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Originally Posted by Ducimus
Patrol 2
U-178, IXD2, 10th Flotilla
Left at: 02 June 1942, 06:00
From: Lorient
Mission Orders: Patrol grid ED98
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That's my favourite patrol grid
Like you I found that air patrols were frequent there. One U-Boat commander said it was just as bad as Biscay. It's definately a case of submerged running during the day, and crossing fingers when you have to surface to get into a shooting postion. The nights weren't too bad though.
On my first patrol there I made the mistake of chasing down a merchant in broad daylight on the surface. He was unarmed and I thought I'd use the deck gun. It never occured to me he would radio for help, or that the help would arrive before I got close enough to open fire. Four aircraft appeared and made my life interesting. I learned to be more cautious after that.
On another patrol there my watch spotted aircraft and I was in two minds whether to fight or dive. I decided to crash dive and the resulting bombs destroyed all of my flak guns. This was when I'd just reached the area! So I spent my patrol there with no flak guns at all. It made my mind up though, crash dive was the only option for the remainder of that foray.
At least the water there is deep. My last patrol grid in a new career was CA73 just off Norfolk. I popped my periscope up to see if I could see a sound contact. An aircaft spotted my periscope and headed straight for me. Go deep fast you might think, but not in 28m of water! Instead I blew ballast and waited agonising seconds for the boat to surface so I could man flak guns. My men managed to shoot it down (and got some well deserved medals back in port).
For all the hassle though I still love the Caribbean. Lots of tankers and lots of excitement. I hope dying didn't put you off it
