The strangest thing happened...

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by artcore01

Well I have been playing the game for about a month and now I am starting to get my friend hooked on it, anyway while my freind was playing he neglected to tell me a destroyer was in pursuit of him. While once he gave me the computer to help save his type VIIB I got a look at how bad the situation was. The British destroyer was directly above my sub while I was at periscope depth!!!! Yikes, so I hit crash dive and while I was maybe at 25 meters, the depth charges started going off. While they went off so close to the destroyer that it actually sunk the destroyer and all I had was damage to the flak gun, Strange huh?

I do believe there are recorded cases of this happening in real life.

What happened was that the depth charges were set so shallow that the destroyer did not have time to escape the blast radius of the DCs.

this usually happens when the depth charge attack is launched against a U-boat fleeing Periscope depth and when the attacking destroyer is moving slowly.

when this happens there are three things that can occur.

1. The stern depth charge racks are blown off, so, if it is a destroyer without the side launchers you are pretty much out of danger unless he has friends.

2. The stern depth charge racks are blown off and the depth charges stored near the racks explode and the destroyer sinks from massive damage.

3. either one and two occur but with the added result of you being sunk as well

happy hunting

[artcore01]

Thanks for that info, I guess I never realized that could happen, I'm just glad I am still afloat

[Brag]

You were lucky. I could have been a double whamy hunter and hunted, both go.
Congratulations for living to tell the tale . Drinks are on you

[seafarer]

In an action in 1943, HMCS Assininboine was damaged by her own depth charges while attacking U-119. And I read of a US DE that either bent a shaft or blew out a shaft seal or otherwise rendered one of it's screws useless by its own depth charges.

So it did happen - although I've never heard of a ship actually sinking because of self-inflicted depth charge damage. That would be interesting to know.