Torpedo failures - weather related.

[Friscobay]

Originally Posted by GJO

The 'getting up close' technique is realistic and was clearly employed in real life by the most daring commanders of the early war years. Eye witness reports from merchant seamen who had survived a torpedo attack include reports of periscope spotted and even U Boats surfacing on a parallel course at a range of 200 yards. I am currently working with two volunteers who have tales to tell - one, as a child, was a survivor of the Dutch steamship Bodegraven that was sunk by U-547 in July 1944 - the other joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 16 in 1947 and served his apprenticeship with a Chief Engineer who had been torpedoed twice and gave very graphical descriptions that have stuck firmly in his memory for the last 67 years - both men have thoroughly researched aspects of the U-Boat War by talking to former Royal Navy and merchant seaman who were involved. The term "audacious" crops up frequently when they describe the attitude of U-Boat Commanders. As an example, both quote many incidences of a U-Boat surfacing alongside a sinking ship or among survivors in lifeboats so that the U-Boat Commander could ascertain the name and home port of the ship that had been sunk - something that is not mentioned in the books by Werner and Kretschmer!

This is a factual reading. At times, I believe that there is collision between ''gaming'' and ''historical'' aspects of SUBSIM. I am positively NO expert on the epic SH series and have experienced some of my greatest pleasure in simulations by my often-stumbling and evolving mastery of the TDC and the environment of the world in which I move . The full credit for devotion to the realism aspects of this series goes nearly solely, if not exclusively, to the hard work of those who are right here at SUBSIM.
I can however, claim to have gotten drunk with Erich Topp a long time ago when gamers were pushing little pieces of hard cardboard across a vinyl map surface where dice were rolled or counters spun in order to determine the ''music of chance'' which in turn, made the rules on whether you made it back to Lorient, or plowed mud at the bottom of the Atlantic back when Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were totally unknown to anyone other than themselves and a few college pals.
Thus in reading the historical record, we find [ never mind even Topp, who readily acknowledged getting his Red Devil in as close as fate or skill would allow ], that the drivers of U-boats and their victims, would play their deadly games at as little as a few hundreds of yards, between hunter and prey.


Heres some of the action between ships of the famous SC 42 and U-652 skippered by Oberleutnant zur-See Georg Werner Franz on the night of Sept. 09,1941 at approximately 2210 Hours.

'' Franz was stealthily overtaking the convoy on the surface from the starboard quarter. Carefully matching the ships alteration of course to-port, Franz entered between columns 7 and 8 when the submarine was seen by lookouts aboard KNOLL and PLM 13.

The range was only 300 yards''.......................

OK , so we understand that to win close, you must get close. Hell, even I haven't closed to this range yet before any convoy, Taffy, or lone wolf in either SH 3 or 4.

Damn the Torpedoes, as they say..................