Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Magua
My final thoughts on the subject are that in my readings there are an infinite number of descriptions of U-Boat Commanders finding and sinking single ships they just stumbled upon with no warnings. An infinite number. And how many times have I read the opposite.....never. I have an extensive library. (10 years of collectiing!)
I think the goal of a good Historical Simulation is to simulate the typical most accurate situation, not "how it could have been".
|
You may want to acquire (or read more closely)
Hitler's U-boat War, by Clay Blair (Book II, Chapter 7, Section: "A New Convoy Plan"):
Quote:
|
As the U-boats of the first wave drew close to the North American coast, B-dienst picked up the distress call of a Greek vessel that had dropped out of a convoy 180 miles east of Newfoundland with a broken rudder. Dönitz notified Reinhard Hardegen in U-123 and authorized him to investigate if he was no more than 150 miles away. Although Hardegen was over twice that distance from the stricken ship, he ignored the restriction and closed on the position, eager for a kill. But when he found the Greek, she was surrounded by a tug and two "destroyers," an enemy force that cooled Hardegen's ardor. He aborted the attack and resumed his slow, one-engine journey to New York, regretting this brash and useless expenditure of fuel.
|
I think that pretty clearly settles the issue of whether a U-boat ever received notification of a single merchant ship.
Pablo