Why, oh why!?

schlechter pfennig · 04-24-10, 07:37 PM

Why, oh why, didn't I pay more attention to my fellow Kaleuns when relaxing at the officers club between patrols!?

Although I was quite fond of my Type VIIB, I'd been quite impressed with the Type IX boats I'd encountered. They looked lean and lethal. So, after one peace-time patrol and six war-time ones, and after 276,566 GRT, I decided to request transfer to a Type IXB. And she seemed every bit as lean, lethal and deadly as I'd imagined.

A heavier deck gun (albeit just about half the ammunition), and two flak guns, one light and one heavy. And the double stern tubes, plus all the extra torpedoes! ::whistles::

So after I finish my assigned patrol I head off to the Hebrides channel to hunt, an area I've successfully racked up quite decent kills before. I'm in AN4119, on the surface at 9:15AM, moving at a leasurely ahead standard, when my lookouts call out they've spotted aircraft.

We all scramble off the bridge even as the alarm is screamed out to crash dive. The hatch is dogged down, the engines at ahead flank, and we dive . . . erm . . . we dive . . . ah . . . mein Gott! We are going to dive, right?

I find myself wanting to head to the forward compartment and start jumping up and down. We finally start diving, and I've set the rudder to 25 degrees port, and we'd just reached 25 meters when a stick of bombs go off right overhead.

Thankfully all that happened was the flak guns took some very minor damage. But I'm starting to get a very bad feeling about this.

Well, the U-64 has, so far, survived, and is continuing our seventh war-time patrol. She hasn't racked up much tonnage so far, but she does now have her official nickname:

das wälzende warthog . . . the wallowing warthog.

krashkart · 04-24-10, 07:56 PM

A fitting nickname.

The IX is a pig when it comes to diving, but you'll get used to her. The dual stern tubes will come in very handy.

frau kaleun · 04-24-10, 08:05 PM

Quote:

and we dive . . . erm . . . we dive . . . ah . . . mein Gott! We are going to dive, right?

I <3 my Type VII.

Weiss Pinguin · 04-24-10, 08:08 PM

Those extra reloads will pay off in the end. At times I've made four, five, even six attacks, on a single convoy. If you can catch a large convoy coming through Gibraltar, you've got a goldmine. Just play it safe, and definitely do not get caught in shallow water.

I kind of like the extra flak cannons myself, more firepower directed at a target ship can only be a good thing, right?

krashkart · 04-24-10, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weiss Pinguin

I kind of like the extra flak cannons myself, more firepower directed at a target ship can only be a good thing, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

I <3 my Type VII.

Have you tried the VIIC/42 yet?

frau kaleun · 04-24-10, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krashkart

Have you tried the VIIC/42 yet?

If I ever live long enough to get one I'll let you know how she handles.

schlechter pfennig · 04-24-10, 08:51 PM

Oooooo-kaaaay . . . that was . . . interesting . . . if you have an odd idea of interesting.

While I was posting the above, I'd decided to bring inside some externals while the weather was nice and calm. I'm in AN1426, at 6:00AM, just as dawn is starting. Should only take about 40 minutes to haul one inside and, while I still have internal reserves, better to grab one or two while I can.

So I come to dead stop, man the watchtower and send out the crew and start the process of bringing inside an external. Seas as smooth as glass, the horizon salmon pink with the barest hint of dawn . . . what could go wrong?

Heh.

Ten minutes into the process a watchman screams out the dreaded "Aircraft spotted!"

I can't dive; not with a torpedo half-in, half-out. So I call for ahead flank, clear the forward deck of personnel and man the flak stations. Throwing the rudder to 25 degrees port I look up and try spotting what's incoming.

Jeez! Not one, not two, but three Swordfish!

Before they manage making their first bombing pass, the heavy flak takes them out; one-two-three. My jaw hits the decksole!

No sooner has the third hit the sea then I clear the flak stations, man the watchtower again, go to all stop and send the torpedo crew back out.

With ten minutes to go, I again hear "Aircraft spotted!" Oh, you have got to be kidding!

Ummm . . . no.

So again I call for ahead flank, clear the forward deck of personnel and man the flak stations, while scanning the skies.

OK . . . who have I ticked off today? There's another three Swordfish incoming!

The heavy flak brings them down, too!

I finally manage reloading the torpedo, then off we go at ahead full. There must be a carrier someplace around, that's the only way I can see having two groups of three Swordfish just swanning around up here, and while I wouldn't mind adding a carrier to my belt I somehow think she --and her escorts-- might have an ideer we're around.

(I usually do not duke it out with aircraft. I see 'em, I dive. This is the first time, ever, I've been in a position --self-imposed at it might have been-- where I couldn't dive. Not a pleasant feeling!)

Immelman · 04-24-10, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schlechter pfennig

So again I call for ahead flank, clear the forward deck of personnel and man the flak stations, while scanning the skies

I got bad news for you mate you can't call ahead flank. The best you could do is ask for minimum maneuvering speed like 2kts. Anything more completely unrealistic. Basically you are a sitting duck out there when reloading externals.

schlechter pfennig · 04-24-10, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Immelman

I got bad news for you mate you can't call ahead flank. The best you could do is ask for minimum maneuvering speed like 2kts. Anything more completely unrealistic. Basically you are a sitting duck out there when reloading externals.

Drat! Really? ::mutters:: I keep trying and trying to self-incorporate 'real', and I keep stubbing my toe it seems.

krashkart · 04-25-10, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schlechter pfennig

Jeez! Not one, not two, but three Swordfish!

