*very* determined escorts (GWX)

01-04-07, 12:34 PM

Ok, still on my forth patrol (Jan '41) cruising around BE13 -15 area, almost 9 days of nothing after a very delightful start of the patrol. I get a contact update, and my brows rise, as it's tagged as a large convoy but comes up as a big circle rather than a square. Shrugging, I plot out an intercept and off U-77 goes at flank speed.

Several hours later I get another update. This time the convoy is tagged with a square, with a smaller, singleton medium merchant also identified on a rendezvous course . . . and a VIIC also on an intercept course from behind!

I finally get within visual range of the convoy, and spot two Black swans escorting it. Both are damaged and on fire, one a lot worse than the other. And way off in the distance is barrelling an apparantly healthy one towards the convoy. Evidentally it's responding to a distress call.

I delayed too long submerging, which became obvious when the healthy one started pinging me 15 minutes later. After a long, dogged cat-and-mouse game, during which I knew that juicy convoy was escaping, I finally decided to do something risky (and after the fact I decided that's not something I'll ever do again, unless I've no choice).

The undamaged, newly-arrived black swan was continually circling widdershins, so when it started on an attack run I turned on the same bearing, went to flank and to periscope depth. I'd already pre-setup a steamer for the right depth, speed and magnetic setting, and as soon as I hit periscope depth I popped the scope up, sighted the butt end of the frigate having just passed over me, took bearing, AoB and range, and fired.

Down scope, counted the seconds, then cheered at the explosion. Finally! Now back to the convoy!

I could hear the pathetic pings of the ship, weakly chirping as it shipped water and started foundering. But then they started getting louder, more vicious. What the heck?

Popping up the scope, my blood turned to ice . . . as a second, undamaged black swan was bearing down on me at full speed! I've no idea where it came from, and I had seconds to decide. I'd already had a second steamer preset for a black swan, so I opened the door, locked the scope onto it, collected the information I needed.

By now it was less than 600 meters away, the bone in its teeth filling my scope at 10X. I fired, then crash-dived and made a hard port turn at 60 degrees.

That one hit, as well, and off I went after the convoy, out of torpedoes but having about 30 HE rounds left for the deck gun.

Except that last, heavily-damaged escort simply would not leave me be! It's max speed was 7 knots, and its companion even worse: 2 knots. And between the two they hounded me for over two hours! They either have dropped all their ashcans against the never-actually-spotted U-boat, or were so damaged they couldn't use them, but that's not stopping them from searching for me.

When I finally saved last night before heading off to my rack, they were still looking for me, decks ablaze and smoke shrouding the horizon from them, but they ain't giving up it seems!

IceGrog · 01-04-07, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albrecht Von Hesse

but they ain't giving up it seems!

In my first GWX mission, I too saw the round symbol for a large convoy, don’t know if it ever changed to square. I saw one ship burning, no warship sound and it was bad weather so I went charging to the convoy. Finally before I got there a frigate was sent back to me. He must have had a hard time finding me in the bad weather, I kept my scope up as zigzagged to me, and I blasted him. Again no sound or sight of any escorts. So I surfaced and charged again. Another frigate came, same story with him, then a destroyed came on his heels, again in the bad weather they must have had a hard time finding me, the destroyer went right by me, I picked him off and was getting ready to surface when I looked around to see how the sinking destroyer was doing, I spotted another destroyer right next to the wounded one. These guys seemed to be coming out of nowhere. I was so close to the convoy but now I had used up all my fish. I started to dive deep but when I saw the last destroyer he was heading back to the convoy?

forgot to say it's 1940 for me

Ducimus · 01-04-07, 01:03 PM

Man i envy everyone who makes post like this. I swear i have this magical umbrella protecting me from anything bad (fun) ever happening.

IceGrog · 01-04-07, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Man i envy everyone who makes post like this. I swear i have this magical umbrella protecting me from anything bad (fun) ever happening.

luck of the Irish

AVGWarhawk · 01-04-07, 01:11 PM

The DD are very good in GWX and I believe right on the money. Lets face it, anti-submarine warfare was fledgling in 1941 but still good enough to keep you down and keep on top of you. Sometimes you have to know when to cut and run. Sounds like you had a great attack at any rate.

The DD give up....run at 2kts/silent/deep as you can/change course often. Use the weather if you can for your advantage!

01-04-07, 12:34 PM	#1
Albrecht Von Hesse Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	very determined escorts (GWX) Ok, still on my forth patrol (Jan '41) cruising around BE13 -15 area, almost 9 days of nothing after a very delightful start of the patrol. I get a contact update, and my brows rise, as it's tagged as a large convoy but comes up as a big circle rather than a square. Shrugging, I plot out an intercept and off U-77 goes at flank speed. Several hours later I get another update. This time the convoy is tagged with a square, with a smaller, singleton medium merchant also identified on a rendezvous course . . . and a VIIC also on an intercept course from behind! I finally get within visual range of the convoy, and spot two Black swans escorting it. Both are damaged and on fire, one a lot worse than the other. And way off in the distance is barrelling an apparantly healthy one towards the convoy. Evidentally it's responding to a distress call. I delayed too long submerging, which became obvious when the healthy one started pinging me 15 minutes later. After a long, dogged cat-and-mouse game, during which I knew that juicy convoy was escaping, I finally decided to do something risky (and after the fact I decided that's not something I'll ever do again, unless I've no choice). The undamaged, newly-arrived black swan was continually circling widdershins, so when it started on an attack run I turned on the same bearing, went to flank and to periscope depth. I'd already pre-setup a steamer for the right depth, speed and magnetic setting, and as soon as I hit periscope depth I popped the scope up, sighted the butt end of the frigate having just passed over me, took bearing, AoB and range, and fired. Down scope, counted the seconds, then cheered at the explosion. Finally! Now back to the convoy! I could hear the pathetic pings of the ship, weakly chirping as it shipped water and started foundering. But then they started getting louder, more vicious. What the heck? Popping up the scope, my blood turned to ice . . . as a second, undamaged black swan was bearing down on me at full speed! I've no idea where it came from, and I had seconds to decide. I'd already had a second steamer preset for a black swan, so I opened the door, locked the scope onto it, collected the information I needed. By now it was less than 600 meters away, the bone in its teeth filling my scope at 10X. I fired, then crash-dived and made a hard port turn at 60 degrees. That one hit, as well, and off I went after the convoy, out of torpedoes but having about 30 HE rounds left for the deck gun. Except that last, heavily-damaged escort simply would not leave me be! It's max speed was 7 knots, and its companion even worse: 2 knots. And between the two they hounded me for over two hours! They either have dropped all their ashcans against the never-actually-spotted U-boat, or were so damaged they couldn't use them, but that's not stopping them from searching for me. When I finally saved last night before heading off to my rack, they were still looking for me, decks ablaze and smoke shrouding the horizon from them, but they ain't giving up it seems!

01-04-07, 01:11 PM	#5
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	The DD are very good in GWX and I believe right on the money. Lets face it, anti-submarine warfare was fledgling in 1941 but still good enough to keep you down and keep on top of you. Sometimes you have to know when to cut and run. Sounds like you had a great attack at any rate. The DD give up....run at 2kts/silent/deep as you can/change course often. Use the weather if you can for your advantage! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

01-04-07, 01:03 PM	#3
Ducimus Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,987 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 2	Man i envy everyone who makes post like this. I swear i have this magical umbrella protecting me from anything bad (fun) ever happening.