the devil has wings

flag4 · 01-18-08, 03:52 PM

hi hunters, from GWX2...Sept 1939 type iiA

odd occurence this, i was tracking a merchantman in a howling black night storm, the waves looked like witches hats poking and rolling, the rain lashed sideways and i was thoroughly enjoyng myself diving for sound and surfacing for visuals - i got closer, but could'nt see, i got closer at about 500mtrs, reports of dead ahead so i cranked up the knots and went in for the kill.

suddenly the merchantman was 100mtrs infront of me and i couldnt see him - nothing, not a thing, just rain and waves. i was worried that i would collide so i turned to starboard sharply and thought about going round again and coming at him so i could see him.

the next report told me he was again 100mtrs infront, on a bearing of 50 or so, and travelling fast - this, by the way was in the middle of the north sea, waves like houses, conning tower mainly underwater.
reports changed every 5 minutes or so , he was at the side of me he was behind me he swung round to port - then he's at 160 degrees ...?

i called for a report again and now the devil is 180 degrees bearing and then he diasspeared - gone, by next report.

i dived and found him infront at about 40 degrees bearing short range, so i powered up and surfaced and ran in like hell after him.

he maintained short range for another half an hour flitting from front to back of my boat as though he had wings - i never saw him.

i thought maybe a schooner, or a torpedo boat, but out there in that weather, so far out from land at night...

...this duelling dervish lead me a dangling dance of wich the like's i've never experienced before - i never saw him, just rain wind and waves, black night and churning screws.

this did happen. i suppose there must be a reason. i never thought to photo the screen - so i can't prove it.

oh yeah, sometimes i get ships on land, like in AN97 today...

any thoughts ? ( fatigue...LSD ? )

wizardmatt · 01-18-08, 04:14 PM

very similar to an experience i had yesterday mate.
basically, such happenings occur when you "successfully" pursue a target and end up right on top of him.
just like the experience you describe, what happened to me happened in extremely bad weather, where visibility - at night and in very bad weather - is 300m or so maximum. if youre right on top of the contact, and moving faster than him, its easy to go from him being at 360 to 180.
in the end, after an hour or so's worth of realtime pursuit, i luckily ended up on his a*se, about 400m away, and let him have it: magnetic pistol, 2m deeper than his draft, blew up right under the swine and he sank in about 2 minutes.
lot of hassle for 1000 tons!

Avatar · 01-18-08, 04:16 PM

As bad as the weather sounds, do you think you were detected by him? That would answer his erratic contact bearings. Recently, I was in a fierce storm and at night. I made my approach with decks awash(7m) and somehow managed to be seen even when the merchant ship was barely visible.

As far as the LSD is concerned, check your water pipes at your apartment/house. I was sure I was secretly being fed that stuff through my water supply. Operation Mind******* is in full effect!

Look up OM at wikipedia, but dont get too paranoid. They wouldnt want you to mess up their research.

flag4 · 01-19-08, 06:03 AM

cheers guys

i dont think he detected me, and how does a merchant or whatever it was move so fast, literally at the front one minute then a second later to the rear ??

plus i never saw him. i took out an armed trawler the other night in bad weather and i could see him 3-4oo mtrs away ??

very strange indeed - and exiting

Oberon · 01-19-08, 09:07 AM

Judging by how you described the weather, you could have been sailing right next to him and not seen him. I chased a tanker up to the Irish Sea in bad weather, virtually zero visibility, and even when I caught up with him, I was too close to fire torpedos, so I dropped back, fired one. It hit but sadly it wasn't enough to take him down. For two hours I played cat and mouse with this thing, hoping the weather would calm down, since I had no more eels. But no.
It might help, if you have 3D view on, to duck outside your boot, and run underwater in the direction of the sound contact, eventually you'll hear it and be able to poke up to see what it is.

flag4 · 01-19-08, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oberon

Judging by how you described the weather, you could have been sailing right next to him and not seen him. I chased a tanker up to the Irish Sea in bad weather, virtually zero visibility, and even when I caught up with him, I was too close to fire torpedos, so I dropped back, fired one. It hit but sadly it wasn't enough to take him down. For two hours I played cat and mouse with this thing, hoping the weather would calm down, since I had no more eels. But no.
It might help, if you have 3D view on, to duck outside your boot, and run underwater in the direction of the sound contact, eventually you'll hear it and be able to poke up to see what it is.

of course...