.......

OK . . . who have I ticked off today? There's another three Swordfish incoming!

Are you playing stock or GWX? When I played stock I found that, as the war progresses, the aircraft get worse and worse. Kinda like the time I went camping on some lava flats without a tent -- mosquitoes thick as storm clouds, swarming out of the junipers and finding every conceivable way to get into our sleeping bags, and my friend and I were the only warm bodies for miles around. Anyway, I got sick of being constantly harassed by aircraft and upgraded to GWX. It's not nearly as bad... at least not yet. I'm still only in early 1940.

If you're playing stock you will begin to see three or four flights of aircraft patrolling as a group, and if one flight finds you the rest will come knockin' on your hatches.

Beware of the Liberators later on. They suck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weiss Pinguin

Oh well, that's what saves are for! Come on then, chop chop

That's quite impressive though, usually my gunners have trouble keeping up with a single bomber, let alone three Swordfish. What kind of gun configuration do you have?

I'm betting it's two Flakzwilig and a dual 3.7cm.

04-24-10, 07:37 PM	#1
schlechter pfennig Commander Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 462 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 7	Why, oh why!? Why, oh why, didn't I pay more attention to my fellow Kaleuns when relaxing at the officers club between patrols!? Although I was quite fond of my Type VIIB, I'd been quite impressed with the Type IX boats I'd encountered. They looked lean and lethal. So, after one peace-time patrol and six war-time ones, and after 276,566 GRT, I decided to request transfer to a Type IXB. And she seemed every bit as lean, lethal and deadly as I'd imagined. A heavier deck gun (albeit just about half the ammunition), and two flak guns, one light and one heavy. And the double stern tubes, plus all the extra torpedoes! ::whistles:: So after I finish my assigned patrol I head off to the Hebrides channel to hunt, an area I've successfully racked up quite decent kills before. I'm in AN4119, on the surface at 9:15AM, moving at a leasurely ahead standard, when my lookouts call out they've spotted aircraft. We all scramble off the bridge even as the alarm is screamed out to crash dive. The hatch is dogged down, the engines at ahead flank, and we dive . . . erm . . . we dive . . . ah . . . mein Gott! We are going to dive, right? I find myself wanting to head to the forward compartment and start jumping up and down. We finally start diving, and I've set the rudder to 25 degrees port, and we'd just reached 25 meters when a stick of bombs go off right overhead. Thankfully all that happened was the flak guns took some very minor damage. But I'm starting to get a very bad feeling about this. Well, the U-64 has, so far, survived, and is continuing our seventh war-time patrol. She hasn't racked up much tonnage so far, but she does now have her official nickname: das wälzende warthog . . . the wallowing warthog. Last edited by schlechter pfennig; 04-24-10 at 08:12 PM. Reason: cuz I can't spell worth doo-doo

04-24-10, 07:56 PM	#2
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	A fitting nickname. The IX is a pig when it comes to diving, but you'll get used to her. The dual stern tubes will come in very handy. __________________ sent from my fingertips using a cheap keyboard

04-24-10, 08:08 PM	#4
Weiss Pinguin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Auburn, Alabama Posts: 3,333 Downloads: 101 Uploads: 0	Those extra reloads will pay off in the end. At times I've made four, five, even six attacks, on a single convoy. If you can catch a large convoy coming through Gibraltar, you've got a goldmine. Just play it safe, and definitely do not get caught in shallow water. I kind of like the extra flak cannons myself, more firepower directed at a target ship can only be a good thing, right? __________________

04-24-10, 08:51 PM	#7
schlechter pfennig Commander Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 462 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 7	Oooooo-kaaaay . . . that was . . . interesting . . . if you have an odd idea of interesting. While I was posting the above, I'd decided to bring inside some externals while the weather was nice and calm. I'm in AN1426, at 6:00AM, just as dawn is starting. Should only take about 40 minutes to haul one inside and, while I still have internal reserves, better to grab one or two while I can. So I come to dead stop, man the watchtower and send out the crew and start the process of bringing inside an external. Seas as smooth as glass, the horizon salmon pink with the barest hint of dawn . . . what could go wrong? Heh. Ten minutes into the process a watchman screams out the dreaded "Aircraft spotted!" I can't dive; not with a torpedo half-in, half-out. So I call for ahead flank, clear the forward deck of personnel and man the flak stations. Throwing the rudder to 25 degrees port I look up and try spotting what's incoming. Jeez! Not one, not two, but three Swordfish! Before they manage making their first bombing pass, the heavy flak takes them out; one-two-three. My jaw hits the decksole! No sooner has the third hit the sea then I clear the flak stations, man the watchtower again, go to all stop and send the torpedo crew back out. With ten minutes to go, I again hear "Aircraft spotted!" Oh, you have got to be kidding! Ummm . . . no. So again I call for ahead flank, clear the forward deck of personnel and man the flak stations, while scanning the skies. OK . . . who have I ticked off today? There's another three Swordfish incoming! The heavy flak brings them down, too! I finally manage reloading the torpedo, then off we go at ahead full. There must be a carrier someplace around, that's the only way I can see having two groups of three Swordfish just swanning around up here, and while I wouldn't mind adding a carrier to my belt I somehow think she --and her escorts-- might have an ideer we're around. (I usually do not duke it out with aircraft. I see 'em, I dive. This is the first time, ever, I've been in a position --self-imposed at it might have been-- where I couldn't dive. Not a pleasant feeling!)