Tell us what you are upto in your current campaign

1.sep.39
AN98
0237: Underway from Willy.

3.sep.39
AN31
1332: Radio message: Commence hostilities against Britain.

5.sep.39
AF76
0800: Save & Exit.

[sektor2006]

Orders: Patrol Grid AN16 for 24 h
Date: Dec 16, 1939
U-Boat: Type IIA, crew 23 men, 5 torpedoes total

Left Wilhelmshaven on Dec 16, 1939 in early morning. Grid AN16 is 1200 km away. Nothing interesting until we passed almost half the way. Encountered a big and heavy British C2 cargo ship - one shot, one kill. I was lucky this time - I did not need two or more torpedoes to sink this beast.

A few days later - grid AN16 reached. In a single day - three British coastal merchants sunk. Weather - terrible - strong wind, coming from north-west, heavy fog, heavy rain, very low visibility. Next day - another British coastal merchant sunk.

5 torpedoes - 5 kills for nearly 15 000 GRT.

This time however some bad luck. On way to Germany, some 20 km away from last kill, unexpected encounter with undetected British C-class destroyer 300 m away. U-Boat under fire, minor damage to radio, stern quarters, no one injured or killed. Dived to 50 m depth, slow course straight south for 6 hours. In the bad weather the destroyer gave up. Hull integrity - 86%.

26 Dec 1939 - U-boat close to Germany. Another success I guess, although I have to admit that each patrol gets more and more dangerous. First three were pieces of cake - I had to shoot at sitting ducks. Fourth patrol I was bombed by a British bomber (no damage, no injured or killed, just stressed), now shot at by a British destroyer. The Brits are getting smart.

[VONHARRIS]

Patrol No2
19 September 1939
War has started , U-39 Kaluen Snestorm is already out to sea from September 1st
U-65 has returned to port after a succesful patrol.
12:43 hours
U-83 left Wilhelmshaven with orders to patrol BF18

03 October 1939
23:19 hours Grid BF17
Sound contact , multiple sounds , convoy approaching.

04 October 1939
00:02 hours
The convoy was closing fast and visibility was just enough to let us see.
Ships ID: HMS Nelson , large tanker , converted whale factory ship
00:07 hours 3 TIs fired at the Nelson
00:09 hours 1 TI fired at the large tanker
00:10 hours 3 impacts
00:12 hours 1 impact
00:16 hours Sinking sounds , up scope, HMS Nelson wasd still there listing and the whale ship was gone. The TI aimed at the tanker missed but hit the whale ship.
00:21 hours 1 TI (stern) fired at the HMS Nelson
00:23 hours Impact but no sinking sounds. She seemed DIW
00:24 hours Pinging diving to 100m silent running
00:41 hours Depth 70m no pinging heard. The convoy was moving away.
01:00 hours Raised to PD. Tube 1 loaded
01:04 hours Tanker 04 spotted trailing behind the convoy. 1 TI fired
01:05 hours HMS Nelson spotted DIW with a heavy list. A destroyer was circling to provide protection.
01:06 hours Impact on the tanker , ship on fire, staying at 1500m away to reload. The destroyer was not able to hear us.
01:13 hours 1 TI (bow) fired at HMS Nelson
01:15 hours Impact , the battleship was now on fire with her stern in the water
01:17 hours Sinking sounds , HMS Nelson was going down , observed through the attack scope. The destroyer left leaving the tanker alone.
01:33 hours 1 TI (stern) fired at the tanker
01:34 hours Impact
01:35 hours Sinking sounds , tanker 04 sunk.
05:30 hours Surfaced and celebrated our victory. Beer for all.

06 October 1939
18:00 hours grid AM54
Moving to intercept convoy after BdU message.
18:31 hours Sound contact
18:43 hours 2 TI (bow) fired
18:44 hours 2 TI (bow) fired
18:45 hours 3 impacts followed by sinking sounds. vonHarris COuldn't confirm the sinking by visual observation.
18:46 hours Diving to 100m undetected.

07 October 1939
03:36 hours Surfaced. BdU confirmed the sinking of a repair ship.

15 October 1939
06:51 hours
U-83 docked at home
4 ships sunk
62011 tons
No damages or casualties.
We were not able to use the extenal reloads due to bad weather throughout the patrol.

We learned that sector2006 in his IIA had sunk some 15000 tons
Wel done for such a small boat.

Continued from last report from AF79, at 0800 5.sep.39.

By order of BDU, we are bound by the restrictions imposed by Prize Law.
Further, magnetic pistols will remain enabled on all torpedoes.

5.sep.39
AF76
1528: "Ship spotted! 033. Long range." New course 340.
U37 making a nose on approach for the purpose of conducting an inspection of ship, papers, and cargo. (Wind 7 M/S. Too rough for the deck gun).
1532: Ahead Full.
1536: Open tube 2.
1537: Target IDed as a Small Merchant, flying british colors.
1539: Target has begun evasive and agressive maneuvering.
1543: Fire 2 (TII G7E), from 800 meters. Premature detonation!
1551: Fire 5 & 6 (TI G7A). Submerged attack at 500 meters.
Imapact on the stern! Torpedo run 25 seconds.
1555: Surface. Target going DIW.
1622: Fire 1 (TII G7E). Impact! Torpedo run 36 seconds.
1623: Small merchant sunk for 2.343 GRT.
Location: 165 miles NW of The Shetlands.
1631: Radio report sent to BDU. 8 torpedoes remaining in the bow.
1700: Report acknowledged.

