timihendrix
08-06-11, 11:48 PM
Wow, what an awesome game!
I'm commanding U-47, a Type VIIB of the 7th Fleet and it's early 1940. My crew have a couple patrols under their belt and have been improving steadily, as has their captain, mainly via the study of the accounts and advice accounts of veteran virtual skippers, particularly on the subject of using navigational techniques to intercept distant contacts and set up torpedo attacks.
On her 4th patrol, U-47 was assigned to patrol a sector northwest of the British Isles. So far we sent a C2 cargo ship and a small merchant to the bottom, and, according to something he read online,the Captain decided, after patrolling the assigned zone for the required 24 hours, to move to the AM 51 and 52 sectors, when the radioman received multiple reports of a large convoy heading roughly due east in the vicinity.
I decided such an opportunity was too much to pass up, so I ordered the navigator to plot a course in the general area of where I expected the convoy to pass. However, as we were crusing on the surface towards the point where I hoped to acquire the target, the Watch Officer, SubLieutenant Carlewitz, reported an enemy warship headed in our direction, and then an enemy aircraft, and that the warship was in fact a destroyer closing at high speed.
I immediately ordered a crash dive and for the helmsman to put the rudder hard a starboard, while the destroyer closed on our position and the Hurricane swooped in for a bombing run, which was wide to port and did no damage.
The destroyer, however, had acquired us, and for the next hour began a deadly game of cat and mouse, where I would seem to break contact only for him to reacquire me again. I ordered the boat down to 120 meters, and despite attempts at tactics like going to flank speed and applying full rudder when I heard the splash of depth charges, and other techniques I'd read about by far better and more experienced skippers, the destroyer proved tencacious and skillful, and sure enough I began hearing reports of damage to the flak gun, deck gun, conning tower, and minor hull damage.
Last patrol I had decided that Sub Lieutenant Carlewitz should be the first officer on U-47 to receive additional training on damage control techniques, and I ordered him to take as many men not on duty from the forward compartments as he could, and to stop the flooding in the stern quarters. Under his direction and presence of mind, our ad-hoc damage control team was able to report that there was no more flooding, although repairs to the conning tower, flak gun, and deck gun would have to await when -and if- we could safely make it to the surface.
I requested a status report from the Chief Engineer, who said that thanks to the judicious use of the batteries, we had plenty of power remaining, and adequate oxygen for the crew.
However, the destroyer captain, intent on killing one of the hated U-boats which had been ravaging British shipping since the start of the war, had called for help from his friends in the Royal Air Force, and another Hurricane appeared, vectored onto our likely position, and he commenced a low altitude depth-charging run.
I decided to take advantage, and once again order flank speed and rudder hard - a -starboard, taking advantage of the destroyer's positioning and the noise caused by the Hurricane's attack to slip out of the destroyer's circling search pattern. I soon rigged for silent running when I was sure we presented a slender profile to the destroyer's pinging, and by collaborating hydrophone reports with our charts, I realized the enemy did not alter his course, instead proceeding in the same circular search pattern, and I sensed the opportunity to ever-so-slowly increase speed, marking the destroyer's patrol path on the chart with the hydrophone updates, and as it was late in the afternoon, I was able to surface under the cover of darkness, confident I had put enouth distance between myself and the enemy, and the tireless watch officer led his damage control party on repairs to the conning tower and guns while the batteries got a long due recharge.
I headed back north, rounding Scotland and sinking another lone C2 and small coastal merchant ship before returning to Kiel, alive and in one piece with all forward torpedoes (haven't really found out a good way of using the stern ones yet) expended and only about 30 deck gun rounds.
I got the chance to bestow some awards on my crewman, and the Iron Cross, 2nd Class went to Sub Lieutenant Carlewitz - in our first major encounter with Royal Navy firepower, his initiative and cool head in leading the damage control party was just the kind of leadership I wanted to instill in all my officers.
Other lesser awards went to the boat's sonarman. Senior Seaman Euler and Chief Engineer Lt. Jg Friedburg.
TL:DR - ha ha, I had a run in with some rather aggressive escorts and managed to slip away alive and without too much damage, although I never did acquire that convoy. Probably old hat to you guys, but was a first for me and I had a blast!
