This Black Swan . . .
 

With 15 GWX patrols, I'm not going to say escorts have X ray vision;or heaven forbid, give any ideas to the nefarious GWX modders ideas that escorts are too easy to fool.

But I've run into this Black Swan . . .

After two days of idling in the sunshine some way off Freetown in my new Type IXC sumbie, Got a report of a convoy heading our way. Conviniently we only had to do 5 knots to get close enough to follow it.

Before lunch, I was on my bunk reading an erotic novel some joker snuck under my pillow. This was interrpted by, "Captain to the bridge, ship sighted."

The wind was beginning to churn up a sparkling sea and on the horizon, a Liberty ship chugged along, several masts indicated this was the convoy. I ordered a slightly diverging course when a shell ripped the air over our heads.

No more than 3,000 meters away, a Black Swan whith a big white moustache raced toward us making noise with its artillery. Where did that come from?

"Alaaaaaarm."
Staying near the surface at flank speed we moved away from the spot the fiend had last seen us, then down to eighty meters at silent runnin. The Black Swan dropped lots of depth charges somewhere else then gave up and went away.

I sent a contact report to Canovaro at BDU's Spinnennetz and ploted my evening visit to the convoy.

In ambush position with the sun already down, but enough light to get an appreciation of the convoy, I observed the lead Black Swan go through a complicated dancing routine. Never one minute of straight course. After each evolution it seemed to be heading for me, then breaking off.

Eventually I was inside the screen with a bunch of low value targets. But a Whale factory came into view. I had told myself not to waste torpedoes as we would have plenty of opportunity to nibble at this convoy. One torpedo, one ship.

I was already at 40 meters when the torpedo hit.

Through the observation scope I saw an escort go right overhead and then dump DCs somewhere else. Lots of DC. The Whale factory sank.

We went around the convoy. Same routine. Lined up a perfect shot on a large freighter and dove. Premature explosion.

Drats. Back up to PD. The surface was a mess of ships too close to fire on but managed a hit on the stern of a medium tanker.had to dive as a corvette headed our way. 3 torpedoes failed to hit.

The evening attack went very well (almost), fired 3 torpedoes at a whale factory, a medium freighter and a medium tanker. The whale sunk, so did the medium, the third torpedo hit a small freighter (WTF?!).

Back to ambush for pre=dawn attack, rough seas , the night as dark as a cockroach den. Perfect.

The lead swan is doing its dancing bit and heads straight for me. I lower the scope so the bllighter won't smash it. We're cooked anyway.

It passes overhead. Whew! I guess he didn't see us.

Oh yeah? Here it comes again. This time, no mistake he's heading for me in a tight turn. Same thing, he passes overhead. but no DC. We are too shallow for him.

The convoy is zigzagging, flares illuninate and searchlights sway. I take a quick stern shot at a Liberty and head down.

Through the obs scope I see the Black Swan make another perfect pass. This time he drops. Flank and down to 120 meters. The DCs explode above.

But the bugger loses us and goes banging some distance away.

We still have lots of torpedoes left. The convoy, and us are a long way from home. Somehow I feel this Black Swan has my number.

Radar.

You may have to go bird hunting! It's a pain when one of the escorts decides he wants to park himself above you and give hell for the rest of the war.

Black swans are the ship to be feared. They have good senors, lots of depth charges, a hegehog ASW mortar from 41 onwards and captained by some of the meanest ASW captains that ever existed in SH3:arrgh!:.

I try to keep out of their reach at all times.:yep: They've nailed my hide too many times to be counted!:oops:

Try and approach the convoy from a different side where a different escort is on patrol. you may get less interference!:up:

Had a run in with the same Black Swan,or one with a similar paint job,I didn't think it was a moustache on the front,it looked like a sharks teeth job with the anchor for the eyes:huh:And your right to feel narked,he's a bloody pain in the A**;)

Nice story :yep:

Black Swans are the Allies Grim Reapers. :eek:


Death comes quickly when they circle you from above. :dead: :dead: :dead:

jus blast them out of the ocean :stare:
no convoy hunt with escorts around !
KILL THE ESCORTS! THEN THE CONVOY!
and use only 1 torpedo for every escort

I try and take out as many escorts as possible at first. Usually one magnetic will do the trick. I like to get them to follow me, then.........unload an eel from the stern. Nothing better than seeing the bow rise up out of the water.:lol:

I always sink some escorts first before I attack a convoy. How historically accurate is it for SH3 gamers to do this? Was this a common tactic for real life U-Boat commanders? Doubt it.

Hopefully, someone else will chip in. I'm still a newbie as far as naval history and tactics is concerned.

Cheers

Pah the Black Swan is a pussy
:rotfl:

Wait till you come across the ***** class

:rotfl:

You, nefarious GWX Gangers, have us trembling with fear from your threats. Now, where is 10.4?:o

yea... where is 1.04 ? :stare:
or just tell about it...
you got us hooked up on it and dont even show a little pict of it :nope:

No doubt Kpt will be posting another teaser soon

22 November 1941
U-67 EJ9622

Paid another visit to that Black Swan's flock. Sank a large merchie and a medium tanker without as much as a wave from the snooty bugger.

I imagine 10.4 will be released shortly after SHX or so... the hard part, I imagine, will be coordinating all the VR AI to interact properly with the player; and finding period-authentic barf bags for the motion-sick-prone players.:rotfl:

Well, we haven't been introduced yet till now. Fog, rain, running hard to intercept a convoy. Just a brief thought - we should dive... (radar?)

"Wir werden angegriefen!!"

"Alarm!! Tauchen!!!!!!!"

"Wasserbomben!"

This might be challenging... (finally or I'm gonna regret it?).
She lost me for now... drifting towards the convoy.

Once you've been spotted, it is best to break off the attack and try again later. Sailing in the fog (blind) enemy radar has ALL the advantage.

Yeah, that's what I did... tried to shadow convoy for a better weather but lost it very quickly (they were doing 4kn so I could run underwater easiely). I've noticed that convoys in CF grids tend to change their course very drastically. That's not the first one which I lost there... Radar would help but it's still 1941.

23 November 1941

The escorts of this convoy got nasty and surpassed the boundaries of politness. I was a good 10 kilometers abeam the convoy, hurrying to visit before dawn.

Blinking Corvette came charging from behind, Black Swan, 40 degrees off port bow.
This was too much!

I dove to PD, Despite my shy nature, I stayed eyeballing the corvette. at 600 meters, let it have it with stern tube. Blam.

The black Swan changed course, at 900 meters I fired tube 1, almost missed, One BS less with that convoy.

I surfaced to continue my overhaul maneuvre.

Another bloody corvette made its appearance.

Damn, my rear tubes were empty.

I turned the boat. The corvette was mucking about in the area where its buddies sank. It turned and headed for me. I was facing the wrong way. Started another one eighty.

The corvette cathered speed, recklessly I accelerated, had solution and fired. I think now the convoy is without escorts. Will find out when I drop in for breakfast.:rock:
At the moment I'm a nervous wreck :eek:

Well let me tell you without any fear of being called a liar :nope: .........it's sitting nicely inside my hard drive :lol: At least the alpha is ;)