Message from U-225

[GoldenRivet]

U-225
13 DEC 43
AL68 2311 0006 HRS

SINKING :: ABANDONING BOAT :: OBLT BRAUN

~~~~~

This was another career i had going, also bit the dust in 1943... I should have taken the near miss from the Lancaster as a bad omen upon leaving Brest though the night raid was exciting.

I stalked in on a convoy (should have known better by this point in time.) i was lining up my shots on the center lane of ships, setting up my torpedoes, raised the periscope for another speed calculation and checked my stern, there was a slow moving destroyer about 800 meters and closing. no ASDIC

I froze dead in the water and he immediately switched to active sonar and gunned the engines. steam rolling right across the bow dropping depth charges like a man possessed.

He set the charges too deep and this caused me to break the surface momentarily although i took no damage. I went hard to port and launched a snapshot at him, it grazed his stern detonating magnetically and crippling his destroyer.

I fired two quickly calculated shots at the two nearest merchants and dove deep. The shots found their mark. but i didnt stick around to see the results.

I headed south (180 degree course change) as i passed 60 meters a second destroyer had closed in and dropped a pattern of depth charges on me, shook the boat badly but again no damage.

After launching decoys i headed deeper to 180 meters. The destroyer launched hedge hogs and depth charges, very accurate attack which caused flooding in all compartments. damage control team stopped the flooding in the most severely damaged compartment.

With the boat now severely damaged, all ballast was blown and the boat headed for the surface.

Surrendered at 0006 hours 13 December, 1943

according to SH3 Commander - "After the war, Oblt Braun lived a quiet life and died on December 13, 1970"... on the 27th anniv of the sinking of U-225

[J0313]

What happened to U-93?

[GoldenRivet]

U-93 bought it in June of 43

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=203628

sometimes i run a few concurrent careers... some with the same flotilla, some in other flotillas, U-225 held out until December 1943. My only remaining 1943 career is currently on shore leave and will probably head back out late December 43 or Early January 44 on the next patrol.

I try to keep to some degree of historical accuracy, there were a lot of boats being sunk and scuttled from may 43 onwards.

If i am deep (220 meters and deeper) and im taking a licking and have overwhelming damage or it becomes apparent i cannot repair it an escape, i surface - end career and use SH3 Commander to switch to "Surrendered at sea"

But only if i manage to surface.

There have been many occasions where i have been crushed by sea pressure / depth charges

one particularly memorable occasion i struck bottom in a VIIC at nearly 400 meters with moderate flooding. It was very much like Das Boot.

The Depth charges cannot reach that deep in SH3 and the escorts finally left. I was on the sea floor pumping out water and repairing systems for quite a while before blowing ballast - reaching the surface and heading back to port.

fact is on high realism with GWX 3 - you really do have about a 75-80% chance of not coming back from a patrol after mid 1943... thats pretty real to life odds for a u-boat crew of that stage of the war

[F1RacerDan]

love reading things like this! is there an option to surrender?

[MantiBrutalis]

Good stuff

Yes, if you get destroyed, you can set "Surrendered at sea" in SH3Commander instead. It's kinda neat, as is all of SH3Commander.

[VONHARRIS]

Originally Posted by F1RacerDan

love reading things like this! is there an option to surrender?

In Hsie's realism pack V16B1 with Stiebler's add on you have the option to abandon your Uboot and see the outcome : You may be rescued by friendly forces , captured by the enemy or just perish at sea and never to be seen again.

[hans svetty]

A very interesting account, Golden Rivet.