(Story) U-46 puts to sea again

[whyme943]

I can't wait for the next installment. Hope you have fun writing.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by whyme943

I can't wait for the next installment. Hope you have fun writing.

Welcome to SubSim

[whyme943]

Thank you very much. Just got addicted to Subsims through one "Winterowl" on youtube

[HW3]

Welcome aboard!

[Laughing Swordfish]

Christian's eyes are red, fatigued and rimmed with salt spray, but he won't go downstairs just yet.

He, like me, take up extra watch duties as I let Bruno work on the ZBO scope. He sends down a littany of calculations, orders and corrections as we close on the convoy stacks now appearing ever closer even to the naked eye. But still we have to look out for the destroyers and corvettes, if we can sneak inside that's the most dangerous part of the job done. If we don't get that part right, it get's much more interesting afterwards.

"In and Out, Bruno! Start with that fat boy there, and then move back to the next one, looks like a tanker by her shape, small, but oil is oil!"

He turned and grinned, his cap skewed across his young head.

Our boat makes a final adjustment and with Otto already at full throttle below, our beloved boat makes an instant sweep of 30 degrees, as Bruno calls down the final adjustments, and calls "Open all forward bow caps!".

LS

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Awesome!!!! Glad to see you sailing about, RdB!!!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome back LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

"Eins, zwei, drei und vier....los!"

The Swordfish bucks and rears as the salvo hisses away, the torpedoes foam trails snaking out of the bow until they settle onto their course and are gone.

"Escort, long range, closing!"... Bruno and I follow Christian's call and outstretched arm.

Too early to tell if he is on to us. A destroyer, perhaps Hunter or Clemson class - it's hard to make out the stacks yet, but we don't want him to get too nosy. In any case I've already given orders to turn about, and we are holding on to the bridge rim with one hand, binos in the other, as the boat shears away to the South at full speed.

"Let's put some distance between us, Bruno,".

Looking back over the stern towards the unsuspecting convoy, "They'll certainly know we're here soon enough..."

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

The temptation is to throw in our Number 5 torpedo as well. There's a couple of medium-ish sized cargo ships crossing our stern, but the range is now getting longer, and it's good to have at least something in the locker when the fun and games begin, and having one at the back makes for a parting shot. It's worked once before, but more than anything it's good for morale when you're being depth charged for the lads to feel that we're not completey defenceless.

As it is, our lordships are sweating away in the fore ends reloading tubes one to four. If we have to dive then reloading will have to stop, because of the noise, so everyone is lending a hand down there.

Up on top, our main concern is the destroyer on a course towards us. No searchlights yet, or star shells. But we shouldn't have long to wait for that to change.

As we bear round to the West, and the back of the convoy, none of us can resist the binos straying away from the escort towards those target ships.

Bruno is muttering "Come on, come on!".

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

"Damn it!" Bruno mutters, stopwatch in one hand, binos in the other.
"They're zigging."
Sure enough the convoy has turned sharply to starboard on a south easterly course.
Was that planned? Or have they got the wind up? Either way, our chances of a hit, at least on the intended targets, have been reduced.
In the next few moments we'll know.
It takes time for a merchantman to turn, especially the big ones , so they are still presenting some sort of a side to us even at an angle that may cause only a glancing blow. We've had failures before which could have been an outright miss, or a dud, or that the eel just skimmed off the hull at such an acute angle.
An orange flash lights up the sky, flickeringly illuminating the grin on Bruno's face, and before the sound of the explosion reaches us, there is another. Proper fireworks this time, a shower of sparks and hundreds of small lights shooting up into the night sky, as if she was firing off a load of flares. May well have been. I reckon Bruno managed to hit some ammunition consignment in her cargo.
Cheers on the bridge are quickly qwelled by Christian. "Look to your sectors Jungen! we could have that destroyer and his mates up our arse any moment now!"
And indeed the destroyer is still closing, searchlights now snapped on and playing across the waves. Has he seen us? He must know the attack came from this side. He's still a way off, so as usual we have to keep our nerve and get away on the surface as much as possible. To dive too early is a nervous commander's mistake, and leaves his boat too close to the convoy and vulnerably slow underwater, when the trick is to get some distance away, reload and then come back in.
I give a change of course to see if the destroyer responds.
"Hey, Christian," I clap my tired Number One on the shoulder. "Get below and grab some sleep. We'll probably need you again before the night's out!"

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

A very Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings, and a Great New Year to all with Sub Sim!

LS
Raoul de Bunsen

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Laughing Swordfish

A very Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings, and a Great New Year to all with Sub Sim!

LS
Raoul de Bunsen

Thanks for all the fish Raoul and have a great festive season

[Sailor Steve]

Thanks for the new entry. The only problem now is that I can feel the tension too. Has that destroyer seen us...I mean you? Have a good Christmas, but don't leave us hanging too long!

[Laughing Swordfish]

There's a muffled rumble across the sea of another hit. We can't make out the stricken ship by now. I reckon it was one of ours, and Bruno will definitely claim it, but part of me is hoping its from another U-boat joining the game and taking some of the pressure off.

It's one of the new boys on Second Watch, who makes the vital spot.

"They're manning the forward gun Herr Kaleun!"

I raise my binos

"Good eyes, Sylvester. Looks like they've got a sharp lookout too. Well menschen, looks like the game's up. No cigarette break tonight on this watch! Get yourself downstairs and go to battle stations, we'll flick that pesky flea off in no time."

Looking cool and confident is a big part of it, however much I hate and dread those destroyers.

Just me and Bruno on the bridge now and the die is cast. We change course again, and the destroyer, a Clemson, I can now see, is picking up speed, and following us.

There's a puff of smoke from the destroyer's foredeck and a shell splash a good way short and behind us.

"Ok that's enough Bruno, after you"

"Alarm!!"

LS

[Laughing Swordfish]

Thanks Sailor Steve.

In that sense, we're all in the boat together.

All the best, LS