Der Kanal...*GULP*

[Graf Paper]

From: Obltn. z. S. Josef Shutz, kommandant U-47
To: BdU
Date: October 10, 1940

I'm in the middle of my tenth patrol, headed toward my patrol grid of BF15 off the southwest coast of England and south of Ireland.

The most direct route would be to sail through the waters of Der Kanal. :o

Now I've heard the talk among many of my fellow kaleuns that the channel is one of the more dangerous places a u-boat can be.
:gulp:

My questions I'd wish to pose to U-bootwaffe intelligence is: How risky is it to traverse Der Kanal at this date and are there any particular hazards I should be aware of? Would it be more advisable to simply expend the time and fuel to go around north of Britain?

Request response soonest as I am at the point where I must commit to a course.

Regards, U-47 Out...

[Brag]

There is only one sane response. STAY OUT of DER KANAL! Shallow water, enemy patrols, mines. Simply limited options.

[antikristuseke]

I allso hear that Bernard lives in der Kanal, that should be ennough to convince anyone to stay out of it.

[Graf Paper]

So what you're really saying is "Stay out of Der Kanal or else you'll end up in a fish's alimentary canal!". :p

Well, looks like I'm in for a long detour north. :roll:

[Brag]

Good chap, and you often meet lone merchies enroute. :up:

[Laufen zum Ziel]

Der Kanal was the shortest career I have ever had. Within 2 hours of entering I had two DD's trying to have sex with me. No time to release my eels and no depth to dive. Made a head on suicide run at one to get below her fireing angle but the other one did me in.


Sobald Ihr Kopf außerhalb des Hafens für die tiefen Wasser-und dort bleiben.

[ddiplock]

Getting through the canal is tricky, risky, but certainly doable. If I want to cut down time, and if i make the choice to go through "der kanal" I follow several simlpe rules.

1. Travel on the surface only at night, but if a DD IS spotted, then get under those waves.

2. Dive and stay down during the day time, and stay quiet. Rig the boat for silent running.

Takes time, but if you're careful, you can easily come out the other side in one piece :)

[Sailor Steve]

That means the game is still too easy. Going that was was suicide for the real kaleuns, much like harbor raiding. They call it the 'English' Channel for a reason.

[Hakahura]

I now drive an S Boat.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=130088

So the Kanal is my new home.

"Fortune Favours the Fast"... Herman Spedzt.

[Antiacus]

I just got my first assignment outside of the North Sea last night. It was BF31 near Portland actually IN the ditch itself. I was tempted to try to shoot the straight of Dover but i went around. The other challenging thing was that bf31 is at least half british mainland.

Within 45 minutes of arrival i detected 3 british warships, not sure what they were. The weather turned from bad to worse (15m winds, heavy fog, heavy rain), so i got brave and made for Portland... I was a tad displeased when my lookout crew hollered "we're under attack" prior to hollering ship spotted. Luckily it was just a little patrol boat and i was able to dive & repair very quickly then go silent before his friends showed up to DC the heck out of where i used to be.

Anyway, my 25 hrs is up and i'm still lurking in the area... I've got one small freighter down, 3 torps left in my iid.

I'm kinda eyeballing that Dover straight as the patrol is winding down, but i'm still a bit shy. It's Oct 40 and i've got a iid, but i just don't know. I think i'll go around again even though it takes 2 hours RL time just to get around England!

[onelifecrisis]

Der Kanal was the shortest career I have ever had. Within 2 hours of entering I had two DD's trying to have sex with me.

Haha! That made me lol

[Rotary Crewman]

The most direct route would be to sail through the waters of Der Kanal. :o


Don't be a silly sausage. Go round.

[Blacklight]

Getting through the canal is tricky, risky, but certainly doable. If I want to cut down time, and if i make the choice to go through "der kanal" I follow several simlpe rules.

1. Travel on the surface only at night, but if a DD IS spotted, then get under those waves.

2. Dive and stay down during the day time, and stay quiet. Rig the boat for silent running.

Takes time, but if you're careful, you can easily come out the other side in one piece :)


:o
Just remember.. the seccond you dive for any reason, you're going down into a layer of mines so thick that it's like trying to drive a truck through a Los Angeles freeway durring rush hour.

Not to mention all the destroyers that will try to have sex with your boat !

Go around Der Kanal.

[Brag]

Of course, we do have a number of daredevils amonst us, they are the port raiders and Kanal Krashers. I suspect they don't play DID. Which is ok as long as they get satisfaction. :88)

[Hakahura]

Sail a S-Boot...Satisfaction guaranteed.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=130088

Support Mikhayl he's der mench

"Fortune Favours the Fast"... Herman Spedzt (S-Boot Kaleun)

[antikristuseke]

Of course, we do have a number of daredevils amonst us, they are the port raiders and Kanal Krashers. I suspect they don't play DID. Which is ok as long as they get satisfaction. :88)

Iv tried to run der Kanal 3 times in DiD careers, all three of those arrived at that second d shortly after entering der Kanal. Never again, never. Id rather take on a Beoufighter with my Luger.

[Wreford-Brown]

That means the game is still too easy. Going that was was suicide for the real kaleuns, much like harbor raiding. They call it the 'English' Channel for a reason.

On a good weather day, the French coast is visible from the UK south coast. If you do want to use Der Kanal, do it at night or in bad weather (and preferably both!).

[3Jane]

Piece of cake. Stay exactly 3000 Meters off Calais from about 8Km out (outbound). Pass in the darkest part of the night decks awash at full ahead. As soon as you feel your out of range of the shore battaries fully surface and make as much distance as you can before dawn. Travel submerged in the daylight hours. Works every time in both the VIIB and IXB.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5841/calaisroutjx4.jpg

[melendir]

I've gone through English Channel many times in the past.
I always plotted the course through deepest sections of canal (propably lots of mines). I was at surface at night and submerged at day. At day I went close to bottom and raised observation periscope a little and used it to scan for mines.
It saved a lot of fuel and gave some hair raising moments with DD's coming too close :oops: but hey! I saved a lot of fuel... I also had huge amount of luck :up:

Lately though I got barely through it alive and in pretty bad condition, so no more bold days for me... I'm going for the north route nowadays.
So listen what people say, don't go to canal.

There's saying for pilots that says something like this:
"There's bold pilots and there's old pilots, but there ain't so many old bold pilots."

I think that would go well with the captains too :up: