Greek ship in 1939: neutral or not?

[Plague]

Yesterday I was in patrol in Atlantic Ocean near british coast in 1939 October 1st, and I saw a cargo traveling at nighttime with all light off.

I thought she was an enemy ship so I torpedoed her to death before I realized she was greek.
According to flags table, Greece joined Allied force only in 1940, so in 1939 that ship should have been neutral but when I returned to base the patrol's log showed that no neutral ship was sank.

How can you explain this?

I'm playing SH3+GWX+Merchant Fleet Mod.

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Plague

Yesterday I was in patrol in Atlantic Ocean near british coast in 1939 October 1st, and I saw a cargo traveling at nighttime with all light off.

I thought she was an enemy ship so I torpedoed her to death before I realized she was greek.
According to flags table, Greece joined Allied force only in 1940, so in 1939 that ship should have been neutral but when I returned to base the patrol's log showed that no neutral ship was sank.

How can you explain this?

I'm playing SH3+GWX+Merchant Fleet Mod.

Ship was running dark in enemy coastal waters. That's a "Kick me!" sign. And I'd be really torqued if the game didn't give me credit. (Not that SH3 can be relied upon for historical accuracy.)

BTW, how did you know the ship was Greek? Was she flying a Greek ensign? Or did she just have "I'm Greek" painted on the side? Paint is cheap and easy to get. The MFM has lots of these ringers. IIRC, the owner painted the ship, but she flew the flag of (and counted as belonging to) the country she was leased to. So a Greek ship under British lease was British. And should be flying the Red Ensign if you could see it.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

Ship was running dark in enemy coastal waters. That's a "Kick me!" sign. And I'd be really torqued if the game didn't give me credit. (Not that SH3 can be relied upon for historical accuracy.)

The problem there is that the game doesn't have any lit ships. They are all a mod, so it is very easy to find a darkened ship that is neutral. On the other hand unless the situation was obvious U-boat kaleuns didn't usually get into trouble for that. Most of the time they didn't get into trouble for sinking friendly ships.

[Plague]

Thanks for replies.
I supposed that ship was Greek because of the Greek colors and the huge word "Greece" painted on the hull, I'm sure there was no ensign on the mast (nor Greek neither British).

I didn't understand that MFM contains such misleading ships.... now I'm thinking about how many ships in the past I let to go because of this misunderstanding

From now on I will show no mercy.

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

The problem there is that the game doesn't have any lit ships. They are all a mod, so it is very easy to find a darkened ship that is neutral. On the other hand unless the situation was obvious U-boat kaleuns didn't usually get into trouble for that. Most of the time they didn't get into trouble for sinking friendly ships.

In fact, according to Clay Blair, RL commanders who sank neutrals were absolved of any blame and given full tonnage credit by BdU. Neutral tonnage counted toward qualification for a Ritterkreuz even when it was a "friendly" neutral like Spain or Portugal or if it brought the neutral into the war on the Allied side, as happened with Mexico and Brazil. Strict adherence to the Prize Rules was apparently never a serious issue.

BTW, I was unaware that lit ships were from a mod. Never played stock.

[Plague]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

BTW, I was unaware that lit ships were from a mod. Never played stock.

Steve is right, illuminated ship is a feature of GWX.

This is a passage from GWX Manual:

Illuminated Ships

Historical background
Germany discussed treating well-lighted merchant ships as neutrals during its World War I unrestricted submarine warfare campaign, as belligerent merchant ships turned their lights off to avoid giving away their location, but this was only an informal convention. Neutral ships usually used red, green, and white navigation lights to reduce the danger of collisions at sea, but the masters of neutral merchant ships sailing alone during World War II would sail darkened if they felt U-boats would attack anyways.

Illuminated ships in GWX
Illuminated ships in GWX represent some (but not all) shipping of currently neutral countries; merchant ships from countries currently at war or allied with Germany will always sail under blackout conditions, while Red Cross hospital ships always sail under illumination. Note: Illuminated ships of neutral that leave port before their nations join the war are legitimate targets once war begins, but will remain lit until they reach port.

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Plague

Steve is right, illuminated ship is a feature of GWX.

This is a passage from GWX Manual:

Illuminated Ships

Historical background
Germany discussed treating well-lighted merchant ships as neutrals during its World War I unrestricted submarine warfare campaign, as belligerent merchant ships turned their lights off to avoid giving away their location, but this was only an informal convention. Neutral ships usually used red, green, and white navigation lights to reduce the danger of collisions at sea, but the masters of neutral merchant ships sailing alone during World War II would sail darkened if they felt U-boats would attack anyways.

Illuminated ships in GWX
Illuminated ships in GWX represent some (but not all) shipping of currently neutral countries; merchant ships from countries currently at war or allied with Germany will always sail under blackout conditions, while Red Cross hospital ships always sail under illumination. Note: Illuminated ships of neutral that leave port before their nations join the war are legitimate targets once war begins, but will remain lit until they reach port.

I was not disputing Steve's comment. I have played GWX3 and NYGM, and both of them have ships lit up at night, particularly in the early war. As I said, I've never played stock. So I have always seen ships illuminated at night (and some in daylight, too!). I just figured it was built into the game.

[Plague]

incidentally.... I can't remember any illuminated ship in nighttime since I use MFM (even if it is not so long).
Maybe it is a coincidence, but do you know if this feature is mantained in MFM?