Short Reflections and Action Reports

Rob Jacobsen · 07-26-22, 02:19 PM

I can’t believe it’s my 14th patrol in this campaign and I have yet to encounter a task force along my routes. Anyway....En route from Fremantle to my patrol zone about 85 nm southwest of Mariveles in the South China Sea, mid-July 1943, I met a convoy of six merchants and four escorts while heading north between the shoulders of the western Flores and eastern Java seas, south of the passage between Borneo to the west and Celebes to the east. I approached the convoy from head on, crossing slowly from port to starboard of the lead escort at 250 feet deep, running silent, and then rose to periscope depth and full stop, secured from silent. I took my time identifying my targets, making sure I had the drafts right and good men in the bow torpedo stations, dipping the scope between shots. "Slow is smooth; smooth is fast." We sent three tankers and a small old split freighter to the bottom with one torpedo each, set exactly at keel depth. Total destruction time: three minutes, from 9:02 am to 9:05 am.

(A grateful nod to my unofficial mentors on this site: this time, I had not bothered to surface in advance in the daylight to report the convoy. I feel a tad derelict in my duty, but I didn’t want to put my boat at risk only to have HQ to tell me to do what I planned to do anyway: attack the convoy. And so far in my campaigns, I have yet to see other assets actually vectored to my sightings because of my reports. I figured it would be better to sink vessels and report later, maybe getting my ass chewed back in port, than to follow protocol and get my ass shot off at sea. Friends, I listen to you.)

Having escaped detection—thank heaven for the deep test depth of the Balao—I was finally able to surface at night and put some Benny Goodman on the gramophone for the crew. How I would love to see them dancing a bit to “Sing, Sing, Sing”! It’s got to be good for morale, whether the game reflects a boost or not.

I'd love to read what's going on in your patrols!

07-26-22, 02:19 PM	#1
Rob Jacobsen Mate Join Date: Apr 2022 Location: Irvington, NY, USA Posts: 54 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	Short Reflections and Action Reports I can’t believe it’s my 14th patrol in this campaign and I have yet to encounter a task force along my routes. Anyway....En route from Fremantle to my patrol zone about 85 nm southwest of Mariveles in the South China Sea, mid-July 1943, I met a convoy of six merchants and four escorts while heading north between the shoulders of the western Flores and eastern Java seas, south of the passage between Borneo to the west and Celebes to the east. I approached the convoy from head on, crossing slowly from port to starboard of the lead escort at 250 feet deep, running silent, and then rose to periscope depth and full stop, secured from silent. I took my time identifying my targets, making sure I had the drafts right and good men in the bow torpedo stations, dipping the scope between shots. "Slow is smooth; smooth is fast." We sent three tankers and a small old split freighter to the bottom with one torpedo each, set exactly at keel depth. Total destruction time: three minutes, from 9:02 am to 9:05 am. (A grateful nod to my unofficial mentors on this site: this time, I had not bothered to surface in advance in the daylight to report the convoy. I feel a tad derelict in my duty, but I didn’t want to put my boat at risk only to have HQ to tell me to do what I planned to do anyway: attack the convoy. And so far in my campaigns, I have yet to see other assets actually vectored to my sightings because of my reports. I figured it would be better to sink vessels and report later, maybe getting my ass chewed back in port, than to follow protocol and get my ass shot off at sea. Friends, I listen to you.) Having escaped detection—thank heaven for the deep test depth of the Balao—I was finally able to surface at night and put some Benny Goodman on the gramophone for the crew. How I would love to see them dancing a bit to “Sing, Sing, Sing”! It’s got to be good for morale, whether the game reflects a boost or not. I'd love to read what's going on in your patrols!