My first real contact and first real sinking!

[reignofdeath]

So I finally got through all the headaches/sorting out/troubleshooting of my mod problems, then I finally got a new career started which I was going to attempt to do well at and I am proud to say that I have sunk my first ship in career :yeah: I know most probably dont care but I am so excited I thought I would share (mainly because I did the interception right and on my own with very little error)

So U-19 was ordered to patrol AN81 in August of 1939 from Kiel. Im using the first boat cant remember the type, but I head out of the canal and that way, as I get out of German waters, I dont see a single thing or hear for that matter on hydros so I get to AN81 and go under and start doing a patrol pattern, I then pick up a merchant at long distance that is closing so I turn north and find out he is closing even quicker and get a general idea of his bearing, I surface to find out hes plenty far out and he is heading SE which was perfect because I was northerly of his heading, so I figured out his speed was slow and do intercept work and come up with where I was going to be, so I get on a 90 degree angle about 1km out of his course and just wait at periscope depth, sure enough, he comes into view and I start making sure my tubes are ALL open, juust incase I need to fire another. :up: So as he comes into a good range, around 2km(Did I mention it was perfectly clear weather? Somebody was on my side today) I have my W.O. give me targeting data (yes Im on very low realism but Im still excited about it :88)) and set tubes 1 and 2 for fast speed and tube 3 for slow. I then set my periscope on tube three and turn it to about 15 degrees off port and wait (that is where my 0 gyro was) as soon as the Cargo's stack crosses my crosshairs, I push fire. I didnt want to use event cam and ruin the anticipation (besides it was night, not like I could see much anyways) I watch slowly as the watch slowly creeps toward the red dial, and riight as it did. . . KABOOM I watch a fireball erupt from right under the smoke stack. As I keep watching (in which point I had turned already to keep my 0 gyro for my other eels, I notice that she slowed to a dead stop. making this easy, beeing its night and early in the war I may just finish her with a deck gun :rock:

But again sorry for the useless post. but I got excited :)

[krashkart]

Right on! :rock:

Don't feel bad... my first AAR ended up in General Topics because I was so excited. :oops:


Grats on your first success. May many more be coming your way. :arrgh!:

[reignofdeath]

Oooh another contact! time to set up in position :yeah: brb gotta take a quick reference look

[reignofdeath]

Second contact report. On my way to go find my second merchant contact, my watch officers spot a destroyer group (3 in a single column) steaming south right into my path, so I figure bag a destroyer, I was 3km out and fired all 3 up front and turned tail and ran north at 2knots and silent running. Long story short, my damn W/O didnt calculate the depth the torps needed to be for me and I forgot to. so they ran not 3 feet right under the first destroyers keel.. now I gotta get out safe. I have one torp left oh boy.

[JokerOfFate]

Cool!
My first kill was horrable I hit the ship dove to 25m crashed into the ship as it was sinking (Karma on the spot), I was upset about losing the career but overjoyed about getting a kill :D

Now,BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!

[papa_smurf]

Its always a good feeling when you get your first kill. Heres to a successful career:salute:

[reignofdeath]

Oh I was, and it wasnt pretty. the post below explains it. but I tried to get out of the area quietly. and something happenend either I hit ground and it damaged me to surface or somethign but the destroyers hit me and came after me . long story short, I was at the bottom of about 30 M deep water, with no propulsion at all. I survived one depth charge run and another killed me. depressing :oops: Well Hats off to the british navy for killing me. However if I HAD (:damn::damn::damn::damn:)set my torpedoes to the right depth, it could be a different story now. Mistake learned from :yeah:

[Abd_von_Mumit]

Congrats on your first success. :salute:

That feels good, doesn't it? Killing Diablo is nothing compared to that. And what's even better - killing Diablo more than once is boring. Sinking ships is not. Not in every case, but you will surely feel the same excitement again and again...

...and then you'll die for the first time in your life. Man, trust me - that will be a LIFE EXPERIENCE. http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4344/crazy2.gif

[JokerOfFate]

Congrats on your first success. :salute:

That feels good, doesn't it? Killing Diablo is nothing compared to that. And what's even better - killing Diablo more than once is boring. Sinking ships is not. Not in every case, but you will surely feel the same excitement again and again...

...and then you'll die for the first time in your life. Man, trust me - that will be a LIFE EXPERIENCE. http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4344/crazy2.gif

and thats what makes this a great game.

