Writing mood. U-137 hitting the convoy routes.

VonApist · 09-03-12, 04:07 AM

Late 1943, Grid AM 52 , 20m below surface

U-137's Kaleun felt a cold hand grasping his shoulder. He opened his eyes, only to see the U-boats second in command towering over his bunk.

"Sorry to have awaken you sir, but we have a contact report. It seems that a large Allied convoy, currently 130 Km West, is on course to make a pass from our patrol grid. I have plotted, along with Otto, a possible interception course and its quite feasible, assuming that the convoy wont change course or speed"

Stephan stood up, combed his unwashed hair with his fingers and started buttoning his shirt.

"You did well Gerald. I will be in the Zentrale in a minute."

U-137s Kaleun walked towards the stove and helped himself to a fresh mug of coffee. Piping hot liquid at hand, he moved towards the Zentrale, where Gerald and Otto, the boat's navigator, where discussing, pointing at various spots on the map.

"So boys, what is the status here" Stephan enquired moving towards them. Otto stepped back and Gerald took the floor.

"According to the BdU, Helmut's U-88 spotted a large convoy heading East, speed slow, some 130Km to our West " the U-boats second in command pointed at the spot.

"Unfortunately, Helmut's boat broke off the chase as he was detected. He reported that he is unable to shadow the target due to thick escort presence. According to our calculations, the convoy is on course for a pass through our patrol grid in some 13 hours at a distance of 60Km from our current position, heading East".

Stephan approached the map table while checking his wristwatch. 3.40pm. Assuming a surface speed of 7 Knots they could reach their attack spot in less than 5 hours. Darkness would be an extra advantage.

"OK Gerald. Agreed. Our U-IID bucket might not be fast, but we can make it to our position early to avoid radar detection, lie submerged and wait for them. According to the map, the ocean's floor in the vicinity of our attack position should be more than 200m.I think that we should take a shot at it." Stephan exclaimed.

He moved towards the map, taking a pencil out of his breast pocket.

"We surface and try to move here on time. This would give us a distance of some 2Km between us and the convoy lines. I want some breathing space as Helmut reported heavy escort activity. We then turn towards their direction to provide a smaller target and we wait for them submerged to just 15m to avoid early sonar detection. Silent running."

"We only have 3 torpedoes ready to go. And we wont be able to reload the other 2 in stock as I want the boat to remain silent. So, we must choose the fattest targets, aim, fire and make a run for it silently. Agreed?" Stephan enquired, only to see approving nods from Gerald and Otto.

"Ok boys, lets do this. Speed One-Third. Periscope Depth" Stephan ordered and U-137 started making its way towards the surface.

(to be continued)

09-03-12, 04:07 AM	#1
VonApist Navy Dude Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Greece Posts: 175 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	Writing mood. U-137 hitting the convoy routes. Late 1943, Grid AM 52 , 20m below surface U-137's Kaleun felt a cold hand grasping his shoulder. He opened his eyes, only to see the U-boats second in command towering over his bunk. "Sorry to have awaken you sir, but we have a contact report. It seems that a large Allied convoy, currently 130 Km West, is on course to make a pass from our patrol grid. I have plotted, along with Otto, a possible interception course and its quite feasible, assuming that the convoy wont change course or speed" Stephan stood up, combed his unwashed hair with his fingers and started buttoning his shirt. "You did well Gerald. I will be in the Zentrale in a minute." U-137s Kaleun walked towards the stove and helped himself to a fresh mug of coffee. Piping hot liquid at hand, he moved towards the Zentrale, where Gerald and Otto, the boat's navigator, where discussing, pointing at various spots on the map. "So boys, what is the status here" Stephan enquired moving towards them. Otto stepped back and Gerald took the floor. "According to the BdU, Helmut's U-88 spotted a large convoy heading East, speed slow, some 130Km to our West " the U-boats second in command pointed at the spot. "Unfortunately, Helmut's boat broke off the chase as he was detected. He reported that he is unable to shadow the target due to thick escort presence. According to our calculations, the convoy is on course for a pass through our patrol grid in some 13 hours at a distance of 60Km from our current position, heading East". Stephan approached the map table while checking his wristwatch. 3.40pm. Assuming a surface speed of 7 Knots they could reach their attack spot in less than 5 hours. Darkness would be an extra advantage. "OK Gerald. Agreed. Our U-IID bucket might not be fast, but we can make it to our position early to avoid radar detection, lie submerged and wait for them. According to the map, the ocean's floor in the vicinity of our attack position should be more than 200m.I think that we should take a shot at it." Stephan exclaimed. He moved towards the map, taking a pencil out of his breast pocket. "We surface and try to move here on time. This would give us a distance of some 2Km between us and the convoy lines. I want some breathing space as Helmut reported heavy escort activity. We then turn towards their direction to provide a smaller target and we wait for them submerged to just 15m to avoid early sonar detection. Silent running." "We only have 3 torpedoes ready to go. And we wont be able to reload the other 2 in stock as I want the boat to remain silent. So, we must choose the fattest targets, aim, fire and make a run for it silently. Agreed?" Stephan enquired, only to see approving nods from Gerald and Otto. "Ok boys, lets do this. Speed One-Third. Periscope Depth" Stephan ordered and U-137 started making its way towards the surface. (to be continued) __________________ "Submariners are a special brotherhood, either all come to the surface or no one does. On a submarine, the phrase all for one and one for all is not just a slogan, but reality.” -- VADM Rudolf Golosov Last edited by VonApist; 09-05-12 at 02:01 AM.