Anyone ever "lost" a contact??

[ddiplock]

My new boat, U73 recently put to sea earlier for her first combat patrol of November 1939. Four days into the patrol we recieve a contact report of a loan merchant steaming SW near the Shetland's.

I plot a course to have U73 intercept the lone ship perfectly. I get them right in front of my boat using my hydrophones, dive to 30mtrs, ahead slow at 2 knots, and I slowly creep towards my unaware target (i love this part, the lone ship having NO IDEA their heading straight for an ambush)

My hydrophone operater must be damn deaf, as he keeps losing the merchant, I on the otherhand can hear his props swooshing the water perfectly fine, however rare it is for the Kaleun to take the headset of the hydrophone

I adjust my course carefully to keep dead on track....then all of a sudden....he drops from my sounding!!!

I stay on course for an hour longer, constantly rotating my phones in a bid to find him!!!! Verdammt!!!! He's slipped away...somehow!!!

Note: Its very strange that this has actually happend. But has anyone else ever had this happen to them on patrol?