Thanks for that Mr. deBunsen.:up:

Yeah how cool...erm theres no Rss Feed for this is there? I mean Cos I keep forgetting to come back and check for updates. I don't come down this way as often as I once used to, but still very much interested int eh game, now that my mates got a computer to run the thing.

Cheers
AP

"Deeper, Otto! For God's sake run deeper!"

As the boat tilts sharply down, I have the chance to compose myself.

Destroyer, at least one, looming out of the mist. Damn near collided. And we dropped down the hatch like lemmings.

I need to take the fear out of my voice.

"Steer port 280 please Chief, dive planes down, all you've got!"

The dial says 30 metres already and dropping. The crew have already tumbled forward to bring our nose down.

"There's going to be a couple of bangs, boys, but nothing worse than we've had before. Those sons of bitches don't know where we are exactly, but hold tight anyway....

LS

Fifty metres and the depth guage needle is still steadily moving round.

That destroyer will have been as surprised as we were. Christ, we could even see a couple of the crew pointing at us and shouting. They can't drop depth charges just like that, they would need to get to action stations, and then prepare and arm the charges. They'll have to come around again, which buys us a little time to scoot under and away.

We've turned hard to port, because I think the Tommy Captain will have to come round to starboard given his course, and that will offer us some precious moments and extra depth.

Of course he might expect me to do that and so the guessing game begins.

"New course starboard to 320, Chief. Level off at 100 metres. Slow speed and silent running. Pipe down men! Be ready to give me a burst of speed and drop her deeper on my call, Otto"

Hans has his earphones clamped on. And Viktor is hovering over him.

All of us are straining to hear the ping of their ASDIC, or the growing throb of the destroyer's screws approaching us.

Composure is needed now.

Bruno always finds something to chew at moments like these. It's a nervous habit, but it works.

"Hey Number Two! Chuck me one of those apples, I'm starving over here!"

As I bit into it with great relish, smiles started to break out around the Control Room.

Someone murmured "Come on English, let's see what you've got!"

And now people were grinning, and waiting for the next move...

LS

Yeehaa http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...headbanger.gif

hehe. this story is still going? cool! i cant even remember where I left off last year :hmm: whats been happening. are the two folks still married? why does rollie seem so mad on this page?

They haven't gotten married yet. Many things have happened. The war is still on and things are progressing. Try to remember when you stopped reading, and go find it; or follow the link under LS's signature and read it in book form. there's too much there for any quick summary to satisfy.

Welcome back gord96. You may have some journal reading to catch up on, but I have to go - we're under attack!

LS

"Wasserbomben!"

"Thanks Hans. Relax men, I bet their aim is miles off.."

"They do this you know, especially new commands when they come into contact. They'll drop a couple (two distant muffled crumps proved my point). but now they'll be circling back on our last known position"

Except we've vacated those premises, and are already running quiet and deep. We've got a head start, but if he's any good, he'll ping us soon enough.

LS

I'm currently at page 5, been reading for more than an hour (it's 03:00 here!)
You're a real wizard with words there, I can't wait to read the rest tomorrow!

My next kill will be for the Laughing Swordfish!

"We've got a good depth boys, and she hadn't got a clue with her first shot. So shall we string her along or pop up and sink her?"

The younger hands were cheering, and being silenced by their POs, the seniors were looking to their stations, and dials.

We're already very deep when she comes around again.

"Don't waste the batteries, Otto, just bring her round to port."

And the Chief made some matter of fact orders to change our bearing and keep our depth in the colder current we were now in.

"As soon as she's even close to dropping her next load of charges, Chief never mind about the depth, just run us ahead at flank speed. 30 degrees on the rudder but run away from it while we can make some noisy speed that they can't hear.

Sure enough the new pattern was closer, but nowhere near close enough "But no Havana!" as Bruno murmured delightedly, as we return to slow speed.

We can hear him pinging now, sonar waves trying to bounce off a solid object in the water. Ping.....Ping.....Ping every few moments. But water is a great carrier of sound which is why we have to keep the youngsters quiet sometimes, but there is no reciprocal ping back. We would hear throughout the boat by a deadly rattling noise as the damned thing pinged back. And every man is listeneing for that answering ping that says we are detected.

"Come to 268, port, slow speed, deeper to 120 metres"

U-46 creaks down, and makes her slow turn.

LS

More diesel for the tanks http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...ies/pirate.gif

Freddie always used to say "Be the cigar that you are!"

By which he means always be end-on and not broadside on to the Brits, not always possible, particularly when there's more than one. And the longer it takes to evade the first one. We need to slip away before they gang up on us.

The last watch are still hovering around in the Control Room, their oilskins dripping everywhere .

"Coxswain"

Cox appears as if by magic.

"Get these men out of our way when we're trying to work here! Out of those wet clothes, and give them some rest, we'll need them when we surface again"

That small bluster of confidence put a smile on everyone's face, but the roar was louder this time.

"Twist port again 15, Chief, both full!

LS

"We'll maintain this depth for the next couple of runs, Chief. Just ease her a little more to port."

It's a constant mental exercise to remember your own profile and distance in the water, with the constantly changing reports from Hans in his sonar cabin.

Deep in the cellar is good for a U-boat for two reasons. The depth charges take longer to reach you, giving you time to scoot away, and also at this depth the water pressure contains a lot of the initial blast.

The downside is that the same water pressure that protects us, also wants to find it's way into the boat. And despite every maintenance effort every U-boat, and every ship afloat will leak to some extent. Even a small breach or damage to the hull or the valves could prove fatal to the boat, and certainly to anyone unlucky enough to be in the way of a 200km per hour stream of water directed in a solid thin jet like a rod across the boat. Also we have the pumps turned off to keep silent. The bilges will fill and we will start to naturally sink, unless we compensate by releasing a little ballast, which gives the game away in terms of bubbles on the surface, not much of a problem in the North Atlantic and it's choppy sea, but still eats into our oxygen supply.

So it's a fine balancing game.

Plus the boat creaks and moans painfully at this depth. I know she can take it and more, well beyond the shipyard expectation or recommendation; but however many times we hear it, it is very wearing on the nerves.

Two more attack passes. A pattern of four which was met with derisory cheers from the Control Room, but the next drop actually rocked us and blew a light bulb.

"We've had ten times worse lads! Chief ease us back up to fifty metres, port again 30, we nipping off to the South, lets take a bit of the weight of the boat, eh lads, maybe even fire a torpedo!"

Huge grins as the Control Room gang apply their latest orders.

It's important for us to know we can strike back, even though the opportunity is rare and always frought with risk.

In truth we can hurt them more, these Royal Navy people trying to drown us, by sneaking away and around and in between them, and blowing up their precious cargoes that they are supposed to be protecting.

Now her depth charges are way too deep, and some way off.

Hans reports her engines stopped.

She's trying to listen for us again without any background noise from her propellors.

A bold tactic alone in the Atlantic, or a foolhardy one.

"Periscope depth, Chief!"

LS

yay, go get her! :)