Out of the mist. or, the Fog of War

Phobus · 05-26-09, 09:11 AM

‘Out of the Mist’

After my earlier, unsuccessful, attempt to attack a convoy I was cruising in reduced visibility, rain and wind of 7mtrs/sec. I had earlier gone to PD to listen but heard nothing so back to the surface. Suddenly dead ahead, very fine on the stbd bow, loomed the grey shape of a large merchantman, 10,000t at least comming straight at me!. Can’t man the deck gun because of the wind velocity so order”Hard a Port” to bring my stern tube to bear. Then all Hell is let loose - she opens fire with several guns. Crash dive! As I take a last look I notice her funnel She belongs to the ‘Grey funnel line’.

I swing round and at 0754hrs put one torp under her. No noticeable effect I fire a second but this misses. By now she has disappeared in the mist so I come to the surface and follow at max vis which is about 800mtrs. These 10,000 tonners have sunk before with one good hit under the keel it’s just a matter of waiting. I follow and wait; time passes, she is still moving at 4-5 knots. I work ahead and fire another torp at 1215hrs which hits midships port side; that should do it. But no; the blessed thing keeps going. Is she down by the bows? Possibly. The day wears on and I send the crew to lunch, Heinze beans of course. (I like to give the crew little treats like this to keep up morale).

In desperation I fire yet another torp at 1535hrs again a hit near the bows and at last she starts to slow. Finally at 1612hrs she goes under.

I raise my cap to her skipper, stubborn old bugger!

I think I have had an encounter with one of Churchill’s nasty little schemes. He advocated filling some ships with materials to render them difficult/impossible to sink, table tennis balls( yes) and other things, timber and such to tempt us poor U- Boat men to waste out torps trying to sink them.

On a serious note I wondered if this was, not exactly a Q ship but as she was painted overall in Admiralty dark grey I believe she was Royal Navy manned ship. Though she was flying the Red and not the Blue Ensign.

Note; The Grey funnel line was a slang term used by naval ratings when referring to the ships of the Royal Navy.

05-26-09, 09:11 AM	#1
Phobus Gunner Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Poole. Dorset UK Posts: 93 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Out of the mist. or, the Fog of War ‘Out of the Mist’ After my earlier, unsuccessful, attempt to attack a convoy I was cruising in reduced visibility, rain and wind of 7mtrs/sec. I had earlier gone to PD to listen but heard nothing so back to the surface. Suddenly dead ahead, very fine on the stbd bow, loomed the grey shape of a large merchantman, 10,000t at least comming straight at me!. Can’t man the deck gun because of the wind velocity so order”Hard a Port” to bring my stern tube to bear. Then all Hell is let loose - she opens fire with several guns. Crash dive! As I take a last look I notice her funnel She belongs to the ‘Grey funnel line’. I swing round and at 0754hrs put one torp under her. No noticeable effect I fire a second but this misses. By now she has disappeared in the mist so I come to the surface and follow at max vis which is about 800mtrs. These 10,000 tonners have sunk before with one good hit under the keel it’s just a matter of waiting. I follow and wait; time passes, she is still moving at 4-5 knots. I work ahead and fire another torp at 1215hrs which hits midships port side; that should do it. But no; the blessed thing keeps going. Is she down by the bows? Possibly. The day wears on and I send the crew to lunch, Heinze beans of course. (I like to give the crew little treats like this to keep up morale). In desperation I fire yet another torp at 1535hrs again a hit near the bows and at last she starts to slow. Finally at 1612hrs she goes under. I raise my cap to her skipper, stubborn old bugger! I think I have had an encounter with one of Churchill’s nasty little schemes. He advocated filling some ships with materials to render them difficult/impossible to sink, table tennis balls( yes) and other things, timber and such to tempt us poor U- Boat men to waste out torps trying to sink them. On a serious note I wondered if this was, not exactly a Q ship but as she was painted overall in Admiralty dark grey I believe she was Royal Navy manned ship. Though she was flying the Red and not the Blue Ensign. Note; The Grey funnel line was a slang term used by naval ratings when referring to the ships of the Royal Navy.