don't know how, but I made it into Calis where I got much needed repairs as I was down to 26% ship integerty...

I left Calis at 0000 on May 14, 1941 and within 10km I am right back into the same damn scenario. Those bloody English are everywhere arond me in their speedy little boats & nasty dang Trawlers & DD's.

I don't know boys...This may be the last you ever hear from PapaG39 and his little IID U-39.
you may have to drag the channel if you want me...

I'm not dead yet! However I can't get up to recharge, which isn't a factor as yet, but it will be in about 10 hours or so...

I am hoping that once (IF) I get through the Dover/Calis narrows things will chill out...

[Brag]

Never trust the Brits:-?

[Rotary Crewman]

Damn right:up:

[Lzs von swe]

Don´t trust Goering's boys either. They throw their bombs everywhere and may well hit you instead. Believe me, I have done the Channel run twice in an type II boat. And look out for mines.
Now, you are an German officer in the KM, get your act together and bring your boat back to base:arrgh!:
There might be an type VII boat waiting for you in Kiel:up:

[KeptinCranky]

Well, you've been waiting and waiting...why not wait for some really lousy weather, hug the coast on the surface all the way to the dutch islands, the only thing you'd really have to look out for then are mines because heavy weather (fog) prevents planes and will sink MTBs and trawlers (eventually), since you're unsinkable (well sort of) by the weather this should be the time to go for it...worked for me, even in a II,

[PapaG39]

Mines....Yes, there are mines. I happened to look at myself just for grinns once and just about had heart failure. I took a look from the rear of my sub and just about 6 m on the shoreside of the boat was this big round mine anchored to the bottom via a short cable. I thought sure it was just about to explode, but it didn't.

Also, I was right in the middle of a nice storm, but the damn thing quit about as fast as it came up.
Right now I am just on the eastern edge of the dover narrows/straights or what ever they call them. The Dd just headed off in a hurry for someplace else. I do not miss him at all.
I have one PT behind & a Trawler that is just ahead of me. I am hoping that they are about ready to give up also.
Man, I need a break! It's "Amber Boch" time...
In the last 10 days just about every waking hour has been on this particular set of patrols and about the most TC I have been able to use is 8. If i go faster I get the boat into worse problems because it happens before I can take steps to avoid.

To much time...

Did you guys know that:

***Wives and a mans computer gaming are not compatible***

[Chock]

If you get hit, just nosedive your boat into the bottom, climb up to the rear torpedo tube (if equipped) or cut a hole through the hull, and get out, it's really not that deep:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/news/stories/200301/02/tanker.shtml

and yes, never trust us Brits, we are all underhand sneaky b*st*rds that skillfully mask it behind a 'terribly posh' accent.

:D Chock

[Venatore]

I think the best option if you feel the urge to sneak through the feared English Channel is not to engage the hyper-drive (x2 to x1024) within the game. I think you would have a much better chance to react to the enemy instead of the game throwing you back into the breech to be looking face to face with the commander of a Destroyer (especially in bad weather). I've never died using this method (reason for entering:mod testing), but the downside is; are you prepared to move at the speed of x1 through the channel ?

My two cents worth.

[Blacklight]

:o I completely avoid the channel altogether. I don't CARE where BDU wants to send me ! No more channel for me !!! I'll go the long way thank you very much. I only got one Uboat through the channel and I'm assuming that it was blind luck.

Going into the Channel is suicide !!!!:dead:

[bigboywooly]

To quote Bdu

@BdU@|1939/11/01|Due to the losses to mines, and the proliferation of mining by both sides in the English Channel, this short cut to the operational area is henceforth abandoned. U-boats are to travel trough the North Sea to access the Atlantic.

[PapaG39]

Well, I made it through that bleepen channel again...I don't know how, but I did.
I made it a priority to stay away from all traffic. however, between the numerous british PT boats flashing around at 26kts and more DD's in just the channel area then the the whole German Navy even has, and the whole sky alive with aircraft...Then you have the mines all along the shoreline.
Nope! Nodda!...I ain't doin that gig again ...I may be dumb, but I ain't stuped.
Man, that is time consuming & a lot of work besides. The only thing that you could even accomplish, would be to just stay alive....

One German boat left Calais after I did & I see his little blue sunk boat show up on the chart. He didn't get more then 10km from Calais before he was a statistic.

I was only half way through the Kiel canel when I get this message that informs me that my new base is Brest. Now I have to go all the way around Scapa Flow, Ireland route again.
I think all military minds from any country must have the same morons at the top. They made me come back to Kiel just to turn me around and send me back from where I just came from....

I shuda stayed in the Army...

[Umfuld]

Playing GWX1.03, now you get that message shortly after the Germans take France that they are going to do some mine sweeping and that the Channel is open for business again.

I always go around North of England, but figured I'd try it on the career I'm in now. So I went right after that message came.

It was nothing. The one really narrow part where you enter the channel was tough but once through there I just hugged the French coast. Only ships I saw were those German artilary barges traveling in pairs.


I don't know, maybe it was just dumb luck. Anyway, I feel no urge to go back through any time soon.

[GoldenRivet]

To quote Bdu

@BdU@|1939/11/01|Due to the losses to mines, and the proliferation of mining by both sides in the English Channel, this short cut to the operational area is henceforth abandoned. U-boats are to travel trough the North Sea to access the Atlantic.

My thoughts exactly... i dont even go into the canal in 39 :shifty:

[3Jane]

I always use the channel. Arrive in full darkness and pass exactly 3000m off Calais both ways. Decks awash if the sea is calm, but fully surfaced in wet/foggy conditions. Then slow and silent for the daylight hours. Keep your watch crew fresh and avoid armed trawlers (for speed) on the surface at night. In both a VIIB and IXB it worked every time until I was transfered to Lorient.

[joho]

GWX 1.3

Ive never had any problems with the britts passing the channel. I only travel at night, spending day time going 2knt speed submerged, travelling in the middle of the channel. Full or half speed in the night time. Once in a while a TB sees me before I am under the surface but they cant find me once I am suberged.

[papa_smurf]

For the last time:


DON'T GO NEAR THE ENGLISH CHANNEL!!!!

[PapaG39]

Ha Ha I see varied degrees of experiences through the channel.
I never did see, or don't remember the message advising u-boats to stay away from the channel or that the mines had been swept clean. Perhaps I was into a scenario where it didn't apply to me at that time.

I went through the center of the channel the first time. fast on the surface at night & 2kts submerged during the day. The problem came at night when they would come from every direction & spend the whole night all around my position. It was difficult recharging during the day because if an aircraft spotted me then the boats would show up shortly & they would spend all day looking all around me. It just went on & on.

This time I went partly through the center but got driven into Calais with damage & from then I was blocked from getting to the center of the channel.

you can't really use the TC because that seems to cause big trouble real fast. I think the max TC I used was 8 & safter I was out of the Dover narrows I used 16-32 a bit...

I was never really out of long range sight of smoke or I could actually see a ship. The Bas**rds were in all quads from my position. They were everywhere...

I don't understand why the shore batteries didn't give me any help when I was right next to it either...Probably drunk...

Well it's now July 1941 and I am **NOT** going through that again...