heavy rain fog and cloud coverage - "historically correct" procedure?

[Schwuppes]

Hi!

I'm just wondering what a U-Boat captain would have done in heavy fog and bad weather.

My guess is that during night they would submerge to 30 meters and run at 3 knots or so until dawn, then resurface and recharge batteries.

Because in heavy fog and pitch black its gonna be a bit difficult to evade a vessel thats running straight at you 50 meters from your bow...

Anyone want to share some knowledge on this issue with me?

cheers!

[Reece]

I usually just wait it out, sometimes submerged, sometimes on top using high TC can be quite lethal, TC drops to 8x the crew reports ship spotted, and it could easily be a destroyer only 150 meters or so away! ALARM!!!

[GoldenRivet]

they would have submerged to wait it out for as long as possible. Poor weather increases fuel consumption and makes for a chaotic experience onboard. Seasickness could become an issue. Not to mention allied radar can find you regardless of the weather. There is no worse feeling than a destroyer rushing out of the fog and rain with guns blazing right on top of your boat

[Reece]

There is no worse feeling than a destroyer rushing out of the fog and rain with guns blazing right on top of your boat

Your not wrong ... there goes another set of undies!!

[CapZap1970]

Originally Posted by Reece

Your not wrong ... there goes another set of undies!!

:rotfl: :rotfl:
CapZap

[Graf Paper]

The only thing I hate more than destroyers are destroyers in foggy weather!

There was once an occasion where a thick fog had rolled in during the daytime and my visibility had been reduced to less than 500 meters. I had my TC cranked up to 128 to hurry my way along toward my patrol zone when suddenly I hear...

"Ship spotted! Bearing 293!"

It turns out that ship was a Hunt I destroyer running abeam of my course at 300 meters!
He was so close I could actually see their eyes without my binoculars as the DD sailed past by my starboard. They must have been as surprised as I was because it took a few seconds for them to react. There was no chance to do much at all. The time it takes for even a crash dive would have been suicide.

I ordered ahead flank as two shots whizzed past my aft section at point blank range while I offered a prayer of thanks for getting those GKW turbo diesels installed after my last patrol. My only chance was to outrun them and disappear back into the cover of the fog.

I kept expecting my u-boat to be torn asunder by the DD's guns but, much to my relieved amazement, I got away with only a few scratches from machine gun fire as I saw the destroyer fade away into the fog.

I should be grateful their course was opposed to my own as the time it took for the destroyer to turn around threw their guns off track and allowed me precious seconds to run beyond his visual range and make some abrupt course changes to evade pursuit.

That was definitely the scariest moment of my entire career! Forget filling my undies, I could have filled a pair of fisherman's hip waders!

[Schwuppes]

man that is some scary s**t!
Those kind of moments in SH3 are gold!

[bruschi sauro]

in heavy rain ang foggy, always submerged and go slow, and hear open.

[Reece]

Those kind of moments in SH3 are gold!

Be it only a game, it gets the old heart pumping when that happens, yes, those moments are truely gold!

if you are surfaced in heavy fog and you spot enemy destroyer, do not dive; just go ahead flank and change heading.

[Abd_von_Mumit]

From the Kriegsmarine "Submarine Commander's Handbook" that I started reading yesterday and I think everyone here should learn by heart , some excerpts about bad weather conditions:

27.) It may also be advisable to remain submerged in misty or foggy weather. In poor visibility, the approach of ships can be more easily detected underwater [from the sound of the ships' engines] by means of the hydrophone, than on the surface by the look-out.

28.) This possibility of using the hydrophone to help in detecting surf ships should, however, be restricted to those cases in which the submarine is unavoidably compelled to stay below the surface. The hydrophone must not lead to inactivity [passivity] underwater, which would be wrong; it is an auxiliary instrument and no more, and can never be a substitute for ocular perception and surface viewing. As soon as visibility allows, the, place of the submarine is on the surface. Otherwise valuable opportunities of attack are lost.

[...]

37.) Conditions are different, in particular, in areas threatened from the air, when the submarine is engaged in operations that cause it to remain stationary in misty weather, with poor visibility and low clouds. In such circumstances it is right to remain submerged during the day, because, if it has surfaced, the submarine may easily be surprised by aircraft suddenly appearing in near sight, without being able to submerge in time, and reach safety.

[...]

392.) The torpedo must always be ready for action at shortest notice. Always be prepared for unexpected opportunities of attack. A neglected opportunity will not recur.

In foggy weather and bad visibility, the tubes should be ready flooded. If necessary, they should be flooded via the mouth flaps.