[Pisces]

...So U-19 was ordered to patrol AN81 in August of 1939 from Kiel. Im using the first boat cant remember the type, but I head out of the canal and that way, as I get out of German waters, I dont see a single thing or hear for that matter on hydros so I get to AN81 and go under and start doing a patrol pattern, I then pick up a merchant at long distance that is closing so I turn north and find out he is closing even quicker and get a general idea of his bearing,...Ehm, you do realise that the war hasn't started yet, right! It didn't start until september 3rd 1939. Nevertheless, congratulations on getting the steel on target. :up:

[krashkart]

I must have forgotten my first kill, but I will never forget my first depth charging. Spent three hours realtime crawling out of the channel south of Scapa Flow, when what I should have been doing was getting a good night's rest. Watching the action with the external camera was nearly as good as any movie. :)

[Abd_von_Mumit]

Ehm, you do realise that the war hasn't started yet, right! It didn't start until september 3rd 1939. Nevertheless, congratulations on getting the steel on target. :up:

WW2 started on September 1st, with German and Slovakian attack on Poland. On September 3rd France and Great Britain (plus colonies) declare war upon Germany, thus honouring military alliance with Poland. On September 17th Russia attacks Poland (thus honouring treaty with Germany) - which finally decides the fall of Poland a month later.

[Pisces]

WW2 started on September 1st, with German attack on Poland. On September 3rd France and Great Britain (plus colonies) declare war upon Germany, thus honouring military alliance with Poland. September 17th Russians attack Poland (thus honouring treaty with Germany) - which finally decides the fall of Poland a month later.My apologies, you are right. I was thinking of him going into the north sea. There he wouldn't have much trouble until the 3rd.

[Abd_von_Mumit]

My apologies, you are right. I was thinking of him going into the north sea. There he wouldn't have much trouble until the 3rd.

No problem. Just corrected wrong info. As a Pole I'm sensitive to such details. People like to forget where and when it started. For Russians "WW2 started on June 22nd 1941", for Americans it started on Pearl Harbour, for British/French on September 3rd... (also Americans like to forget that they didn't declare war on Axis or Germany - it's Germany that declared war on the US). Details are important in history. :)

[JokerOfFate]

So what happens if I sink a ship before the war and end the patrol after it started is it a neutral or allied unit?

[reignofdeath]

Well I had recieved orders from BDU that all merchants were fair game. but yeah those destroyers tore me up. I had no where to go and not enough crew to do anything repair wise, so I got stuck 30 m deep on the bottom with no propulsion and a few crew members dead. I wish you could launch crew members out of the torpedoe tube like in U 571 :(

[reignofdeath]

Yet the americans still eventually helped win the war :up:

No problem. Just corrected wrong info. As a Pole I'm sensitive to such details. People like to forget where and when it started. For Russians "WW2 started on June 22nd 1941", for Americans it started on Pearl Harbour, for British/French on September 3rd... (also Americans like to forget that they didn't declare war on Axis or Germany - it's Germany that declared war on the US). Details are important in history. :)

[CherryHarbey]

Oh I was, and it wasnt pretty. the post below explains it. but I tried to get out of the area quietly. and something happenend either I hit ground and it damaged me to surface or somethign but the destroyers hit me and came after me . long story short, I was at the bottom of about 30 M deep water, with no propulsion at all. I survived one depth charge run and another killed me. depressing :oops: Well Hats off to the british navy for killing me. However if I HAD (:damn::damn::damn::damn:)set my torpedoes to the right depth, it could be a different story now. Mistake learned from :yeah:

nice one with the first sinking, shame about destroyer getting you.
with regards to lessons learnt, if you're after an all-action game then yes the lesson is: destroyers have shallower drafts than merchants and you need to set your magnetic pistol torps to run shallower. however if you are after a more realistic game then the lesson is: don't mess with warships in shallow water.
it's your game, play it your way but if it was me, I'm not sure I would have attacked at all in that depth of water. if I did it would have been at quite a long range, so I could escape before the torps hit (or were spotted)

[reignofdeath]

Well I didnt know any better soo..... and what is considered long range? I figured 3 KM would be a long enough range but I assume as long as Im at a 90 and I can see the ship in my scopes that I could fire torps from 10km out of I wanted?

nice one with the first sinking, shame about destroyer getting you.
with regards to lessons learnt, if you're after an all-action game then yes the lesson is: destroyers have shallower drafts than merchants and you need to set your magnetic pistol torps to run shallower. however if you are after a more realistic game then the lesson is: don't mess with warships in shallow water.
it's your game, play it your way but if it was me, I'm not sure I would have attacked at all in that depth of water. if I did it would have been at quite a long range, so I could escape before the torps hit (or were spotted)

[CherryHarbey]

I wasn't being critical, the only reason I know of the hazards of shallow water is because I stupidily lost many boats trying to be a hero and decided to change my style.
different torps after different ranges, not sure any go as far as 10km. you can check on the sub management screen before you start your patrol. the one where you can selct different types of torps will give you the speeds and ranges of each type.
you may have got away at 3km but say on another thread you turned and ran. so you may have given yourself away by being too noisy.
But 30m of water is really shallow and unforgiving, so even if I think I could attack sucessfully 9 times out of 10, that tenth time is likely to result in death so I'm not going to attack.
But that's just me and the way I like to play, I'm not saying that's how you should be playing, the only right way to play is your way.:DL

[reignofdeath]

I wasnt saying you were bein critical just didnt know what to put after sooo lol, I should have not attacked the Destroyers and saved my torps for a nice merchant but oh well.