Note: Submerged attack was not for purposes of stealth, which was already lost. The external stern tubes can only be fired while submerged, and I wanted them used as soon as possible. As much as the G7As are only to be used at night, the decision was sound in that we had already been detected, and the target was already taking evasive action. Both VII(A) and IX(A) have a peculiar situation with external stern tubes, and the type torpedo which must be carried in them.

7.sep.39
AF71
1743: "Aircraft spotted!" A L A R M !

8.sep.39
AE93
0822: "Aircraft spotted!" A L A R M !

11.sep.39
AM23
0400: Report: Transitting south through AM23, per BDU's orders.

13.sep.39
AM49 (W of Ireland)
0700: Save & Exit.

U? IIA under Sektor2006, and U83 VIIB under VONHARRIS, have been sweeping the sea clean. Wonder if there'll be any targets left for U37?

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

Continued from last report from AF79, at 0800 5.sep.39.

By order of BDU, we are bound by the restrictions imposed by Prize Law.
Further, magnetic pistols will remain enabled on all torpedoes.

5.sep.39
AF76
1528: "Ship spotted! 033. Long range." New course 340.
U37 making a nose on approach for the purpose of conducting an inspection of ship, papers, and cargo. (Wind 7 M/S. Too rough for the deck gun).
1532: Ahead Full.
1536: Open tube 2.
1537: Target IDed as a Small Merchant, flying british colors.
1539: Target has begun evasive and agressive maneuvering.
1543: Fire 2 (TII G7E), from 800 meters. Premature detonation!
1551: Fire 5 & 6 (TI G7A). Submerged attack at 500 meters.
Imapact on the stern! Torpedo run 25 seconds.
1555: Surface. Target going DIW.
1622: Fire 1 (TII G7E). Impact! Torpedo run 36 seconds.
1623: Small merchant sunk for 2.343 GRT.
Location: 165 miles NW of The Shetlands.
1631: Radio report sent to BDU. 8 torpedoes remaining in the bow.
1700: Report acknowledged.

7.sep.39
AF71
1743: "Aircraft spotted!" A L A R M !

8.sep.39
AE93
0822: "Aircraft spotted!" A L A R M !

11.sep.39
AM23
0400: Report: Transitting south through AM23, per BDU's orders.

13.sep.39
AM49 (W of Ireland)
0700: Save & Exit.

Aircraft, was it dull and slow Swordfish...

Originally Posted by Vendor

Aircraft, was it dull and slow Swordfish...

They came from an A/C Carrier near Færøerne.
I never got to see them. A L A R M !
I try to avoid sticking around for the show.

Wasn't it dull and slow Swordfish that crippled KM Bismarck, without taking any damage?

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

They came from an A/C Carrier near Færøerne.
I never got to see them. A L A R M !
I try to avoid sticking around for the show.

Wasn't it dull and slow Swordfish that crippled KM Bismarck, without taking any damage?

Sandt nok, men hun havde taget et bankende, de andre både, og en hel hvepserede af "fisk" ... ikke kun af en lille flyvemaskine ..... alarm kaptajn, vi ser en flyvemaskine i 20 km, dykke ned til 250 fødder .... det kan arrangeres, hvis du ønsker sikkerhed .....men du kan spise frokost, når man er kommet ned til en sikker dybde!

[Lord_magerius]

But what if I want to eat my food at a dangerous depth?

Originally Posted by Vendor

Sandt nok, men hun havde taget et bankende, de andre både, og en hel hvepserede af "fisk" ... ikke kun af en lille flyvemaskine ..... alarm kaptajn, vi ser en flyvemaskine i 20 km, dykke ned til 250 fødder .... det kan arrangeres, hvis du ønsker sikkerhed .....men du kan spise frokost, når man er kommet ned til en sikker dybde!

Vi spiser godt på 70 metre.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Lord_magerius

But what if I want to eat my food at a dangerous depth?

Du kan skrive et net til at fange nogle fisk, når du kommer ned til en "god" dybde, at du føler er passende,

[Osmium Steele]

The crew of U-126 took a brief shore leave while the kaleun went on holiday to Chicago.

I got 4 or 5 pics of the U-505 bow area when my battery died!!!

*sigh* Oh well, I'll post those anyway. Should be going back that way at the end of July. I'll get some great pics then.

Back at sea, patrolling Long Island Sound.

Report to follow.

