Everyone could hear the explosion, destroyers are lightweight compared to most merchants, and have a relatively thin hull. Which is what makes them so fast and predatory, but also so vulnerable, when the tables are turned.

"Bruno, take the Control, let the boys take a quick peek in the scope before she goes down, they'd all like to see a destroyer getting theirs; well done everyone, Joachim reload tubes Five, Three and Four, I know they're tired but we have a way in now!"

"Viktor, standby new contact report at this grid: 'One large tanker and hunter class destroyer sunk, further explosion heard, believed to be against a large cargo, sinking not yet confirmed. Am remaining in contact and preparing to re-engage. Request converge all boats in vicinity AM74. U-46' Send it as soon as we surface"

"Hans....?"

"There's explosions to the north of the convoy, Sir, another U-boat must have already latched on"

"Fantastic! I'll bet that's the U-666!

"Bruno and Otto! Prepare for surfacing. Bruno make sure you take a proper sweep on the periscope once the boys have given you your scope back!"

The whooping and cheers are still audible as I go further back to see Oscar.

"How is he this time Doc?"

LS

I think I've got a bad feeling about this too.:-?

From:U-666
To:U-46

Sunk a Medium merchant, two Tramp Steamers and a Large Tanker.
Goin deep and silent runnin, also do u mind if u can help us get this River off of me?

END TRANSMISSION

Hi, thanks for your input, I'm sure you've sunk a lot of ships, and your boat is working the same convoy as ours but would you mind sending me your messages via PM as opposed to the story thread please?

Regards, LS

Garsh...

http://www.geocities.com/donw_43/blush.jpg

"He's actually much better Rollie. He took a knock coming down the ladder, and it brought on some slight concussion, not helped by that just healed chest wound. Give me twenty four hours and I'll give Christian back to you. Now he needs rest.

I have a list of minor sores, abrasions, cuts and bruises, constipation, headaches, those are daily routine. I can take fragments out of an eye, I can even set a broken limb, minor surgery too, if we have to. But Rollie, the entire hospital for 51 men is my bunk, this locker, and this medical box."

"It's already got blood on it, Doc"

He just nodded tiredly

"You do know that people might be thrown against hard objects during a counter attack?"

"Yes"

"Well please look after them, Christian first. We're going up soon, there'll be no time for cuts and scrapes for a while

LS

Fantastic story, really looking forward to the next installment.

"What have you got for me Hans?"

"We have good contact with the convoy, running parallel with us westnorthwest,
Lots of fuss going on further North, the other side of the convoy, those large explosions could only be torpedo strikes, I counted four. We must have another boat in the gang, Sir. But these..."

He handed me his phones, and I could hear the dull crumps even at this distance.

"Depth charges, Sir"

"Do you think it's U-666, Sir? I have a friend on that boat...."

"Yes I do, Hans, but his Kapitan will look after him, just as well as I look after you.

We break surface, and Bruno's crew are running up the ladder. Viktor is tapping away on the morse key, as Willi and I give him our best guess as to our position.

We wait impatiently as Viktor punches the reply back through the enigma machine....

"BDU to U46. Good. U666 also in contact, also sending U645. Attack"

"Well that's pretty clear. Reuben, I need you to take over First watch duties until Christian is on his feet. Come up and get some fresh air. Let's see what's going on..."

LS

"Contact Report acknowledged, Sir

The hunt is well and truly on :rock:

Lordy, I'm glad I was wrong. I thought Christian's number was up for a minute there.:huh:

LS, thank you for staying with this story, mate. It is such good fuel.

"Kapitan to bridge!"

Bruno's loud voice.

"You'd better come and see this, Kaleun..."

LS

"Christ, Bruno, they really did prang us that time."

We are staring aft at the tangled wreckage of the AA gun.

"Jurgen's not going to like this Kap. It's the second time his gun has been trashed"

"I'll buy him a new one, Bruno" I said grimly, "But what's that?" My gaze had taken me beyond the tangled mess of our Wintergarten to what I thought was a small dark blob on the horizon to our stern.

Instantly Bruno and one of his stern look-outs have their binoculars trained astern.

"Dark shape, there Sir, in and out of the waves!" Kerner straight-armed towards the sighting, and Bruno was on it as quick as a flash.

Alternately against the roll of the sea, I can pick it up again too. Bruno is murmuring, as much to himself as to me: "
"Can it be that big merchant we aimed at? No. it would be bigger and more nearer..."

"I think it's getting nearer, Bruno", as we studied it again. I scanned around. The convoy was still there if only distant specks as they zigged, but there was smoke from our work, and a gratifyingly orange glow on the horizon. U-666 has set something alight on the other side of the convoy. But still we must make a concerted attack and take the pressure off her. Between us and if the other boat arrives we can carve this convoy up.

