Black May
 

Hi,

Whilst I was in my second patrol I was also reading 'Black May' by Michael Gannon. The story of the turning point in the Atlantic when the war finally turned against the U Boats.

Rivetting stuff but it almost made me retire there and then while I still had a chance to see 1946. One can only salute the stoic courage of the U Boat crews, enemy or not, for continuing in such a lost cause. Not for nervous GWX commanders.

* "As the philosopher said one day: there are the alive ones, there are the deads, and the ones wich they are at the sea".

* this words are very use for the Portuguese popular culture... :)

Schrodingers U-Boat Commander?

Not a TOTALLY lost cause. They did tie up a lot of resources in escorts and air patrols. In fact this was Doenitz and Hitler's reasoning for continuing the U-boat war even though it was obvious the 'tonnage war' was lost.

Having made it to January 1945 before meeting the almost inevitable fate of all U-boats - in my case at the hands of the RAF followed by 3 escorts. There is a way to survive, but it's rather boring. Herewith Von Manteuffel's Rules for a long(er-ish) life:

Pre 1942:

1. Enjoy the Happy Time, but, now and again, practice skulking in the
dark for long periods. It will come in handy.

Post 1942:

2. Surface only at night.
Radar will still get you, but you stand a slightly better chance in the dark.

3. Surface for the minimum time necessary, then resume skulking.

4. Avoid convoys and convoy routes. Concentrate on picking off lone ships. If you
get notification of an allied Task Force in your vicinity - Run away!

5. Attack only at night.

6. Fire torpedoes at extreme range - never less than 3,000 metres, preferably
5,000+ - then make like a shepherd and get the flock outta there.

7. Pray for bad weather, when planes can't fly and you should have time to dive
and evade any surface vessels which pick you up on Radar and come a-hunting.

8. Minimise your sending of radio messages. I'm not sure if it has an effect in-game,
but I have my suspicions.

9. Learn to love Silent-running. You'll spend a lot of time in that state.

10. Stay as far away as possible from Allied-controlled land-masses. At any time IRL
harbour-raiding was virtually impossible, post 1942 it's simpler to put her
nose down and see how deep she can go before she pops.

That's how I managed to survive until meeting my fate. AND IT'S BORING!

Lots of us play this game for the thrill of the hunt. We smack our lips in anticipation of that convoy full of fat tankers and we want to see our torpedoes destroy them in a fury of fire and steel.

So, the above is offered for those who may want to survive that bit longer - who knows, perhaps even to the cessation of hostilities. For those who want to have fun - please ignore them and have a glorious, but inevitably limited career.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Thanks for the advise, Kpt. wise words in did! :up:

One has to sink good tonnage to enjoy free drinks and the admiration of the nurses :rock: :sunny:

Or you could just look good.

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for either category. :damn:

So very true Kaleun...so very true http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...ies/pirate.gif

I enjoy the thrill of taking on 3 or more DD and killing them all than sailing off
into the sunset


Kommodore Dano
8th Flotilla

I'm sure if you survive till the end of the war there will be plenty of drinks and nurses to go around. ;)

Survival
 

Don't know how it worked in the German Navy, but remember a sea duty pay + combat pay + submarine pay or hazzard duty pay + per diem + a fancy uniform and lots of shiney meadal and colorful ribbons = Nurses-a-plenty or loads of drawers