Log in

View Full Version : they' re out to get U603, and they did


czwij
12-07-09, 07:48 AM
may 1943 (black may)

i have requisitioned as a new captain, boat U 603, a VIIC vessel at St Nazaire.

i go out and 140NM into the bay of biscay, aircraft bounce us. no time to dive, we drive them away (around 4am), but bow dive planes are blown clear off (thanks to thomsens no instant death mod - really messes up yer boat when heavily damaged, but wow!!!). we are still afloat and return, but not before being bounced again twice. i fear submerging so we duke it out.

month later

back into the bay, 60NM out and bamm, 6 aircraft. crashdive. everything and i mean all systems, are destroyed. we sink like a stone to 65m, bottom out on the bottom and seal up the leaks. nothing works. nothing. no diesels, batteries, compressor, main pump, radio. zero. lucky the airtanks have enough to blow ballast. after 8 hours fixing and almost dying of CO2, we emerge topside, in the dark, but can't move. row row row your boat.... exit patrol.

another month goes by

clinging a few miles from shore going south along the coast of France. I gotta have aircover here, right? wrong. bounced again by two aircraft. dive full speed at flank speed, bottom of sea is 23m and ........ the boat gets blown to smithereens. this time we die. we sink lying on starboard side, 23m below the surface, diesel fuel and blood rise to the surface to be washed away by the tide. we were 40NM out of harbour fer crissakes!


what the hell was that? 1943?! that was the worst scenario i have ever seen.

GoldenRivet
12-07-09, 09:38 AM
Black May spelled the end :nope:

Read about the demise of the fleet and you will learn one thing.

A WHOLE LOT of U-boats met that EXACT same fate.

We will have a round for you and your crew and a moment of silence back home tonight :salute:

RoaldLarsen
12-07-09, 02:17 PM
You may have noticed that all three times you were attacked you were on the surface. Stop that! You are a submarine. When you have 20m of water below your keel, dive!

Yes it takes a long time to reach your patrol area if you travel submerged. It takes longer if you are dead.

From late '42 onward, airplanes will kill you. This is especially true if you are driving a IX boat. Those pigs just cannot get out of the way fast enough.


My advice from late '42 onwards is:

If you are in an area where enemy aircraft operate, stay submerged, except:

to recharge batteries, or
when fog is medium or heavy (aircraft can't fly)

Upgrade your batteries
Travel submerged at 1.8 knots to conserve battery power
When surfaced and winds are below 10m/s, run with decks awash to reduce dive time (decks awash not available in stock)
When surfaced, run at at least 10 knots to improve dive time
Recharge batteries in daylight, so you can see those aircraft coming

czwij
12-08-09, 05:20 AM
they cant see me in medium fog? i didnt know that. thanks. true, all true and during daytime i don't stay above surface, but when i am so close to port and presume aircover, i try my luck. im sure my crew were thinking after the second patrol, they should mutiny and let someone with at least half a brain run the show.