"It has to be an escort, but maybe a small one Sir, it's getting bigger and heading right towards us"

I look at it again. Yes there's no doubt as to it's intent, but it's no destroyer, or it would be here by now....

"Navigator to Bridge!"

Willi comes up breathlessly, he's our expert.

"Take a look at that, Willi; I think it's something like an armed trawler, what do you think?"

I'd say you're right, Kap, and by the flash of her forward gun just then, I'd say she knows we're here"

Sure enough a shell splash landed well away to our port side.

"Remind me, Willi, do those guys have depth charges and asdic?"

"I doubt it, but I can't say for sure Kap, she could be anything"

I turn back to Bruno.

"How many knots do you reckon, Number Two?"

"I'd say she's panting at twelve knots, Kap"

"Well we can outrun that, if we run strictly ahead of her, we're not losing sight of that convoy. Bruno hold the bridge for a minute, while Willi and I go below, give a straight course to Otto to keep that ship directly astern of us."

Another shell splashes, this time closer. Some ranging tracer from a Bofors gun arcs overhead.

"Thanks Willi, you and I will go below for a minute, Bruno I'll be back but send your crew down when I get back in case this gets messy. We're not going to be shrugged off this convoy now".

"But Sir, we have no torpedoes left for the rear tube, and the 20mm gun has had it"

"Trust in Herr Spandau, Bruno, he will provide"

Down in the Control Room..

"Otto! Reuben! Pile everything onto those diesels, I want the maximum 16 knots out of her, we have an escort up our arse!

"But can't we just submerge and evade or ambush him" says Reuben

"No because he's small enough but fast enough for us to waste all our torpedoes on, when we have a convoy to attack, and another boat to help. Now listen to the helm instructions from the bridge, Bruno will keep him directly behind us and we'll simply out pace him. Now get on with it! Jurgen! Break out those two MG34s that it cost me a lot of favours to replace, and get up top. I'm sorry to say that the flak gun has got a bit dented, but these are much more fun. MOVE!"

Jurgen is yelling at Dieter and George to get up the ladder without snaking trails of links of 7.62 ammunition belts everywhere, Reuben has gone back to the engine room to get every ounce out of the diesels, while Otto is reacting intently through our wheel hands to every direction that the Number Two sends down from the bridge, to keep the enemy ship always at our 180.

Bruno is sending down his watchmen, it's getting hot up here, that escort is finding the range, no direct hits yet, of course, or shell splinters, but the bastards are making us even more wet with the spray from the near misses.

The cursing on the wintergarten is even worse and would make, well, a sailor blush, Jurgen supervises Dieter and George to mount their MG34s on the buckled rail of the Wintergarten. He feeds the belts in, and they both slam the top covers shut and pull back the cocking handle, and ram it back home fiercely..

"Aim at the gun mountings, that open three incher on the foredeck for you George, Dieter, can you see where they've mounted that Bofors gun? Pepper it. When you're tired of that, give their bridge watch a little discouragement"

Thanks Jurgen!" I yelled as Bruno and I braced ourselves against the incoming rounds.

"Let them have it!"

LS

Kerrr BUMP!!!:arrgh!:

And now the chase is on.

"Short bursts men, cries Jurgen "Aim at her bow and work onto your target from the splashes, you're both way too high. Find a point where you can see the strike of your rounds, in the air is no good"

And so we got those two impetuous gunners George and Dieter, to actually walk their bursts on to the enemy, (maybe one in twenty rounds actually came close), but there was enough of a determined riposte, and a vivid and angry display of tracer that I wanted. Enough for those half-trained seamen to either duck from their post or to at least put them off their aim..

And every moment the distance between us grew longer.

LS

Shooting at each other in this sea is a bit of a lottery, but they have a 3-inch gun and at least one Bofors (equivalent to our own wrecked 20mm).

Tracer rounds and the odd shell splash are now ragged.

So as the sea pitches and sways us and draws us ever further apart, so boat and escort become like two drunken brawlers flailing away at each other. The precision weapons owned by both sides, denied to both.

But if it's brawlers you want, Dieter is thoroughly enjoying himself.

Neither he or George or Jurgen ever duck once, as me and Bruno do on the Bridge.

"Christ, that was close!" as a round ricochetted off the bridge cowling.

Dieter is however hammering away, the spent brass tumbling at his feet, as he finds the range.

George (who is Dieter's closest shipmate) is a little more sea-wise. Under Jurgen's spotting, I can see the short bursts arcing toward their bridge, and their return fire and bearing slacken.

LS