I'm commanding U-47, a Type VIIB of the 7th Fleet and it's early 1940. My crew have a couple patrols under their belt and have been improving steadily, as has their captain, mainly via the study of the accounts and advice accounts of veteran virtual skippers, particularly on the subject of using navigational techniques to intercept distant contacts and set up torpedo attacks.
On her 4th patrol, U-47 was assigned to patrol a sector northwest of the British Isles. So far we sent a C2 cargo ship and a small merchant to the bottom, and, according to something he read online,the Captain decided, after patrolling the assigned zone for the required 24 hours, to move to the AM 51 and 52 sectors, when the radioman received multiple reports of a large convoy heading roughly due east in the vicinity.
I decided such an opportunity was too much to pass up, so I ordered the navigator to plot a course in the general area of where I expected the convoy to pass. However, as we were crusing on the surface towards the point where I hoped to acquire the target, the Watch Officer, SubLieutenant Carlewitz, reported an enemy warship headed in our direction, and then an enemy aircraft, and that the warship was in fact a destroyer closing at high speed.
I immediately ordered a crash dive and for the helmsman to put the rudder hard a starboard, while the destroyer closed on our position and the Hurricane swooped in for a bombing run, which was wide to port and did no damage.
The destroyer, however, had acquired us, and for the next hour began a deadly game of cat and mouse, where I would seem to break contact only for him to reacquire me again. I ordered the boat down to 120 meters, and despite attempts at tactics like going to flank speed and applying full rudder when I heard the splash of depth charges, and other techniques I'd read about by far better and more experienced skippers, the destroyer proved tencacious and skillful, and sure enough I began hearing reports of damage to the flak gun, deck gun, conning tower, and minor hull damage.
Last patrol I had decided that Sub Lieutenant Carlewitz should be the first officer on U-47 to receive additional training on damage control techniques, and I ordered him to take as many men not on duty from the forward compartments as he could, and to stop the flooding in the stern quarters. Under his direction and presence of mind, our ad-hoc damage control team was able to report that there was no more flooding, although repairs to the conning tower, flak gun, and deck gun would have to await when -and if- we could safely make it to the surface.
I requested a status report from the Chief Engineer, who said that thanks to the judicious use of the batteries, we had plenty of power remaining, and adequate oxygen for the crew.
However, the destroyer captain, intent on killing one of the hated U-boats which had been ravaging British shipping since the start of the war, had called for help from his friends in the Royal Air Force, and another Hurricane appeared, vectored onto our likely position, and he commenced a low altitude depth-charging run.
I decided to take advantage, and once again order flank speed and rudder hard - a -starboard, taking advantage of the destroyer's positioning and the noise caused by the Hurricane's attack to slip out of the destroyer's circling search pattern. I soon rigged for silent running when I was sure we presented a slender profile to the destroyer's pinging, and by collaborating hydrophone reports with our charts, I realized the enemy did not alter his course, instead proceeding in the same circular search pattern, and I sensed the opportunity to ever-so-slowly increase speed, marking the destroyer's patrol path on the chart with the hydrophone updates, and as it was late in the afternoon, I was able to surface under the cover of darkness, confident I had put enouth distance between myself and the enemy, and the tireless watch officer led his damage control party on repairs to the conning tower and guns while the batteries got a long due recharge.
I headed back north, rounding Scotland and sinking another lone C2 and small coastal merchant ship before returning to Kiel, alive and in one piece with all forward torpedoes (haven't really found out a good way of using the stern ones yet) expended and only about 30 deck gun rounds.
I got the chance to bestow some awards on my crewman, and the Iron Cross, 2nd Class went to Sub Lieutenant Carlewitz - in our first major encounter with Royal Navy firepower, his initiative and cool head in leading the damage control party was just the kind of leadership I wanted to instill in all my officers.
Other lesser awards went to the boat's sonarman. Senior Seaman Euler and Chief Engineer Lt. Jg Friedburg.
TL:DR - ha ha, I had a run in with some rather aggressive escorts and managed to slip away alive and without too much damage, although I never did acquire that convoy. Probably old hat to you guys, but was a first for me and I had a blast!