Sighted Sub; Sank Same (GWX)

12-31-06, 02:28 AM

U-77 is headed home to St. Nazaire after a satisfying third patrol ending on 5 Dec 1940 (10 ships sank for 46,012 tonnes) when, about 300 kilometers from port my WO calls out 'submarine spotted!'.

It took me a moment to realize that this particular spotting was very different than usual. (I guess the prompt window asking what action I wanted to take was a giveaway of sorts :p ).

It was a bit of a struggle to spot it through the UZO, but when I did I was startled to ID it as a S-class sub! I immediately turned and pursued, thankful I still had one remaining fish fore and aft. It was almost 2200 hours, quite dark and a dead calm sea, and I worried we'd get spotted if I got too close, and I couldn't do a submerged approach as I was literally dead astern. With it making 8 knots I'd only lose distance. When I got to with 1,500 meters I decided to fire at that range, with my last steamer, with it set for magnetic.

Only problem is . . . the S-class doesn't appear at all in the recognition manual, so I had no idea what its draft was.

I took a gamble and set it for 5 meters . . . and heard it bounce off the hull. Evidently its draft is deeper than 5! :p

Manning the deck gun I fired on it, having it return fire with its flak. Six good shots and my crew cheered as we 'sank' it . . . although it never did actually sink.

A nice ending to an already great patrol!!

(Story aside, I'm curious as to why the S-class doesn't appear in the recognition manual, and curious as well as to why it never did sink)

12-31-06, 02:28 AM	#1
Albrecht Von Hesse Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Sighted Sub; Sank Same (GWX) U-77 is headed home to St. Nazaire after a satisfying third patrol ending on 5 Dec 1940 (10 ships sank for 46,012 tonnes) when, about 300 kilometers from port my WO calls out 'submarine spotted!'. It took me a moment to realize that this particular spotting was very different than usual. (I guess the prompt window asking what action I wanted to take was a giveaway of sorts :p ). It was a bit of a struggle to spot it through the UZO, but when I did I was startled to ID it as a S-class sub! I immediately turned and pursued, thankful I still had one remaining fish fore and aft. It was almost 2200 hours, quite dark and a dead calm sea, and I worried we'd get spotted if I got too close, and I couldn't do a submerged approach as I was literally dead astern. With it making 8 knots I'd only lose distance. When I got to with 1,500 meters I decided to fire at that range, with my last steamer, with it set for magnetic. Only problem is . . . the S-class doesn't appear at all in the recognition manual, so I had no idea what its draft was. I took a gamble and set it for 5 meters . . . and heard it bounce off the hull. Evidently its draft is deeper than 5! :p Manning the deck gun I fired on it, having it return fire with its flak. Six good shots and my crew cheered as we 'sank' it . . . although it never did actually sink. A nice ending to an already great patrol!! (Story aside, I'm curious as to why the S-class doesn't appear in the recognition manual, and curious as well as to why it never did sink)