[VONHARRIS]

Patrol No3
15 November 1939
U-83 left Wilhelmshaven for her 3rd patrol for grid AN13

18 November 1939
Grid AN41
16:09 hours Merchant seen
16:15 hours Positive ship ID: Small trawler
16:27 hours Ship sunk with 2cm Flak
16:54 hours Aircraft spotted medium range engaged with flak gun
16:55 hours Avro Anson shot down

19 November 1939
Grid AN14
06:53 hours Warship spotted dived to PD
10:00 hours Surfaced
15:38 hours Aircraft spotted medium range engaged with flak gun
15:39 hours Avro Anson shot down

27 November 1939
Grid AM52
19:25 hours Merchant seen
19:35 hours Ship ID: Small merchant or freighter
19:44 hours Opened fire with the deck gun
19:45 hours Merchant returned fire - Qship
19:48 hours Ship sunk after 48 88mm rounds. The enemy fired 10 or 11 rounds all of them were way off aimed

30 November 1939
Grid AM52
05:24 hours Merchant seen
05:27 hours Ship ID: medium merchant 01 - dived to PD
05:41 hours TI fired at close range - impact - ship slowing down
05:42 hours Surfaced to finish the target with the deck gun
05:44 hours Ship sunk after 12 88mm rounds

14 December 1939
Grid AN11
19:39 hours Merchant seen
19:47 hours Positive ID : Coastal freighter - dived to PD
19:53 hours TI fired
19:54 hours Impact - ship seen sinking

15 December 1939
Grid AN11
05:02 hours Warship seen - dived to PD
05:03 nours Multiple warship sounds - TF approaching very fast
05:13 hours 4 TIs fired at HMS Hood at close range
05:14 hours 4 Impacts the HMS Hood went down after a series of explosions.
05:33 hours Pinging by the escorts diving to 100m DCs fell no damages.
05:54 hours Depth 100m no pinging no DCs
06:13 hours Depth 157m no pinging
12:00 hours Surface , the glory is ours.

16 December 1939
Grid AN14
16:01 hours Merchant seen
16:08 hours Positive ID: Sailing ship
16:29 hours Ship sunk by 2cm flak

19 December 1939
16:29 hours U-83 returned to port.
6 ships sunk
58371 tons
2 aircraft shot down
No casualties or damages

vonHarris left U-83 to the hands of his IWO and took command of the U-111 IXB U-boot
U-126 is in dry dock and the crew on leave.
No news of the other Kaleuns so far.

[sublynx]

Ob.lt.z.s. Harry Wiebus
U-10, type IIA
2.Flotille, Kiel
5.10.1939

Back from a leave in Berlin. I very much prefer the sea and the battle to some lazy days doing pretty much nothing in Berlin - although seeing Ilse Werner singing in die Konzerthalle was quite something. What a beautiful voice and what a beautiful woman!

Sunk one Polish 2000 BRT freighter escaping from Poland on the 30th of September and a British 1800 BRT freighter heading towards Norway on the 2nd of October, grids AN35 and AN 61. Winds of 15 m/s but G7a's worked fine, ranges 650 and 800 meters, gyro angle 0, impact time AOB 90, depth 5 meters, MZ pistol, torpedo running speed 40 knots.

The hydrophone man swears that the Polish ship changed it's RPM's a few seconds before impact. It is possible that the bubble streams of the torpedoes were noticed, despite the heavy seas.

Lots of neutral ship traffic, no enemy air activity.

Our boats have wreaked havoc and the Royal Navy is in deep trouble. Especially U-83 has made an impression. Kaleun Vonharris was interviewed in Time after sinking two capital ships.

Continued from our last report from AM49 on 13.sep.39

13.sep.39 - 20.sep.39
BF11 - BF12 - BF13
Numerouse contacts with ASW Patrols.
No merchant contacts in area to date.

20.sep.39
BF13
1610: Radio dispatch: "Convoy. BF15. W. 6 knots."
1611: Full Ahead for BF14.
1640: "Ship spotted! 354. Long range." Dive to evade Destroyer.
1656: Destroyer passed to port. Short range. Undetected.
1830: Surface and resume.

21.sep.39
BF14
0751: "Ship spotted! 315. Long range." Corvette.
Commence an end run, in hopes he is an escort.
0807: Contact report sent. "Convoy. BF145. 259. 6 knots."
0855: Turning bow on to lead escort. Destroyer.
0856: Diving for attack on convoy.
0913: U37 breeches surface, and has attracted the lead escort.
0914: New depth 99 meters.
0945: Convoy over head. DD was unable to locate us submerged. Wind 15 M/S.

KM 1. Contact report sent.
RN 1. Foiled torpedo attack. No merchants lost.

1120: Surface and commence end run.
1338: Lead DD sighted. Bow on, and dive for attack.
1420: Fire 2 (TII G7E). 4 meters depth. All magnetic pistols active.
1421: Fire 4 (TII G7E). 4 meters depth.
1422: Impact! 90 second run. Impact! 30 second run. New depth 100 meters.
1422 - 1423: 2 Small Merchants sunk for 4.681 GRT.
4+ escorts. 1+ Destroyer. 1+ Corvette. 1+ Trawler.

KM 3. RN 1.

1728: Status report sent:
3 Freighters sunk for 7.024 GRT.
6 of 12 torpedoes remaining.

2102: Save & Exit.

Originally Posted by Osmium Steele

Back at sea, patrolling Long Island Sound.

Report to follow.

Long Island Sound?! You're crazy!

Stay safe.