Hmm - thanks for the advice. I sort of expected to get a gung-ho! But i think you're right - the conservative option is probably the best one. The air cover is just stifling. Still, with a TIV and a T1, you stand a good chance of dropping even a large ship - use the TIV to gimp the boat and lower the stern, then while she's dead in the water go for a breach amidships with the remaining torp. All with a pint of luck.
I plotted a course for home, and kept trying to surface. Eventually there was a weird lull in the air patrols and I went for it - double loading, front&back. I got them in. Soon after the air cover was back in full - like 5 minutes up, 5 hours down. On the way home, no hydrophone contacts. They kept me under most of the way - just popping up for short flank runs. As I was pulling in to Spezia, I got a contact report about an enemy warship moving at 14kts, headed west htrough the med. If I had continued my patrol, maybe those two torps would have found him. Never know. Safe now, with 77k more tons to my name...and back out on patrol 18
I just got switched to Toulon, but i'm wondering when I'll go through the gap. I must survive until then!