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Gereke · 03-21-11, 08:23 PM

U-97
September 1941

Left Brest with orders to proceed through the Straight of Gibraltar and join the 23rd Flotilla in Salamis, Greece.

At 0430, while transiting along the Spanish coast at a heading of 180, one of my lookouts reports spotting shadows on the horizon. Turned out to be a medium sized convoy with light escort. Through some good luck, I was already in a prime position for attack. Due to the fact that it would be dawn soon I opted to commence with a submerged attack. I ordered flank speed ahead to close the distance, and then down to 14m.

Maneuvered my way into the middle of the convoy, and with my first salvo of torpedoes I took down a 9,000t Tanker, a 7,000t tanker and a 6,000t Freighter. I ordered the tubes reloaded, and then fired a second salvo that did not yield very good results. 1 hit which only caused damage to a large freighter, the others were misses or duds.

I noticed that the escorts were starting to get hot on my trail so I decided it was time to hit the cellar and run silent. I'd let other U-boats have their turn with the convoy, as I had radioed it's position before commencing my attack. I also wanted to save some eels for my transit through the Mediterranean.

My transit through the STROG went without incident. I was lucky enough to have some thick fog on my side, and made the entire trip on the surface.

Thirty two days after leaving Brest, U-97 moored at Salamis. After some refitting and crew rest we'll be ready for our next patrol.

03-21-11, 08:23 PM	#2304
Gereke A-ganger Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 76 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 0	U-97 September 1941 Left Brest with orders to proceed through the Straight of Gibraltar and join the 23rd Flotilla in Salamis, Greece. At 0430, while transiting along the Spanish coast at a heading of 180, one of my lookouts reports spotting shadows on the horizon. Turned out to be a medium sized convoy with light escort. Through some good luck, I was already in a prime position for attack. Due to the fact that it would be dawn soon I opted to commence with a submerged attack. I ordered flank speed ahead to close the distance, and then down to 14m. Maneuvered my way into the middle of the convoy, and with my first salvo of torpedoes I took down a 9,000t Tanker, a 7,000t tanker and a 6,000t Freighter. I ordered the tubes reloaded, and then fired a second salvo that did not yield very good results. 1 hit which only caused damage to a large freighter, the others were misses or duds. I noticed that the escorts were starting to get hot on my trail so I decided it was time to hit the cellar and run silent. I'd let other U-boats have their turn with the convoy, as I had radioed it's position before commencing my attack. I also wanted to save some eels for my transit through the Mediterranean. My transit through the STROG went without incident. I was lucky enough to have some thick fog on my side, and made the entire trip on the surface. Thirty two days after leaving Brest, U-97 moored at Salamis. After some refitting and crew rest we'll be ready for our next patrol.