Quote:
|
Originally Posted by meduza
It's not advisable to enter a gunfight against an armed vessel. I was once sunk by a Tramp steamer. Don't ask... 
In my opinion, the merchants are far too deadly. Once or twice, I torpedoed a ship on surface at night, and once the ship was hit, they immediately pointed the searchlights at me, and start shooting. While I was diving, they scored a several hits. Although they were in flames, sinking. |
Yesterday I ran down an 11,000+ ton large merchant NW of Tobruk. She was sailing alone & conditions for making an unobserved approach were awful: mid-morning, clear skies without any wind. My watch crew had spotted her moving away from us at 15,000+ meters (using OLCE 2). I waited until we got to within 4500 meters then opened fire. It took 70+ shells to kill her but I got off without a scratch. Normally I wouldn't have taken such a risk but pickings had been pretty slim: I'd only sank 2 small merchants in 6 days. Two hours after I sank that large merchant I got another 11,000+ ton one. This time I was able to make a proper submerged approach & sank her with 2 torpedoes (the gun crew needed a rest
).
Meduza is correct though; engaging an armed merchant can be very hazardous to your health!
Welcome aboard Snordin.
