VonApist
08-31-12, 09:10 AM
November 1943
Grid BF 11
Patrolling the treacherous and escort infested seas of the Irish sea with my IID-Type Boat.
Weather pretty appalling, which is good for me as in a Type II and at crappy weather, chances of me being detected are pretty low.
I am determined to make my 5 torpedoes count. I have let a coastal freighter pass unharmed as tonnage was too low to announce my presence.
No need to push ones luck. If I had met him on my way back - it would have been a different story.
Running on surface only to recharge and then diving to avoid detection.
Sonarman reports contact, long range, at medium speed, closing.
Plotting interception, its feasible. Surfacing and sprinting to position my boat ahead. Bad weather means no RAF harrasment. Good.
Diving to periscope depth and waiting. Regular reports indicate that she will make a pass some 500m ahead - at the limits of my visibility. And after some minutes there she is. And what a beauty. A lone whale-factory ship! In 1943!.
For realism purposes all my torpedoes are set at Impact pistol, depth 2m. As it was extremely difficult - at least until 1944 i think - to change from impact to magnetic during patrols.
Choppy waters make my boat bobble and roll, making targeting more demanding. But angle is 90 and distance is only 500m.
To torpedoes fired, two hits. She goes down. 10k of tonnage under my belt.
Good start for a humble Type-II boat.
3 torps to spare, will have to make them count.
3 days later, I spot a convoy. To cut a long story short - two hits. Large merchant , I tanker. Total tonnage 25k. Pretty strong for a tiny type II. But I get pinned down by excorts at 160m for hours.
My small size and the weather , make evation succesful.
And on my way up towards the surface at around 20m depth..... BANG
Hit by a mine! Major flooding. Pumps full speed
I make the surface. Thank god its night. Thank god for the weather.
Repairs. Hull at 46%.
Will I be able to cripple back to base without being detected? Too risky to submerge...
Kept praying the weather would hold up. And it did. It remained crappy.
Back to port.
Damn mine almost spoiled great patrol
Grid BF 11
Patrolling the treacherous and escort infested seas of the Irish sea with my IID-Type Boat.
Weather pretty appalling, which is good for me as in a Type II and at crappy weather, chances of me being detected are pretty low.
I am determined to make my 5 torpedoes count. I have let a coastal freighter pass unharmed as tonnage was too low to announce my presence.
No need to push ones luck. If I had met him on my way back - it would have been a different story.
Running on surface only to recharge and then diving to avoid detection.
Sonarman reports contact, long range, at medium speed, closing.
Plotting interception, its feasible. Surfacing and sprinting to position my boat ahead. Bad weather means no RAF harrasment. Good.
Diving to periscope depth and waiting. Regular reports indicate that she will make a pass some 500m ahead - at the limits of my visibility. And after some minutes there she is. And what a beauty. A lone whale-factory ship! In 1943!.
For realism purposes all my torpedoes are set at Impact pistol, depth 2m. As it was extremely difficult - at least until 1944 i think - to change from impact to magnetic during patrols.
Choppy waters make my boat bobble and roll, making targeting more demanding. But angle is 90 and distance is only 500m.
To torpedoes fired, two hits. She goes down. 10k of tonnage under my belt.
Good start for a humble Type-II boat.
3 torps to spare, will have to make them count.
3 days later, I spot a convoy. To cut a long story short - two hits. Large merchant , I tanker. Total tonnage 25k. Pretty strong for a tiny type II. But I get pinned down by excorts at 160m for hours.
My small size and the weather , make evation succesful.
And on my way up towards the surface at around 20m depth..... BANG
Hit by a mine! Major flooding. Pumps full speed
I make the surface. Thank god its night. Thank god for the weather.
Repairs. Hull at 46%.
Will I be able to cripple back to base without being detected? Too risky to submerge...
Kept praying the weather would hold up. And it did. It remained crappy.
Back to port.
Damn mine almost spoiled great patrol