Deutschland's Worst Patrol

[Jonathan]

I was going to write a roelplay scenario for this, but I am just too bummed. I went out on patrol in my Type IIA in 1939. Original patral grid was Scapa Flow. I went there in hopes of finding the Revenge again, but to no avail. Eventually, I sunk two DD...that was it. Decided to look for bigger fish on the eastern shore of Briton, and I found it. A t2 tanker in port..idle...in the middle of the night. I put my last two torpedoes into her. Direct hits! But she does not explode :nope: Bemuddled, I return home. 40km off the eastern coast of England, I spot a Victory Cargo. I decide to give chase and let the men get off some steam. I circle her and open up with the only means of offense I have...my single (1) AA Flak gun. I have my gunner pump all 1000 rounds of AP ammunition into her...I set her crates ablaze and blow most of them off her decks. Yet she keeps on chugging. When I have finally fired ALL of my ordance, I send a beleagured contact report back to Bdu, and they give me a swift "Return to base at once!" On the way home, I come across ANOTHER Victory Cargo...I send a contact report in and keep on going. The dock was as dark as the night's sky when I returned to Wilhemshaven. Total tonnage sunk, 4,360 tons...men lost, 0. I guess I have that to be thankful for. Bdu listened to my pleas and gave me a new Type IIVB and a much larger crew. They told me that I need to make up for my "past failures" at the helm....hopefully I can.:huh:

[Jonathan]

For some strange reason, I was also given the German Iron Cross...I do not feel as though I deserve it. I am number 4 so far in War Tonnage sunk. In the new patrol that I am starting, I am going to go at it with 61% realism. I also have one specialization...which one should I make it?

[Sledgehammer427]

i usually make one of the bootsmanns a gunnery officer, followed by reapir, torpedo, machinist, and sound

oh and jonathan....ingeneursburo glukauf put those net cutters on there for a reason:arrgh!:

20,000 leagues moment
"collision speed!" :D

Sledgehammer427

[Brag]

Oh well, you can console yourself by admiring the picture of J.S. Balz

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o207/Braguine/fsscr842.jpg

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[U49]

Don't worry.

Even Otto Kretschmer sunk on his 3rd patrol with U-23 only on small freighter in 2 weeks. That should be comparable as U-23 was a type IIB boat.

On 4th October '39 he sunk the 876 ton Glen Farg under british flag.

Want to read more?
http://ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi

[Jonathan]

Don't worry.

Even Otto Kretschmer sunk on his 3rd patrol with U-23 only on small freighter in 2 weeks. That should be comparable as U-23 was a type IIB boat.

On 4th October '39 he sunk the 876 ton Glen Farg under british flag.

Want to read more?
http://ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi

I now have my tyoe VIIB..there is just so much more for me to work with...especially the deck gun!

[U49]

I like my deck gun (U-49/VIIB), too!

It's very good to engage all that small coastal traffic, where you otherwise would think twice to spend a torpedo or not.
And of course it's a welcom help to sink a crippled merchant vessel, after you made it stop and leave a convoy by damaging it's boilers/engines with a torpedo.

Good luck :up:
PS:
By the way, what's your boat number ?

[Jonathan]

I like my deck gun (U-49/VIIB), too!

It's very good to engage all that small coastal traffic, where you otherwise would think twice to spend a torpedo or not.
And of course it's a welcom help to sink a crippled merchant vessel, after you made it stop and leave a convoy by damaging it's boilers/engines with a torpedo.

Good luck :up:
PS:
By the way, what's your boat number ?

I am not super sure, but I want to say U-41 or U-49. I will need to go back and load up the game to check for sure.

[U49]

:lol: that's why I have 2 computers.
One is where I'm reading subsim right now, and the other is running SH3 now: CG94, convoy dead ahead appx. 6 miles, and thunderstorm :rock: ..... approaching in TCx1

They just left Gibraltar I will make sure, not all of them will reach the open atlantic :ping:

[Jonathan]

:lol: that's why I have 2 computers.
One is where I'm reading subsim right now, and the other is running SH3 now: CG94, convoy dead ahead appx. 6 miles, and thunderstorm :rock: ..... approaching in TCx1

They just left Gibraltar I will make sure, not all of them will reach the open atlantic :ping:

I WISH I had two computers...and man, if I had a laptop that could run SHIII and Winning eleven 9, i would NEVER be bored anywhere!

I started a good patrol last night...I played with the lights out. Whenever I needed to look at my maps or charts, I whipped out my rechargeable flashlight and Vis-A-Vis marker. I determined that (1) I need a 6 in. clear ruler, and (2) that my current position was just inside British Air Space in 1939.

[U49]

I understand your need of 2 computers.... :lol:

Playing the game and 1:1 posting the screenshots :rock:

I just broke through the outer screen of that convoy and was detected by one escort from the front sector.
To say it with a Clilnt Eastwood quotation: He knew too much! :rotfl:
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1975/sh3img3122007194552984ku2.png (http://imageshack.us)

Now my path is clear to attack the heart of that convoy. I'm 1000m from the first row, directly heading for the center lane. I can already see one large Cargo through the mist and behind him I recon another warship.
Let's play it cool: either it is another escort and I have to break off after the first shooting or it's a cap ship :rock:

We will see in 10 minutes ....

