Irish Sea

[robj250]

I'm still on my first patrol (Oct 1939) and have 7 torpedoes left and was think of returning to base by going up through the sea between Scotland and Ireland, then going around Scapa and down to my base.

Has anyone done that?

What are my chances of getting through?

Rob

EDIT: The torpedoes are G7a and I have a VIIB (no upgrades, green crew)

[LeafsFan]

Never even thought of doing it. The Northern entrance is very narrow, and should be heavily patrolled, The southern entrance is much wider, but was heavily mined, at least historically.

HB

[melnibonian]

In 1939 you can get away with such a course. You have to be careful as there are loads of DDs in the area and a lot of minefields. My suggestion would be to run decks awash to minimise your profile. There are loads of ships in the area as well and you can hit them with the deck gun as well. If you're a bit careful and lucky you can get away with a huge tonnage.

Good Luck

[LeafsFan]

Originally Posted by melnibonian

In 1939 you can get away with such a course. You have to be careful as there are loads of DDs in the area and a lot of minefields. My suggestion would be to run decks awash to minimise your profile. There are loads of ships in the area as well and you can hit them with the deck gun as well. If you're a bit careful and lucky you can get away with a huge tonnage.

Good Luck

Takes a lot of Cojones to do this.

HB

[melnibonian]

Originally Posted by LeafsFan

Takes a lot of Cojones to do this.

HB

I have done it in 1939 and early 1940 but it was mighty scary. Loads of tonnage though.

[robj250]

Gee, I never even thought about minefields. Thanks for that info. When you did it mel, how was it getting through that very narrow spot near the top?

With respect to the minefields, did you stay put at night (like, not move), because they would be very difficult to see at night.

I wouldn't even know what to look for (minefields) as I've never seen one. I guess I'd have to stay on the bridge while running decks awash.

Would you dive and let the DDs go by and just look for the merchants?

[melnibonian]

The minefields are almost everywhere on that area but the mines are under the surface. So if you go to periscope depth and further down you run the risk to hit them. If you're on the surface you don't need to worry about mines, but you need to be careful about DDs and planes. That's the reason why I'm suggesting to run decks awash. If you are attacked you can dive quickly, and you can minimise the chances of being spotted by DDs.

When I did it I was on the move all the time. I was running decks awash and I was trying to set up ambushes to lone merchants. At night I was attacking from the surface and I was finishing up the target with the deck gun. During day time the attacks were done at periscope depth but with all engines stop (that way you avoid being hit by a mine). The conning tower was a bit exposed but if you raise the scope just a bit you can still see and fire a shot. Don't forget the merchants and the DDs are not too good in spotting you early in the war, so you can use it to your advantage and be a bit more aggressive. Because of your small profile you will most probably see the ships before they see you. If it's a merchant you can plan your attack without any problem. If it's a warship you're still running decks awash. You don't need to submerge straight away. Depending on the time of day and the weather you can always position your boat far away from the warship and still keep moving on the surface. If you're spotted or if you need to dive, then you have to pray you're not inside a minefield. If that's the case I would suggest you either go to the bottom and stay there until the danger passes or if you need to be moving try to do it at small speeds and for short periods of time.

As I said before it's tricky and dangerous but it can yield a lot of tonnage, and early in the war it's a unique oportunity.

Good Luck (and trust me you will need it )