[CherryHarbey]

okay, no problem.
can be tricky when we are conversing in text to get across the tone of what you're saying. I re-read my first repsonse and thought it could come across a bit preachy (which wasn't intended) so if you had got that sense from it, I would try to correct.:salute:

[reignofdeath]

Nada besides Im open to critiscm. Especially if helps me to not get my 29 man crew killed :salute:Seeing as how Im using GWX is it possible that instead of going to my patrol grid I can just find an enemy port with shipping going to it and park my uboat underwater like 10km out and just hit plenty of targets as they go in and out?? I want to get some really nice tonnage sunk for once before being sunk.

[frau kaleun]

So what happens if I sink a ship before the war and end the patrol after it started is it a neutral or allied unit?

For one thing, if you a attack a ship from a nation with which Germany is not currently at war, that nation will consider you an enemy for the following 24 hours and other vessels from that nation, if armed, will attack you without further provocation for the duration of your day-long "private war" with them.

This is true no matter what in-game date you're playing, not just in August 1939. So if you attack a US ship prior to December 11 1941, the US will consider itself at war with you - not with Germany, but with you personally - for the next 24 hours.

As far as nations changing their allegiance or status before you finish a patrol... I think you are going to gain or lose renown according to what the nation's status was at the time you sank one of their ships, not how things stand with them once you finally return to base. I'm not entirely sure about that, so maybe someone who is can give a definitive answer. It's possible that for "scoring" purposes things are tallied up only when the patrol is finished, but my gut feeling is that if you sink a US ship on Dec 1 1941 and return to base on Dec 14, it's still going to count as a neutral beacuse it was neutral at the time you attacked it.

[Jimbuna]

As far as nations changing their allegiance or status before you finish a patrol... I think you are going to gain or lose renown according to what the nation's status was at the time you sank one of their ships, not how things stand with them once you finally return to base. I'm not entirely sure about that, so maybe someone who is can give a definitive answer. It's possible that for "scoring" purposes things are tallied up only when the patrol is finished, but my gut feeling is that if you sink a US ship on Dec 1 1941 and return to base on Dec 14, it's still going to count as a neutral beacuse it was neutral at the time you attacked it.

Aye http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[Snestorm]

Lesson learned. Before 3.SEP.39, just wave to the nice britts, and they won't sink you.

[Gerald]

Go to Dover, and have a beer and look out over the white seagulls everlasting mountains, as reflected in the beautiful horizon hours, where we all sometime collectors to remember that it was!

[Jimbuna]

Go to Dover, and have a beer and look out over the white seagulls everlasting mountains, as reflected in the beautiful horizon hours, where we all sometime collectors to remember that it was!

You've totaly lost me on the above, there are no mountains in the south of England....re-programme the translator :DL

[Gerald]

You've totaly lost me on the above, there are no mountains in the south of England....re-programme the translator :DL and of course there are mountains, especially when you are sitting in a bar and gather strength to go and pee, that just when you are right drunk,and it is like watching a mountain because you find it difficult to trip too the toilet,this is like a mountain :03:

[Pisces]

Go to Dover, and have a beer and look out over the white seagulls everlasting mountains, as reflected in the beautiful horizon hours, where we all sometime collectors to remember that it was!You've totaly lost me on the above, there are no mountains in the south of England....re-programme the translator :DLand of course there are mountains, especially when you are sitting in a bar and gather strength to go and pee, that just when you are right drunk,and it is like watching a mountain because you find it difficult to trip too the toilet,this is like a mountain :03:I think you should come up for air. Sounds like a severe case of CO2 poisoning!

All that I can think of that he might mean are 'the white cliffs of Dover', ... but they weren't made by seagulls on a trip to the toilet.

[Gerald]

It is about one percentage terms, and all are relatively

[frau kaleun]

I think he means the white cliffs of Dover. Which maybe can look like mountains, if you're dead drunk and looking up at them from where you fell on your face on the deck of your u-boat. :O:

[Pisces]

Vendor, where are you from? Maybe knowing that helps bridging the language barrier. I'm sorry, but you make no sense at all.

[Jimbuna]

Vendor, where are you from? Maybe knowing that helps bridging the language barrier. I'm sorry, but you make no sense at all.

Has he ever? :O:

The gentleman resides in Sweden.

[the.terrabyte.pirate]

So what happens if I sink a ship before the war and end the patrol after it started is it a neutral or allied unit?

If the Germans lose, you'll be seen as violating the sacred laws of war.

If the Germans win, you'll be seen as being pro-active.

Unfortunately for you, the Germans have a habit of losing....