[Jonathan]

I still have never seen a convoy. :shifty:

[U49]

If you are still early in the war you have a good chance for a convoy either directly at the mouth of the themse river or better betweeen the orkney's and the shetlands.

The later is my lovely hunting ground for early war convoys.
They are well escorted but if you time your attack good you can make one attack run with 3 -4 targets and either stop them for a final shot later or you sink them directly.

[Jonathan]

If you are still early in the war you have a good chance for a convoy either directly at the mouth of the themse river or better betweeen the orkney's and the shetlands.

The later is my lovely hunting ground for early war convoys.
They are well escorted but if you time your attack good you can make one attack run with 3 -4 targets and either stop them for a final shot later or you sink them directly.

Whilst I was leaving port at Wilhemshave yesterday, I took a gander at my nautial charts and noticed several areas where convoy routes seem to converge together. Two of interest were off the western coast of Ireland and west of Gibraltar, off the soutwest coast of Spain/Portugal.

My current patrol has me going to east-Great Britain near Hartlepool (I believe it is called). For me, sucess on this patrol equals or rises above 75,000 pounds.

[U49]

....
although I missed that large cargo ( must have been a dud or it underrun the target in that stormy weather, I was shooting from 600m AOB 80)

I grapped myself a cruiser, :rock: looky here:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2319/sh3img3122007202649265kg7.png (http://imageshack.us)

One hit without big effects, one dud (:damn: I hate storm for that) and one with a big bang. :lol:

=========
Reloading now in 210m while the remaining escorts seem to be angry :rotfl: , but in this one convoy I still were not able to sink any merchants.. :(

[U49]

My current patrol has me going to east-Great Britain near Hartlepool (I believe it is called). For me, sucess on this patrol equals or rises above 75,000 pounds.

If I remember right that area is mostly single merchants and roving destroyers.
Only once a week should a convoy pass....
During my last careers I only met once out of 7 patrols a convoy there...
maybe fullfill your mission with the patrol grid there and then turn north?
AN14 should give you something :yep:

[Jonathan]

My current patrol has me going to east-Great Britain near Hartlepool (I believe it is called). For me, sucess on this patrol equals or rises above 75,000 pounds.
If I remember right that area is mostly single merchants and roving destroyers.
Only once a week should a convoy pass....
During my last careers I only met once out of 7 patrols a convoy there...
maybe fullfill your mission with the patrol grid there and then turn north?
AN14 should give you something :yep:

Is AN14 Scapa Flow? My last patrol had me go there, and I got zilch. This time though, I am going to be more patient. I also have two topnotch radiomen to operate the hydrophone and sonar.

[U49]

Is AN14 Scapa Flow? My last patrol had me go there, and I got zilch. This time though, I am going to be more patient. I also have two topnotch radiomen to operate the hydrophone and sonar.

Not really Scapa Flow, but almost :)

125 km NE of Scapa Flow is the passage between the Orkney and the Shetland Islands.

Early in the war it is quite frequently used by convoys....
(flipping back in my notes....... ) like 12 freight ships in 2 lanes of each 6 behind and 2 to 6 escorts.

Sorry: GWX 1.03 as we speak of it.... I left vanilla SH3 very early :lol:
I hope I didn't lead you to a wrong area? Are you in GWX too?

-----------EDIT
PS: right now, the escorts are bombing the he$% out of the water, but for sure they are setting the depth too shallow :rotfl:

[Hakahura]

@ Jonathan.

If it's early war tonnage your after & you using GWX 1.03.
Check out this thread I posted a while back...

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=125695

Big tonnage to be had there.
But it ain't easy.

[NiclDoe]

Relax Jona we all had worse patrols then you. the worest patrol every is the last one before death.

[Redshirt]

My first patrol of this with my current boat was a complete dog - rough seas fog targets keep eluding me in the bad weather. I only shot at two targets one medium cargo fired 3 shots 2 hits and one dud. The other was a small freighter I was all excited for actually finding a target that I didn't try stop to ID it. Just after firing two fish I spot the stars n strips.... this is February 41 :x

The first shot wizzed past her bow missing by a hair and the 2nd hit mid ships and bounced off the hull - a DUD! haha :rotfl:I have never been so thankful of a dud torpedo.

[Jonathan]

My first patrol of this with my current boat was a complete dog - rough seas fog targets keep eluding me in the bad weather. I only shot at two targets one medium cargo fired 3 shots 2 hits and one dud. The other was a small freighter I was all excited for actually finding a target that I didn't try stop to ID it. Just after firing two fish I spot the stars n strips.... this is February 41 :x

The first shot wizzed past her bow missing by a hair and the 2nd hit mid ships and bounced off the hull - a DUD! haha :rotfl:I have never been so thankful of a dud torpedo.

did you get penalized for at least dinging a neutral ship?

[Redshirt]

As far as I know you only get penalised for sinking it, so if you hit it and it doesnt sink your fine :yep: