EricW
08-31-11, 03:52 PM
Well, I hope that I'm not jinx-ing myself.....but I've never gotten so far on a campaign. Usually, I'm either sunk or the game has gone buggy on me (usually sunk) by Patrol 7 or 8.
Running TMO 2.2+ RSRD+ a couple fixes + MaxOptics + show air contacts
Nov. '43
So, I got orders to patrol the Marshalls (yawn) and sat there for 3 weeks game time before I got a contact...BUT as I was plotting it out heading N towards Eniwetok, I got another contact heading S.....cool. Two plots at once, not a prob, at least I got some action starting.....soon 2 Biyo class freighters on the bottom and 5 torps gone, I'm right back to the doldrums......
I radio in looking for another assignment and get stuck with the same area.... so, convinced that I've cleaned out all the japs where I'm at, I'm off to Truk.
Now with RSRD running, I haven't seen many convoys, just 3 or 4 in 14 patrols and always only a couple of ships with one escort leading them on, in other words, easy pickings.
As I near the south entrance to Truk, I pick up a couple blips on radar out around 14 miles which develops into a 4 ship convoy with 4 escorts....FINALLY.....I've got something to get excited about, lol. I started plotting from radar and get their course at somewhere around 190 and the speed anywhere from 6 to 10 knots ( maybe its just me, but RSRD makes speed MUCH more difficult to nail down...I LIKE it). I maneuver up ahead of them and drop to periscope depth as soon as they start to appear out of the mist at about 6 miles. As the wind-speed was at 6 m/s, it was a piece of cake to get inside the escorts and fire off a split salvo at the two trailing merchants, a Nagara class freighter closer in and a Buzyun tanker out beyond it. I was able to time my torps so they SHOULD hit both ships around the same time......and it mostly worked. I have the event cam on so when my first torp neared the tanker the cam came on to show me nothing but water........I missed the tanker and I wasn't even close enough to see whether I was ahead or behind WTF?!? LOL. As I was cursing my luck and bad solution, the freighter took 3 hits lined up aft to bow, NICE, just exactly as I aimed them. That made me wonder how I screwed up on the tanker..... when my third torp fired (at the tanker's bow) impacted dead center and set it afire. WOOO HOOOOO, at least one hit, lol.
The freighter went down immediately, as the escorts wheeled around to get get their revenge, pinging like mad. I wasn't too worried, the seas were rough enough to make me a tough target. They had a couple close ones but I lost them after a few DC passes and was able to get up to periscope depth 10 minutes later, just in time to get the "she's going down, sir" message re. the tanker, and watch it happen. Yay, a double, sometimes you can get lucky, lol.
I snuck out to about 3500 yds from the searching SC's and started reloading the bow tubes....BIG mistake, they heard me and started in again. This time they pinged me good all the way down past 500ft. and stuck to me like glue, but all their DC's stayed aft of me and after about an HOUR of my dodging them, they gave up and returned back to escorting the remaining 2 freighters. I finally got to periscope depth, poked my SD antenna up, and of course, I've got planes from Truk searching for me. I'm only 25 miles south of the island group and they musta scrambled the whole airforce to find me...lots and lots of contacts, me at 4 kts. periscope depth, and my convoy escaping fast....I almost gave up on pursuit, except I noticed that it was only a half hour or so until sundown. As soon as the planes gave up for the evening, I hit the surface at flank speed on their last known heading south.
40 or 50 miles later, there they are, still headed for the Bismarck Sea, still going anywhere from 6 to 10 knots.....I plotted a looong end-around and sure enough, got inside the escorts again and let loose 4 mk14s at the larger of the two. I never could pin down their speed exactly, so I settled on 8 knots and spread my shots out from the tip of the stern to ahead of the bow and watched him leave all four behind.......CRAP!!!! How could I be off by THAT MUCH??? Anyways...the escorts rolled in and put me deep again for another hour or so as I snaked my way outta there. 3 of the 4 subchasers stayed back looking for me while the last escort and the freighters steamed away at what had to be 12+ knots......Since it was fully dark, I brought the Balao up to radar depth, found that I was 6000+ yds from any enemies and brought it up to the surface for another end around pass at 'em.
An hour later (game time) I'm back in position up ahead of the convoy (.....this is getting old, I know) and I've got 3 readings in a row that puts them at 6.5 knots.....so that's what I put in the TDC and I let fly a whole salvo from the stern tubes.....another wide, stern to bow spread at a Heito Maru with the decks loaded with TANKS ( never saw that before) and I watched the first 2 torp wakes pass well aft AGAIN...and the 3rd and 4th hit and blow it apart...I mean the bow half went flipping out of the water, somersaulting and crashing back, it was kinda crazy!!! It got me pumped up enough to swing around and fire off my last bow torps at the one remaining small freighter, forgetting about the escorts pinging me as I reset the TDC for 9 knot target speed and watched the first shot pass aft (of course!!!) and my next shot hit perfectly under the stack, BOOM. Scratch one convoy...and I'm pretty much out of ordnance.
So....should I call it a patrol and RTB?
or cruise down to Tulagi, for some South Pacific R&R and rearm/ refuel......then head up to Bungo Pete's neck of the woods.....
Running TMO 2.2+ RSRD+ a couple fixes + MaxOptics + show air contacts
Nov. '43
So, I got orders to patrol the Marshalls (yawn) and sat there for 3 weeks game time before I got a contact...BUT as I was plotting it out heading N towards Eniwetok, I got another contact heading S.....cool. Two plots at once, not a prob, at least I got some action starting.....soon 2 Biyo class freighters on the bottom and 5 torps gone, I'm right back to the doldrums......
I radio in looking for another assignment and get stuck with the same area.... so, convinced that I've cleaned out all the japs where I'm at, I'm off to Truk.
Now with RSRD running, I haven't seen many convoys, just 3 or 4 in 14 patrols and always only a couple of ships with one escort leading them on, in other words, easy pickings.
As I near the south entrance to Truk, I pick up a couple blips on radar out around 14 miles which develops into a 4 ship convoy with 4 escorts....FINALLY.....I've got something to get excited about, lol. I started plotting from radar and get their course at somewhere around 190 and the speed anywhere from 6 to 10 knots ( maybe its just me, but RSRD makes speed MUCH more difficult to nail down...I LIKE it). I maneuver up ahead of them and drop to periscope depth as soon as they start to appear out of the mist at about 6 miles. As the wind-speed was at 6 m/s, it was a piece of cake to get inside the escorts and fire off a split salvo at the two trailing merchants, a Nagara class freighter closer in and a Buzyun tanker out beyond it. I was able to time my torps so they SHOULD hit both ships around the same time......and it mostly worked. I have the event cam on so when my first torp neared the tanker the cam came on to show me nothing but water........I missed the tanker and I wasn't even close enough to see whether I was ahead or behind WTF?!? LOL. As I was cursing my luck and bad solution, the freighter took 3 hits lined up aft to bow, NICE, just exactly as I aimed them. That made me wonder how I screwed up on the tanker..... when my third torp fired (at the tanker's bow) impacted dead center and set it afire. WOOO HOOOOO, at least one hit, lol.
The freighter went down immediately, as the escorts wheeled around to get get their revenge, pinging like mad. I wasn't too worried, the seas were rough enough to make me a tough target. They had a couple close ones but I lost them after a few DC passes and was able to get up to periscope depth 10 minutes later, just in time to get the "she's going down, sir" message re. the tanker, and watch it happen. Yay, a double, sometimes you can get lucky, lol.
I snuck out to about 3500 yds from the searching SC's and started reloading the bow tubes....BIG mistake, they heard me and started in again. This time they pinged me good all the way down past 500ft. and stuck to me like glue, but all their DC's stayed aft of me and after about an HOUR of my dodging them, they gave up and returned back to escorting the remaining 2 freighters. I finally got to periscope depth, poked my SD antenna up, and of course, I've got planes from Truk searching for me. I'm only 25 miles south of the island group and they musta scrambled the whole airforce to find me...lots and lots of contacts, me at 4 kts. periscope depth, and my convoy escaping fast....I almost gave up on pursuit, except I noticed that it was only a half hour or so until sundown. As soon as the planes gave up for the evening, I hit the surface at flank speed on their last known heading south.
40 or 50 miles later, there they are, still headed for the Bismarck Sea, still going anywhere from 6 to 10 knots.....I plotted a looong end-around and sure enough, got inside the escorts again and let loose 4 mk14s at the larger of the two. I never could pin down their speed exactly, so I settled on 8 knots and spread my shots out from the tip of the stern to ahead of the bow and watched him leave all four behind.......CRAP!!!! How could I be off by THAT MUCH??? Anyways...the escorts rolled in and put me deep again for another hour or so as I snaked my way outta there. 3 of the 4 subchasers stayed back looking for me while the last escort and the freighters steamed away at what had to be 12+ knots......Since it was fully dark, I brought the Balao up to radar depth, found that I was 6000+ yds from any enemies and brought it up to the surface for another end around pass at 'em.
An hour later (game time) I'm back in position up ahead of the convoy (.....this is getting old, I know) and I've got 3 readings in a row that puts them at 6.5 knots.....so that's what I put in the TDC and I let fly a whole salvo from the stern tubes.....another wide, stern to bow spread at a Heito Maru with the decks loaded with TANKS ( never saw that before) and I watched the first 2 torp wakes pass well aft AGAIN...and the 3rd and 4th hit and blow it apart...I mean the bow half went flipping out of the water, somersaulting and crashing back, it was kinda crazy!!! It got me pumped up enough to swing around and fire off my last bow torps at the one remaining small freighter, forgetting about the escorts pinging me as I reset the TDC for 9 knot target speed and watched the first shot pass aft (of course!!!) and my next shot hit perfectly under the stack, BOOM. Scratch one convoy...and I'm pretty much out of ordnance.
So....should I call it a patrol and RTB?
or cruise down to Tulagi, for some South Pacific R&R and rearm/ refuel......then head up to Bungo Pete's neck of the woods.....