Depth Charge Dodger
11-28-05, 10:23 AM
First happy, then sad, but a great hunt anyway.
1st career, 3rd patrol(2nd actually, one was a newb mistake and put back into port without leaving dock). 92% realism, only thing left on is external camera. I only used the camera AFTER eels away for screenies only(no spotting plane or using the camera to evade DDs).
Oct 1940(relevant for later), 2nd Flotilla, U-100, Type VIIB
On this patrol I had only fired 1 torp into the sea during the time-scaled journey to my grid. First patrol saw 4 eels go to the briny deep from bad keystokes. :damn:
Two small merchants sunk with deck gun fire along the way. I missed with both torp attacks, so I am down to 11 now.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/smerch1.JPG
Radio message of convoy sighted!
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/chart1.JPG
I intercept convoy around 1930 hours. Calm seas, night, no moon. Convoy is eastbound, and I attack from the North.
After closing on the surface and finding the slot between the lead escort and first rank of merchants, I submerge and close past the 1st column. They are all C3s, so I am guessing the inner columns must really be juicy. Just past the inner port column I see the center, and this greets me...(taken after eels away, but it looked great in the scope then too)
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner1.JPG
I do the happy dance for a brief moment, then scan right and see a T3 right behind the Liner. Then a 2nd T3! Move over Otto Kretschmer!
All eels are G7a and set for fast, impact, 5 metres running depth.
Two into the port of the Liner. (note that I was detected on the way in, and the search is on)
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner2.JPG
It shrugs them off, but starts the fire that I use for the rest of the night to track the convoy.
The results of the T3 attack were a bit more dramatic... I fired two but only needed one.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/T3a.JPG
It's a three hour tour to evade the rather angry escorts(2 DDs and a FF). I kept trying to break contact towards the convoy, and they wouldn't have any of THAT. I break away to the South and run East on the surface until I am in position again.
It's 0500 and I am getting nervous about the approaching dawn.
After the confusion of my attack and running rampant through the convoy, they have sorted themselves out with the remaining T3 just behind a T2 in the lead of the starboard inner column. The Liner is still in the middle. I kept the fire on the liner at about 3-5 pixels and it was incredible how far away one can track a ship on a clear night.
Once again I find the slot and come in. It's time to light up the sky with two into the T3...
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/T3b.JPG
After missing with my last forward tube, I turned for a stern tube shot on the liner. Eel set for fast, deep, magnetic.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner3.JPG
That did her in.
41,342 tons for that patrol. I was one happy camper when I sent that report.
Then I got back to port and realised that I should have looked at the FLAGS on the ships.
Sinking Neutral ships didn't help me much. Hey, they had British escorts, so they were fair game in my book.
Lesson Learned. Donitz slapped me gently on the wrist while pinning the Knight's Cross on.
I have found a new home, and her name is U-100.
1st career, 3rd patrol(2nd actually, one was a newb mistake and put back into port without leaving dock). 92% realism, only thing left on is external camera. I only used the camera AFTER eels away for screenies only(no spotting plane or using the camera to evade DDs).
Oct 1940(relevant for later), 2nd Flotilla, U-100, Type VIIB
On this patrol I had only fired 1 torp into the sea during the time-scaled journey to my grid. First patrol saw 4 eels go to the briny deep from bad keystokes. :damn:
Two small merchants sunk with deck gun fire along the way. I missed with both torp attacks, so I am down to 11 now.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/smerch1.JPG
Radio message of convoy sighted!
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/chart1.JPG
I intercept convoy around 1930 hours. Calm seas, night, no moon. Convoy is eastbound, and I attack from the North.
After closing on the surface and finding the slot between the lead escort and first rank of merchants, I submerge and close past the 1st column. They are all C3s, so I am guessing the inner columns must really be juicy. Just past the inner port column I see the center, and this greets me...(taken after eels away, but it looked great in the scope then too)
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner1.JPG
I do the happy dance for a brief moment, then scan right and see a T3 right behind the Liner. Then a 2nd T3! Move over Otto Kretschmer!
All eels are G7a and set for fast, impact, 5 metres running depth.
Two into the port of the Liner. (note that I was detected on the way in, and the search is on)
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner2.JPG
It shrugs them off, but starts the fire that I use for the rest of the night to track the convoy.
The results of the T3 attack were a bit more dramatic... I fired two but only needed one.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/T3a.JPG
It's a three hour tour to evade the rather angry escorts(2 DDs and a FF). I kept trying to break contact towards the convoy, and they wouldn't have any of THAT. I break away to the South and run East on the surface until I am in position again.
It's 0500 and I am getting nervous about the approaching dawn.
After the confusion of my attack and running rampant through the convoy, they have sorted themselves out with the remaining T3 just behind a T2 in the lead of the starboard inner column. The Liner is still in the middle. I kept the fire on the liner at about 3-5 pixels and it was incredible how far away one can track a ship on a clear night.
Once again I find the slot and come in. It's time to light up the sky with two into the T3...
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/T3b.JPG
After missing with my last forward tube, I turned for a stern tube shot on the liner. Eel set for fast, deep, magnetic.
http://webpages.charter.net/bluehair11/liner3.JPG
That did her in.
41,342 tons for that patrol. I was one happy camper when I sent that report.
Then I got back to port and realised that I should have looked at the FLAGS on the ships.
Sinking Neutral ships didn't help me much. Hey, they had British escorts, so they were fair game in my book.
Lesson Learned. Donitz slapped me gently on the wrist while pinning the Knight's Cross on.
I have found a new home, and her name is U-100.