[Navelintel]

We left Kiel on August 1, 1940. Since we were headed to Grid AN26, I ordered the navigator to plot a course to the North Sea via the Kaiser-Wilhelm Kanal which took about a day to negotiate. It is now August 6, 1940, and my boat (U-100) is somewhere in the North Sea, (Grid AN21) heading back out to open sea after raiding and knocking the bottom out of everything that floated in the port of Lerwick, Shetland Islands with the Royal Navy hot on my heels that has now placed a bounty on my head and that of my crew. But before I left the harbor at Lerwick, I had to find an opening in the sub net which sounds easier than not.

After sending several harbor tenants to the bottom, I set a reverse heading to find my way back through the sub nets but I soon discovered that they had closed behind me. Maybe it was the phantom tug that I missed sinking that escaped the onslaught and closed the net but I could not seem to find an opening as I did when we first entered the harbor, something that I noted while playing GWX 3.0 (Gold Edition).

I kept saving the game and doing a load save since I experienced several CTD either from zooming rapidly about with the free camera (or from switching personnel en mass from compartment to compartment which was mentioned as a hazard on page 13 in the GWX 3.0 manual) searching for an exit through the sub net which kept shifting around the harbor. So after several hours at the helm, I stopped all engines, stayed submerged, and retired to continue after morning mess. I then awoke and sent out another driver to reconnoiter the sub net to find an exit and low and behold an opening now appeared off my starboard beam (it also helps if you keep the free camera activated so you can leisurely peruse the sea bottom) wide enough for the Queen Mary to sail through. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I did another save and proceeded slowly (2-3 knots, since we had only 4 meters to maneuver at periscope depth beneath our keel to avoid the shore batteries) until my helmsman was absolutely sure we had no chance to ram the net again. I was never so glad to see and hit the open sea!



After sinking 15,739 tons (including the tonnage at Lerwick) with 4 torpedoes left, I anticipate we'll see at least a few more merchants (and hopefully unescorted and sailing the high sea) before our return to Kiel. Our log and tally thus far:

Patrol Number 1
U-100, 1st Flotilla, Left at: August 1, 1940, 23:19 From: Kiel, Mission Orders: Patrol grid AN26

Ship sunk! Grid AN 16, Large Trawler, 547 tons
August 5, 1940, 16:51

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, A&B classes, 1350 tons
August 6, 1940, 05:51

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, A&B classes, 1350 tons
August 6, 1940, 06:15

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, Hunt II class, 1150 tons
August 6, 1940, 06:19

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, A&B classes, 1350 tons
August 6, 1940, 11:17

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21,T class, 1222 tons
August 6, 1940, 13:26

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, Small Depot Ship, 6250 tons
August 6, 1940, 13:31

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, V&W classes, 1188 tons
August 6, 1940, 13:40

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, Coastal Tanker, 1249 tons
August 6, 1940, 13:46

Ship sunk! Grid AN 21, Fishing Boat, 83 tons
August 6, 1940, 13:55

Patrol results: Crew losses: 0, Ships sunk: 10, Aircraft destroyed: 0, Patrol tonnage: 15739 tons
August 6, 1940, 14:38

Moral of the story, Niemals aufgeben (Never give up)! Even if you are the least bit intrepid but resourceful and at the same time pragmatic, you will prevail in SH3. Also, it can be helpful to remember to read the manual for GWX 3.0 which a first glance may seem overwhelmingly massive (644 pages); it can be absorbed and enjoyed in cerebrally edible bites. If I had, I may have slipped into and out of the harbor at Lerwick without incident after first comprehending that the Royal Navy had used sub nets and extensively to protect their ports and then realizing that the mod can mercilessly and without warning change the net openings (even after saving your career and doing a load save). This may actually be the AI's way of exacting revenge (although not mentioned specifically in the manual which is simply brilliant in design since after all, this is war) with extreme prejudice after an intruder enters a port with the intent to exhort absolute mayhem and may be not unlike what an actual U-Boat commander experienced as he kept desperately exploring every option to avoid crashing the nets, becoming trapped, and risk losing his boat after a successful but stealthy raid. Ignoring this particular element of play will otherwise doom one to continue to repeat the same mistake at attempting to enter and exit a harbor by penetrating the sub nets at the same location again and again, somehow expecting a different result which some say simply defines insanity.

All in all , after several and many tense and unforgettable moments, GWX 3.0 (Gold Edition) along with the included manual is an incredible SH3 variant and addition to be highly recommended, collected, and played if you want a real life and up close perspective of this historical naval conflict that has been taken to another level after graduating from the SH3 Stock program.

Good hunting all!