Quote:
Originally Posted by sharkbit
It sounds like those diesels could be maintenance nightmares.
I'm reading Clay Blair's "Hitler's U-Boat War:The Hunters" and it is filled with instances of boats aborting patrols due to engine problems.
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Reminds me of that part in Robert McNamara's
Fog of War where he talks about instituting the 50 mission limit for U.S.A.A.F. bomber crews in WWII.
The number of mission aborts due to engine failure dropped dramatically once the crews believed they had a chance of surviving the war (though statistically, their odds were no better than before).
Similarly, I'm sure that by late '42, many U-Boat commanders would use any opportunity, or excuse, to RTB early (and possibly at not so high speed).