PART TWO: The Chess match
The boat is at 159 meters. Tubes 2 through 4 are completely destroyed. The hull creeks under the intense pressure and for the last three hours my crew has been hastily repairing the GBH passive listening system and shoring up the water leaks in the bow. The pumps work overtime to contain the flooding meanwhile a Black Swan class Captain has been trying to get his name in the papers. Fortunatly his two Captain class Corvette kammerades had to leave and attend to the flock.
Several hours earlier....
Message received herr Kaleun. "Alright listen up! BDU reports a large convoy 65 kilometers west at a speed of 8 knots and a course of 35. Everybody be prepared for intercept within the next 2 hours."
The lookout scan the early dusk sky and soon spot the fat crowd to the South West.
A bit later......
"Were in. Escorts moving away on both sides. (Cue Das Boot Action Music)
"Course 120 keep RPMs at 80."
The Pariscope breaks the surface and scans the surroundings. "Their all around us!" "This will be easier than shooting windows with a sling shot"
"There that one in the distance, It looks like a large whaling ship. Set depth for 8 meters, Range 600 meters, speed 8 knots, bearing 10 degrees, AOB 104. Los!"
As the First eel hisses as it propells itself from the tube the scope spies more targets.
"340 degrees straight running fast at a depth of 10 meters, Tube two LOS!"
Quickly and surely I scan and select individual targets for my fast eels to rip into.
"Impact...............Torpedo two Impact....... another impact!!
Explosions and concussions railed through the night sky as one torpedo after another found the weak and frail sides of its victims.
A medium merchant 300 meters off my stern erupted into flames as violent explosion rocked the ship and sent her under in a matter of minutes. The large whaling ship turned out to be a medium tanker but it to followed the merchants fate. Another torpedo hit the ship closest to my stern in the propeller and left it dead in the water. as i slipped in between the ships in the convoy trying to sneak out the least protected side I scanned the horizon only to notice too late 3 escorts bearing down on me.
"Crash dive! Aus Kraft!" less than a minute later the first DC attack straddled my bow and the pressure cracked my hull. Tubes 2 through 4 destroyed but soon the GBH was working and the leaks were plugged, It was time for the ultimate game of Chess with our only goal to survive long enough to avoid the Tommy's from calling check mate!
Leveling out at 120 the Damage control teams worked feverishly to contain the flooding. As ship after ship drove us deeper and deeper with their ash can's dropping on us like rain from the heavens. We slipped through their attacks by the smallest margins. My crew all had a look that was a mix of stern resolution and out right panic.
The creaking pressure hull we just repaired was not making anybody feel any more comfortable but their is not much time to ponder your thoughts on it as the sounds of that destermined black swan above us kicking his props into high gear to make yet another run on us keeps everybody focused on the now, not the what will be. For now we will just creep in the abyss and keep our noise down all while keeping our eyes up.
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