The base was changed to...

[Stargazer]

Hi,

I'm currently running a VIIb out of Wilhelmshaven (transferred myself there from Kiel because slogging it out round Denmark was wearing me out) and they've sent me out on my longest run yet.

I'm currently cruising 400km west of spain towards North-Western Africa and I've had a radio message about 'The base was changed to Lorient'.

Now I interpret that as 'tell the wife and kids to learn French because you're being re-stationed'.

My question is this: My orders still say that I have to return to Wilhems'. Is this because I have a few loose ends to tie up there before my transfer or is this because orders can't change themselves mid-mission?

And my subquestion is: Which should I go back to... Wilhems' or Lorient?

Cheers,

Rob.


Ps. Running GWX3 and SH3C

[desirableroasted]

Lorient for you, my friend, but don't worry! BdU won't authorize family transfer. Ask for Lisette at the O-club.

If you don't teleport to base, remember to have a look at your harbor maps before heading in. The mines and barriers at Lorient are (for me, anyway) somewhat counter-intuitively placed.

[Stargazer]

Mi... Mmm... Mines?

Did you say mines?

They've sent me to a place that's been mined?!

What did I do to deserve this? I may not be an Ace but it isn't like I'm not pulling my weight. And they send me out to be mined!

Hmph!

[Missing Name]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

Mi... Mmm... Mines?

Did you say mines?

They've sent me to a place that's been mined?!

What did I do to deserve this? I may not be an Ace but it isn't like I'm not pulling my weight. And they send me out to be mined!

Hmph!

It's actually standard procedure to mine a port, leaving channels that the enemy doesn't know about. In theory, you'll have a minesweeper or sperrbrecher clear a path ahead of you as you leave.

[Stargazer]

Oh! is that what that ship is always there for?

I've just gone belting past it each time thinking it was just regular traffic.

Can you tell I'm new to all of this?

[Missing Name]

The pull-down charts on the nav map also show approximate positions of friendly harbor defenses, another invaluable tool. One time, I left Wilhelmshaven and hit a mine. Looked at the chart as I limped back, and saw that I had indeed wandered right into a friendly mined area.

[4saken]

Its July '40,just got back to base (2nd flotilla) and i am wondering what's the fastest
way to get transferred to Lorient?Should i just wait for a radio message while on my
next petrol?

[Gargamel]

Wilmshaven is mined too FYI. You just never hit any then.

Almost all ports had mines and nets, as mentioned above. One of the pulldown maps on your Nav screen (little tabs to the top left are actually maps, just drag and drop), shows the mines and nets for your major friendly ports.

@DR: And wouldn't counter-intuitively placed mines be a good thing?

@4s: You just have to wait for the base to open up, and the flotilla to be transferred there. Takes time to move all that paperwork.

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by Gargamel

Wilmshaven is mined too FYI. You just never hit any then.

I'm so glad I've been asking these questions. I've discovered the pull down documents now and have been using them to guide me.

S'not bad though 7 sorties out of Kiel and 4 out of Wilhelms' and I managed to miss them each time.

This submarining thing is getting complicated and dangerous. I was floating through part of the North Sea a couple of days ago and knocked my mouse by accident which dumped the camera under the water just in time for me to see a big spikey mine floating about 3yards from the bottom of my boat.

No wonder only a fifth of these guys made it to '45.

[Gargamel]

Where the heck were you? You do know the ENTIRE east coast of the british isles were HEAVILY mined. As In I don't travel on their half of the North Sea, Ever.

[Stargazer]

In all honesty, my only real knowledge of '39-'45 is from an aviation perspective.

I've never , until a week ago, even bothered myself with ships, subs and sea.

So I'm kind of going in blind. And on some of my North Sea patrols, I would spend maybe five days in my grid and not find a single thing so I'd go looking for trouble.

Once, I floated right up into a British port, hoping for some nice juicy stationary targets. All I found was a big wall blocking my entry, the worlds biggest and most aggressive battleship, 60 depth charges and 3hrs of just sitting and waiting for it to bugger off!

I had hoped that there would be no sub countermeasures that early on but I was wrong. So I went home having not sunk anything.

T'is not the most illustrious career but for my first I don't think it's 'too' bad. Especially since I'm obviously still going through an almost vertical learning curve.

You have my permission to roll your eyes, sigh and then curse about 'more flaming noobs'.

Rob.

[Missing Name]

Mines = bad. They will make moving around the British Isles and enemy harbors hell. I've been fortunate enough to survive two mine impacts, but with extremely heavy damage. Nets are more forgiving but can still make your life miserable.

My advice? Don't try to navigate an enemy harbor until you have a good understanding of how your sub operates. And stay far away from the islands.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

Oh! is that what that ship is always there for?

I've just gone belting past it each time thinking it was just regular traffic.

Can you tell I'm new to all of this?

Ah, memories. Seems like just yesterday I was standing on the bridge and yelling "eat my diesel fumes you wankers!" at the startled faces of the minesweeper's crew as we barrelled past them at flank speed on the way out of Wilhelmshaven. Good times, good times.

Now I gotta wait for the bloody locks to open. It's just not as much fun when you can't order ahead flank as soon as you've... you've... uh... er... whatever that nautical term is for untying your boat from the dock.

[Gargamel]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

In all honesty, my only real knowledge of '39-'45 is from an aviation perspective.

I've never , until a week ago, even bothered myself with ships, subs and sea.

Same here.

As you can tell from my join date, which is shortly after I found SH3, I'm still new too. I knew very little about the naval part of the war, aside from "SHIPS GO BOOM!" "SHIP GO GLUBGLUBGLUB". Everybody else's enthusiasm has led me to do lot's of research I normally wouldn't have done. Hell, I even TIVO'd some stuff last night.

[Gargamel]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Ah, memories. Seems like just yesterday I was standing on the bridge and yelling "eat my diesel fumes you wankers!" at the startled faces of the minesweeper's crew as we barrelled past them at flank speed on the way out of Wilhelmshaven. Good times, good times.

Now I gotta wait for the bloody locks to open. It's just not as much fun when you can't order ahead flank as soon as you've... you've... uh... er... whatever that nautical term is for untying your boat from the dock.

Cast off?