01-18-08, 03:52 PM	#1
flag4 Watch Officer Join Date: May 2007 Location: as far away as possible Posts: 1,625 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 0	the devil has wings *hi hunters, from GWX2...Sept 1939 type iiA* odd occurence this, i was tracking a merchantman in a howling black night storm, the waves looked like witches hats poking and rolling, the rain lashed sideways and i was thoroughly enjoyng myself diving for sound and surfacing for visuals - i got closer, but could'nt see, i got closer at about 500mtrs, reports of dead ahead so i cranked up the knots and went in for the kill. suddenly the merchantman was 100mtrs infront of me and i couldnt see him - nothing, not a thing, just rain and waves. i was worried that i would collide so i turned to starboard sharply and thought about going round again and coming at him so i could see him. the next report told me he was again 100mtrs infront, on a bearing of 50 or so, and travelling fast - this, by the way was in the middle of the north sea, waves like houses, conning tower mainly underwater. *reports changed every 5 minutes or so , he was at the side of me he was behind me he swung round to port - then he's at 160 degrees ...?* *i called for a report again and now the devil is 180 degrees bearing and then he diasspeared - gone, by next report.* *i dived and found him infront at about 40 degrees bearing short range, so i powered up and surfaced and ran in like hell after him.* *he maintained short range for another half an hour flitting from front to back of my boat as though he had wings - i never saw him.* *i thought maybe a schooner, or a torpedo boat, but out there in that weather, so far out from land at night...* *...this duelling dervish lead me a dangling dance of wich the like's i've never experienced before - i never saw him, just rain wind and waves, black night and churning screws.* *this did happen. i suppose there must be a reason. i never thought to photo the screen - so i can't prove it.* *oh yeah, sometimes i get ships on land, like in AN97 today...* *any thoughts ? ( fatigue...LSD ? )* __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ' We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.' Kurt Vonnegut

01-19-08, 06:03 AM	#4
flag4 Watch Officer Join Date: May 2007 Location: as far away as possible Posts: 1,625 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 0	cheers guys i dont think he detected me, and how does a merchant or whatever it was move so fast, literally at the front one minute then a second later to the rear ?? plus i never saw him. i took out an armed trawler the other night in bad weather and i could see him 3-4oo mtrs away ?? very strange indeed - and exiting __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ' We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.' Kurt Vonnegut

01-18-08, 04:14 PM	#2
wizardmatt Helmsman Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Birmingham, England Posts: 107 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	very similar to an experience i had yesterday mate. basically, such happenings occur when you "successfully" pursue a target and end up right on top of him. just like the experience you describe, what happened to me happened in extremely bad weather, where visibility - at night and in very bad weather - is 300m or so maximum. if youre right on top of the contact, and moving faster than him, its easy to go from him being at 360 to 180. in the end, after an hour or so's worth of realtime pursuit, i luckily ended up on his a*se, about 400m away, and let him have it: magnetic pistol, 2m deeper than his draft, blew up right under the swine and he sank in about 2 minutes. lot of hassle for 1000 tons!

01-18-08, 04:16 PM	#3
Avatar Commodore Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Way out there Posts: 603 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	As bad as the weather sounds, do you think you were detected by him? That would answer his erratic contact bearings. Recently, I was in a fierce storm and at night. I made my approach with decks awash(7m) and somehow managed to be seen even when the merchant ship was barely visible. As far as the LSD is concerned, check your water pipes at your apartment/house. I was sure I was secretly being fed that stuff through my water supply. Operation Mind******* is in full effect! Look up OM at wikipedia, but dont get too paranoid. They wouldnt want you to mess up their research.

01-19-08, 09:07 AM	#5
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Judging by how you described the weather, you could have been sailing right next to him and not seen him. I chased a tanker up to the Irish Sea in bad weather, virtually zero visibility, and even when I caught up with him, I was too close to fire torpedos, so I dropped back, fired one. It hit but sadly it wasn't enough to take him down. For two hours I played cat and mouse with this thing, hoping the weather would calm down, since I had no more eels. But no. It might help, if you have 3D view on, to duck outside your boot, and run underwater in the direction of the sound contact, eventually you'll hear it and be able to poke up to see what it is.