Merchant ships - how do you see flags at night?

Kuckoo · 09-06-08, 04:47 AM

I also have had problems in identifying flags at night. In transit to an Atlantic patrol in October 1939, I came across a merchant travelling NNE in the North Sea around midnight. I moved up quite close to it in the darkness and identified it as an Ore Carrier, but could not make out the flag. Now, as stated somewhere above, I have adjusted my .cfg file to give me credit for sinking neutrals. But even with this, my "house rules" require the neutral to be within 250km of the British coast and on a heading either to or from Britain before I will attack. This ship was too far out and on an ambiguous heading. So I decided to stalk it off its starboard bow until dawn, when I hoped to identify its nationality. I even remembered to cross to the port bow to minimise detection against the rising sun. Despite this, the merchant seemed to spot me before I could identify it, because it started to zig-zag. By now I had convinced myself that it was Norwegian or Danish, and approached it openly to make sure. And as I got closer? Bless my soul!.....it turned out to be British. By now I was very close, and it slowed right down, virtually stopped. Somehow it did not seem right to sink it, but as I looked at it and it looked at me, it got kind of embarrassing.......

......so I sank it with my deck-gun!!!

09-06-08, 04:47 AM	#26
Kuckoo Watch Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: South Wales, UK Posts: 26 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	I also have had problems in identifying flags at night. In transit to an Atlantic patrol in October 1939, I came across a merchant travelling NNE in the North Sea around midnight. I moved up quite close to it in the darkness and identified it as an Ore Carrier, but could not make out the flag. Now, as stated somewhere above, I have adjusted my .cfg file to give me credit for sinking neutrals. But even with this, my "house rules" require the neutral to be within 250km of the British coast and on a heading either to or from Britain before I will attack. This ship was too far out and on an ambiguous heading. So I decided to stalk it off its starboard bow until dawn, when I hoped to identify its nationality. I even remembered to cross to the port bow to minimise detection against the rising sun. Despite this, the merchant seemed to spot me before I could identify it, because it started to zig-zag. By now I had convinced myself that it was Norwegian or Danish, and approached it openly to make sure. And as I got closer? Bless my soul!.....it turned out to be British. By now I was very close, and it slowed right down, virtually stopped. Somehow it did not seem right to sink it, but as I looked at it and it looked at me, it got kind of embarrassing....... ......so I sank it with my deck-gun!!!