I thought the Med would be easier...

dmlavan · 07-06-07, 01:26 PM

I decided to give my Atlantic boat and crew a well-deserved rest by starting a Mediterranean career in mid-1942, using GWX 1.03 and SHCdr 2.7 with a "realistic career" to avoid a tour of duty lasting the entire war. I picked the Med because a) I like the water color and b) based on not having read much about the U-boat war in the Med, I assumed that if I started on the east side of Gibraltar it would be easier than the Atlantic.

On my first patrol out of Salamis, my first surprise was that the new crew did NOT perform as well as the seasoned 10-patrol Atlantic crew I was used to. After clearing the Aegan Sea and heading towards our patrol area SSE of Malta, I quickly learned that traveling on the surface at night was dangerous. After the second time having my bridge suddenly lit up by a Sunderland's searchlight as the first indication that there were aircraft nearby, I changed my pattern to running surfaced during the day, when I could see aircraft, and submerged at night.

After about two weeks with no contacts

my sonar operator picked up multiple merchants. I turned, followed the sound, and maneuvered into a good position. Up scope, and I found two escorts leading two columns of ships: three small cargo ships, and the other with three fat, juicy passenger liners. I developed a good firing solution, checked them again visually, then noticed the flags: they were Italian! Thankfully I hadn't fired, but my crew was frustrated.

Another few days of futile patrolling, then shortly after sunset my Watch Officer reported a visual contact 6000m away. I looked through my binoculars and saw six smoke plumes - two close and four in the distance. The two belonged to two destroyers who were charging towards me. Crash drive... kept on going to 170m. At one point during the 8hrs of depth charging, I used my "God-like" powers (F12) to see what good targets were passing me by: one King George V and one Nelson class battleship, and two Dido cruisers. I could only imagine my Sailors painting those tonnage flags for our return to port!

At the end of the patrol, I pulled into Salamis on fumes (less than 10% fuel) with only 4 small ships for 10k tons total... and moderate damage to my VIIC from numerous aircraft. I'm almost tempted to brave Gibraltar just to head out into the "easy" Atlantic!

07-06-07, 01:26 PM	#1
dmlavan Weps Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 351 Downloads: 69 Uploads: 0	I thought the Med would be easier... I decided to give my Atlantic boat and crew a well-deserved rest by starting a Mediterranean career in mid-1942, using GWX 1.03 and SHCdr 2.7 with a "realistic career" to avoid a tour of duty lasting the entire war. I picked the Med because a) I like the water color and b) based on not having read much about the U-boat war in the Med, I assumed that if I started on the east side of Gibraltar it would be easier than the Atlantic. On my first patrol out of Salamis, my first surprise was that the new crew did NOT perform as well as the seasoned 10-patrol Atlantic crew I was used to. After clearing the Aegan Sea and heading towards our patrol area SSE of Malta, I quickly learned that traveling on the surface at night was dangerous. After the second time having my bridge suddenly lit up by a Sunderland's searchlight as the first indication that there were aircraft nearby, I changed my pattern to running surfaced during the day, when I could see aircraft, and submerged at night. After about two weeks with no contacts my sonar operator picked up multiple merchants. I turned, followed the sound, and maneuvered into a good position. Up scope, and I found two escorts leading two columns of ships: three small cargo ships, and the other with three fat, juicy passenger liners. I developed a good firing solution, checked them again visually, then noticed the flags: they were Italian! Thankfully I hadn't fired, but my crew was frustrated. Another few days of futile patrolling, then shortly after sunset my Watch Officer reported a visual contact 6000m away. I looked through my binoculars and saw six smoke plumes - two close and four in the distance. The two belonged to two destroyers who were charging towards me. Crash drive... kept on going to 170m. At one point during the 8hrs of depth charging, I used my "God-like" powers (F12) to see what good targets were passing me by: one King George V and one Nelson class battleship, and two Dido cruisers. I could only imagine my Sailors painting those tonnage flags for our return to port! At the end of the patrol, I pulled into Salamis on fumes (less than 10% fuel) with only 4 small ships for 10k tons total... and moderate damage to my VIIC from numerous aircraft. I'm almost tempted to brave Gibraltar just to head out into the "easy" Atlantic!