U-69: Convoy attack

[Cybermat47]

It was early morning on the 18 November, 1940. Wolfram Raabe, radio operator on board the German type VIIC u-boat U-69, jerked in surprise as the radio next to him started crackling. He had only just gotten up, after a horrible night in a fierce Atlantic storm. However, he quickly and proffesionly decoded the message using the Enigma cipher machine. Again, he jerked with surprise. It was a contact report! He was even more surprised by the sender. The message read;
Large enemy convoy sighted X 40+ ships X 5 Destroyers X 1 Battleship X
KMS Lützow. Excitement overcoming tiredness, he took the message to the the conning tower, where Kapitanleuntant Manfred Werner was studying a map of the North Atlantic, a bottle of apple juice in his hand. "Herr Kaleun?" "Yes, Wolfi, what is it? Contact report?" Yes, Herr Kaleun" Manfred took the piece of paper out of his hand. As he read, his eyes widened. "Navigator!", he called down the hatch. "Plot new course!"

[Cybermat47]

Manfred climbed down the ladder to the control room, where the navigator, Emil Dubler, was waiting. Manfred showed him the message, and went over to a chart showing their immediate area. His XO, Erich von Dobenecker emerged from the forward quarters. Emil showed him the message. "Herr Kaleun, are we moving to intercept?" Manfred looked up. "Yes, First officer, we are. Go to the torpedo room, tell Kurt to load up some eels." When Erich emerged, he remarked,"It'll be difficult, attacking." Manfred looked up, a puzzled look on his face."What makes you say that?" "Well, Herr Kaleun, the escorts will be on high alert, after the Lützow's attack." " Ah, but you're forgetting, our capital ships are under strict orders from the Führer not to engage enemy battleships. Besides, Sharnhorst and Gneisenau attacked that convoy in '39, and Rollie de Bunsen in U-46 had a field day the night after!" Erich seemed puzzled. "Rollie de Bunsen? That name rings a bell!" Manfred grinned. " He was the one who kept lapsing into shock whenever that secretary, Heidi walked past. And she couldn't take her eyes off him!"

[CaliEs]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

Manfred ....went over to a chart showing their immediate area.

Where is this area located?

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by CaliEs

Where is this area located?

Mid-Atlantic, 40 degrees west, 60 degrees north.

[THE_MASK]

Great story
What mod list ?
What realism settings ?

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by sober

Great story
What mod list ?
What realism settings ?

45% realism
Limited fuel
Limited oxygen
No stabilize view
No event camera
Limited compressed air
No ship health bars
Realistic repair time
Realistic reload

MODs
MFCM (alt heads w/beards)
Lifeboat mod open horizons II light
IRAI v.0.0.37
No damn bubbles, no damn halos
On torp, one ship v.1a
A fistful of emblems
Equipment fix mod
XO TDC dialogue fix
More crew commands by dialogue
Sub flags v.0.0.8
AI sub crew
TDW'S patcher

[GT182]

Originally Posted by CaliEs

Where is this area located?

Just outside the Lorient sub pens. You always get faint signals from there.

Just picking on ya Cyber. Looks to be a good start on narrating a patrol. Go get em and 'Sink em all' !

[Cybermat47]

By the timeU-69 was in visual contact of the convoy, it was 9 o'clock.
And, sure enough, there were 5 destroyers and a battleship. "Verdamnt!" Manfred whispered. They were not in any position to torpedo the battleship. Oh well, he thought, might as well get some freighters. However, when they were within 1000 meters of the first escort, he noticed that there were 10 or so men on deck, watching through binoculars. It would only be a matter of time before they saw U-69. "All men below, take us down to 14 meters!" ordered the captain. By his reckoning, the destroyer was out of ASDIC range. After several minutes, when Benno judged that they were surrounded by the merchants, Manfred gave orders to surface. When their boat emerged from the depths, Manfred raced up the ladders, opened the conning tower hatch, and placed the UZO on its pedestal. After doing the calculations for a shot at a freighter, he ordered "Rohr einz und zwei, Los!" He then switched to a closer freighter. "Rohr drei und veir, Los!"
Now all they could do was wait.

[Cybermat47]

Manfred Werner joined the kriegsmarine in 1938. Promoted to captain of U-28 later that year, he became a national hero in the first month of the war, infiltrating Scapa Flow and sinking the battleship Royal Oak and the battle cruiser Belfast. Later that year he took command of U-51, which became famous for being the only successful uboat during Operation Weserübung in April 1940. He was given command of U-69 on July 1st, 1940, and is still in command of that boat.