[Leandros]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

I wouldn't be considering using the deck gun with escorts in the vicinity.

Why not pick two juicy merchant targets and give them a couple of eels each then scarper/quit while your ahead

U-34, patrol 5, back in Wilhelmshafen - 90 % HI.

You were right - as always...........Our choice really was to try to down all the escorts - and then use the DG. As it turned out the port-side Tribal was sunk first. However, 2 torps were necessary as the TII on magnetic just passed under it. A TI worked. That left us with one torp too little as we supposed there were 4 destroyers in all (it was). We then surfaced and proceeded towards the front of the convoy as one (large merchant) of the two fattest targets (the other was an Empire) was positioned there. The front destroyer (also a Tribal) turned towards us. That one also took two torps to get down - none left. Surfaced again, flanking towards the large merchant up North. The sea was rather swellish so we opened fire at approx. 2500 meters. At that time the other merchants in the port line had started to illuminate us and the destroyers from the rear and starboard side of the convoy converged on us full speed.

Soon their shells started to fall dangerously close. We had to go down. At that time we had hit the large merchant about 15 times but obviously no serious ones. Depth under keel was approx 85 meters, we went down as far as we could. Soon the D/C's were blossoming around us. We had some flooding but were able to rectify it. One diesel engine was destroyed and at one time we touched the bottom, albeit only at 1-2 knots. After a couple of hours we were able to zigzag eastwards, out of range.

One more lesson learned.