Whoa, what a way to culminate this patrol. I wandered on down along the coast of Norway and had submerged to 30m for about 8 hours to listen. I was just about to surface for air when I picked up a prop sound...After a bit another one joined the seranade...Danged if I haden't run into a Fuji class & a bunch of DD's protecting three troopships heading for the Trodenheim (spelling?) area where they were to make landings...
They were a fer piece off and I had to do a "balls to the wall" through those nasty dang frothy waves. I finely almost got into position when they changed directions & the whole scenario started all over again.
I finely made some headway & was almost in position but I had one outside DD to get past. He was coming on a direct heading to run right over me. I was almost there, but it looked like I was going to have to dive to survive and miss tail-end charley...bummer... Then all of a sudden he did a hard to port & started a sweep off to the outside...Man, I was just about to dive..so I kept boring in & let the first two Troop ships pass while I got closer. Then when the second troop ship went by my bow I did a hard 180 & pointed my ass at the last guy in line & fired to hit just aft of the stack in the fuel bunker.
KaBOOM! and my very last torpedo blew him in two....ship number seven heads for the bottom.
What made this one so good was the fact that I finely slipped through those DD's and in very nasty weather with only about 4000m visibility had a pre-planned attack come together...ha ha...I know it is only the start of the war, but that doesn't make it any the less dramatic..
Perhaps I am learning a little bit after all...lol.. Seven ships sunk for 82053 tons is a (MOST) for me. I'll take it and be glad...
Now if I can just get back in one piece. I have been trying to save fuel this whiole trip. Now I'll see if that payed off...
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