SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - Shooting up sampans: it wasn't all that easy

Did in by 50 caliber machine gun from the SS168 Nautilus:

"Attack No. 2 39-47 N 142-40 E

Sight 200 ton sampan at 2329 K on September 25, 1942 and manned 50
caliber machine gun. Commenced firing at about 2000 yards using armor
piercing ammunition for 150 rounds. Subsequent ammunition was a special
belt of tracer, ball, incendiary, and armor piercing. Closed range to
200 yards by 0000, September 26, 1942, and strafed entire length of
sampan. At 0015, sampan burst into flames. Observed to sink at 0055."

Some Sampans are tough and some are not. Every attack has story of its own.

As put in by The Nautilus' very next attack.

"Attack No. 3 38-43 N 142-20 E
sighted large sampan of about 500 tons at 2340 K on September 26, 1942,
and manned 50 caliber machine gun. Commenced firing at 2355 and hit
immediately. Sampan maneuvered to avoid. Used ammunition with
incendiary projectiles and started one fire at 0040, September 27, 1942,
but the crew put it out. As there was one projectile remaining in gun 2,
a reduced charge was brought up and that gun unloaded at the sampan.
Projectile made nipper hit on the starboard gunwale. Gun 2 was secured
and gun 1 manned as only the forward ammunition hoist was operative.
Fired three additional rounds and made 2 hits in the superstructure, but
did not set her on fire. Sent men on deck with burning oil soaked rags
and set her afire. At 0217 there was an explosion and sampan sank"

What the heck is a nipper hit?