Awesome convoy run last night!

[maillemaker]

Had a great run last night!

I was assigned a grid way down by the Strait of Gibraltar. As usual, I left out of Wilhelmshaven and hugged the east coat of England.

Just when I hit the coast I was alerted to a convoy. I intercepted it and made a perfect attack, perhaps my most perfect attack ever. Perfectly flat seas, evening coming on, electric torpedoes. I fired from about 3000 m on an ore carrier on a far column, and about 1500m or so on a closer-in large merchant.

Everything went perfectly.

First of all, as soon as I fired my last bow torp, I ran for the bottom (70m) and pointed my stern at the nearest flanking escort. I did not try and reload, just run and hide.

Secondly, my attack worked perfectly. Not only did all 4 torpedoes hit, but they hit both ships in separate lanes almost simultaneously - literally within seconds. So there was no time for zig-zagging to save the second ship.

Thirdly, I got away without any depth charges! I got away scott free!

I then shadowed the convoy northward. Unfortunately, an escort spotted me and chased me away. Must have been the perfect visibility and flat seas.

I returned, and again they chased me - two of them this time - A&B classes. This time I let them find me and I sank them both with magnetic shots under their chins out of my stern tubes at 400m.

I then put up my scope, and noticed gunfire and explosions by the convoy! It seems my radioing in the contact worked, because the Luftwaffe was hammering the convoy (they even sank one!).

I figured while they were busy with the aircraft I could surface and run ahead. But I was wrong. When I surfaced, the remaining 2 escorts saw me and one chased me. His mistake. I sank him just like the previous two.

I then tried shadowing the convoy north again, but I lost them! I got far ahead north of them when I got a report of the a convoy south of me! I was not sure it was the same one, but when I intercepted, sure enough - only one escort, and holes in the columns! Same convoy.

I made a perfect intercept, but got in a little too close and the lead escort started pinging me. Rather than run, I turned inside of him and then run, letting him settle on my stern. I gave him my last stern torpedo (a steamer no less, but it was dark) at 400m and blew him sky-high right in front of all his friends.

I had 3 torpedoes left at this point and I put one into each of the three remaining large ships. None sank (of course). So I exited out the rear of the convoy and surfaced. I had about 70 rounds of 105 left. I started working on the 3 wounded ships, and took them out. I started taking machine gun fire from one of the merchants, and expended the last of my 105 ammo on that merchant. I never hit the machine gunner but eventually his ship sank. I took some strafing fire from him (79% hull integrity when I got home).

Now all I had left was the 20mm and the larger anti-aircraft cannon (I'm in a type IX). I approached a couple passenger/cargo ships and just tore up their superstructure until I had completely denuded the tops of the ships except for their superstructure. 2 ships sank in this manner, to my surprise.

I tried working over another ship with many rounds from the larger AA cannon, but other than starting a few small fires the gun seemed largely ineffective, with either AA or AP rounds. Strangely I seemed to get bigger explosions with the dual 20mm gun.

Finally I got tired of machine-gunning ships without effect, radioed in a final contact report, and headed home.

Only bummer - I went to Wilhelmshaven but my base had changed to Lorient so I can't give my men the promotions they earned.

Do I loose the promotions or will they still be good when I finally get to Lorient next mission?

In the end I think I took out like 7 warships and 10 merchant ships.

Steve