... or a bent shaft (of course, it would show on the damage screen)... Try using "reverse" also - "Back emergency!" then try forward again... I had a destroyed rudder and a bent shaft one time, and used the electric like you're thinking, and would fully surface to re-charge. I made it back to Allied controlled waters with a combination of going forward for a while, and then in reverse for a time. However, I could not steer well enough to get to a base anywhere, which wouldn't have mattered much, unless I made it to my "home" port for repairs... I gave up on it finally. But do like Armistead suggests, and "send a man over the side to inspect the propellers and rudders". A dirty little secret of the game is that sometimes, in spite of diesel damage, you can run submerged fine, and the batteries never fully die. You'll be stuck at 1 knot or less, but keep going. Surface to get air back in the boat. Of course, a bent shaft or missing rudder or propeller is a "killer"
