weird patrol
 

year 1942, my 30th patrol, im coming to St.Lorient from long long patrol in AK37 grid with 2 sank ships and four torps left only and only 300 km from St.Lorient in Atlantic I bump into large convoy just at the dusk from ideal position in front of their headings, defended only by 3 small DDs....

I radio contact, put our boot into position, wait until front DD passes over me and I emerge between the fat transport boats...Anyway I torp troop transport, C2 cargo (some torps didnt setoff), run off bow torps and I can see that troop transport ship is seriously damaged, cruising at reduced speed really taking water from side...

I follow convoy submerged so DDs cant spot me... Several hours passes and troop transport seems to stay behind so I wait and make circle to finish it off. It is still night and stormy weather starts...

and then this really weird thing happen....I go silently back to troop transp. position and it seems that he is guarded by two DDs from convoy...

Then I realize they are not moving too!! I go bolder and closer and find out that both DDs are with their noses high in the air and taking lotsa water each about 200 meters apart from each other! That moment troop transport eventually sinks and even DDs are spotting me now with lights they are sinking too slowly!!

So i get back to track ones dreamy convoy as it is now without escorts (leading DD got lost too) and Im with no torps left :(
I track them to dawn sending their last pos to HQ but have to turn home as my diesel reserves is at 10 perc, no torps left and weather too harsh for gunning them..

So i dont really know what happened that night. Did Luftwaffe engaged them due to my radio although it was night and weather so bad? Was there another U Boat? Dont know...

Just spooky patrol story to officers club...

Maybe that the Luftwaffe engaged them
May also be that the escorts sank ue to the weather
What were they ? Corvettes ?

one of them was corvette, another I dont remember...

is that normal that all their escort sinks in bad weather??

No its not normal but I have seen it in stock and GW
Especially Corvettes and Trawlers in the Atlantic in rough weather

Those DD took on to many troops from that transport and.....

nice theory!

:up:

This story rates 2 cognacs at Le Cafe Lorient :up:

Most probably 'weather damage' :yep: :up:

They could have collided with the cargo ship in the storm

lol yeah.
you can imagine how pi$$ed I was to find out convoy is defensless and Im out of torps

still I received my record renown for this mission

btw there was Lt.Werner again with us on this patrol, so he gave me some photos he made that night....

this one shows DD that is goin down but still has enough guts to try to spot me in rough waters....

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7...5330812db1.jpg

close up of same DD taken with nw Zeiss experimental teleobjective from the UZO position

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/3...5226468bx4.jpg

this one is our boot passing next to sinking troops transport (it went on for more than 10 miles) and Werner had to exit the sub to take the photo with scuba equipment

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/9...297953czy8.jpg

Great shots CZ :rock: Is Lt. Werner going to transfer to a GWX patrol soon ? :arrgh!:

Jimbuna,
yes he plans to. But first he and rest must finish reading of all manuals in off-duty time, hundrerds pages of guides, get all the trigonometry stuff into his blood, while on the same time also finishing at least one tour of duty in "vanilla" SH3.....

:sunny: