Spin Doctor
11-20-07, 05:25 PM
May 5 1942 Time:1500
U-802 is patroling about 800km west of Gibraltar. And my god, it's hot! :sunny:
The equatorial sun feels a though it's right on my back and the reflections from this glass-like ocean is murder on the eyes. I decide to dive to give the boys some relief and resurface in the evening.
Shortly after the dive, we surprisingly get a sound contact on a convoy to the southeast. We resurface and head off in the general direction at a flank bell in my IXC and happen upon an interesting sight. A destroyer, burning pretty much down to the water line and no longer under power. We slow to ahead standard and order the crew to man the deck guns. Fire 4 shells from 4500m, two of which hit and down it goes. I move on a little further and spot the convoy. I order all stop and survey the scene. We can see there are a few other ships on fire and the entire convoy is stationary.
So I'm (foolishly) sitting there contemplating what might have happened here and out of the haze come two frigates, balls out, guns blazing and looking kind of pissed off. One of them was also burning slightly. Hoo boy here we go...
Allaaarmmm!!! Down we go, and I'm wondering how to get us out of this mess... Long story short, we get worked over pretty good for about two hours real time, taking some minor damage from flooding and broken gages. During this time the convoy gets underway again and leaves the scene of the crime while this pair of demons stick to me like glue. Finally I manage to break contact and one of the pair steams off to rejoin the convoy and the other steams around behind me for at least another thirty minutes, at a slow bell making long 2000m sweeps, perpendicular to my course, still listening, I suppose.
I creep to periscope depth from 120m and as I get the scope up, the frigate is still behind me 4200m out, at about the 200 degree point going right to left (as viewed through the scope) and going what I figure to be 4 knots. I decide, this guy has got to die. Gambling one torp, I line up the shot. Of course, I'm thinking there's no way I'm gonna hit a target that small from over 4000 meters, but what the hell.
By the time I get the data in and verified, the swan is at the 190 degree point. Set the gas powered fish run depth to 2m, impact fuze. Open Bow Caps, tube five! Fire tube five! Firing tube five! Torpedo in the water!
We have a long 3.5 minute wait and I'm watching anxiously through the scope. As the time ticks down to mere seconds left, I see the swan ring up a flank bell and start to accelerate, so I was obviously pretty close in my calculation. I figure he saw the torp and was trying to get away. About two seconds after my calculated impact time, I get a hit just on the tip of the bow and it settles bow first and quickly slides under. So basically, the swan killed itself. I would have missed had he not rung up the flank bell.
My old man always said, "I'd rather be lucky than good"... :yep:
I catch up to the convoy and there is a lot more action as I tangle with the remaining escorts again because I made contact at an unfortunate point, i.e. the first ship I spot is an escort.
We still have yet to overhaul the convoy and engage it, but so far, this is one of my more exciting encounters. I'm usually more stealthy than this, but all the ships and especially the escorts seem to be a bit more wary than usual.
Yet, I'm still wondering why so many convoy ships were burning, though...
U-802 is patroling about 800km west of Gibraltar. And my god, it's hot! :sunny:
The equatorial sun feels a though it's right on my back and the reflections from this glass-like ocean is murder on the eyes. I decide to dive to give the boys some relief and resurface in the evening.
Shortly after the dive, we surprisingly get a sound contact on a convoy to the southeast. We resurface and head off in the general direction at a flank bell in my IXC and happen upon an interesting sight. A destroyer, burning pretty much down to the water line and no longer under power. We slow to ahead standard and order the crew to man the deck guns. Fire 4 shells from 4500m, two of which hit and down it goes. I move on a little further and spot the convoy. I order all stop and survey the scene. We can see there are a few other ships on fire and the entire convoy is stationary.
So I'm (foolishly) sitting there contemplating what might have happened here and out of the haze come two frigates, balls out, guns blazing and looking kind of pissed off. One of them was also burning slightly. Hoo boy here we go...
Allaaarmmm!!! Down we go, and I'm wondering how to get us out of this mess... Long story short, we get worked over pretty good for about two hours real time, taking some minor damage from flooding and broken gages. During this time the convoy gets underway again and leaves the scene of the crime while this pair of demons stick to me like glue. Finally I manage to break contact and one of the pair steams off to rejoin the convoy and the other steams around behind me for at least another thirty minutes, at a slow bell making long 2000m sweeps, perpendicular to my course, still listening, I suppose.
I creep to periscope depth from 120m and as I get the scope up, the frigate is still behind me 4200m out, at about the 200 degree point going right to left (as viewed through the scope) and going what I figure to be 4 knots. I decide, this guy has got to die. Gambling one torp, I line up the shot. Of course, I'm thinking there's no way I'm gonna hit a target that small from over 4000 meters, but what the hell.
By the time I get the data in and verified, the swan is at the 190 degree point. Set the gas powered fish run depth to 2m, impact fuze. Open Bow Caps, tube five! Fire tube five! Firing tube five! Torpedo in the water!
We have a long 3.5 minute wait and I'm watching anxiously through the scope. As the time ticks down to mere seconds left, I see the swan ring up a flank bell and start to accelerate, so I was obviously pretty close in my calculation. I figure he saw the torp and was trying to get away. About two seconds after my calculated impact time, I get a hit just on the tip of the bow and it settles bow first and quickly slides under. So basically, the swan killed itself. I would have missed had he not rung up the flank bell.
My old man always said, "I'd rather be lucky than good"... :yep:
I catch up to the convoy and there is a lot more action as I tangle with the remaining escorts again because I made contact at an unfortunate point, i.e. the first ship I spot is an escort.
We still have yet to overhaul the convoy and engage it, but so far, this is one of my more exciting encounters. I'm usually more stealthy than this, but all the ships and especially the escorts seem to be a bit more wary than usual.
Yet, I'm still wondering why so many convoy ships were burning, though...