first run in with a convoy

[panzermeyer]

First run in with a convoy…

So I am sailing with my VIIB round the British Home Isles, so I can get into open waters off the Irish West coast to hunt some convoys and unsuspecting lone merchants. However my plans are to be a little altered.

I am about 150km south east of Scapa Flow, I am about to go between it and the other island there so I can go around the British Isles, since going trough the English Channel is a no go!

As am I sailing, I get a report of a convoy heading in my direction, moving slowly. I am ecstatic, a convoy heading in my direction, I am basically in an intercept position already all I have to do is wait. However I immediately realize, the depth here is only 127m, a bit shallow. I contemplate avoiding the convoy as it is not deep enough for me to escape if I need too. But this is my 3rd patrol and first convoy encounter if I stick around. On top of that I am in a perfect position, or so I think.

I quickly decide to stay and risk it, or at least see what type of escorts this convoy has. Eventually the convoy comes into view; I order to dive to periscope depth. The convoy is going is at bearing 40 degrees to my boat and about 4000m away. I am looking for a juice target first and also looking for a ship with a good angle, something around 70-100 will do, to make sure my torpedo doesn’t just bounce off the hull.

I spot a large merchant and a tanker, perfect juice targets. While I am looking around I look for the escorts…OH SH*T! They spotted me already, and I am pretty sure I know why. I should of already been submerged when waiting for the convoy and it didn’t help I was 1345 hours, only a few clouds, clear day. So I got a V&D class destroyer coming straight at me, his range only 450m now off my bow. I quickly target him and let loose a torpedo hoping for a hit, at the same time I go to flank and order a dive to 80m with a change of course.

Not to my surprise to torpedo just bounces off the destroyers bow, so much for that. He drops his depth charges, luckily no where near where I am. I keep my depth, already running at silent and keep my rudder at 5 degrees port. I think to myself how plump and juice some of these targets in the convoy are and here I am, getting depth charges because my crew wanted some sunshine…ugh.

At this point I am not sure how many escorts the convoy has, I didn’t have chance to look. I need to check, since it’s been quite for a while with no depth charges, the destroyer must have lost me, so I order periscope depth. I look around and there is 1 destroyer and 2 armed trawlers, not much for an escort, if only I can sink that destroyer.

But it’s not to be, the destroyer seems my scope or hears me and makes a run at me, I dive at flank speed, setting the rudder at 10 degrees starboard and going to 90m. Before the last charge goes off I slow down to 1knt and just wait. I think the hunt of this convoy is over…sadly. I now wait, the destroyer keep dropping charges but no where near. I think about trying to sink it, but he keeps moving, too fast for me to try anything. A few hours (game time) go by and the convoy moves on and eventually so do the escorts. I surface, I suffered no damage and no crews lost and wasted 1 torpedo, I feel like I let the crew down, I feel like Bernard could have done a better job than me. I was in a perfect position, and instead of waiting submerged I was on the surface spotted before I could dive. So an entire convoy, which was lightly escorted, got away.

But live and learn I guess next time I will wait for it submerged and try to make sure it’s night. If could of easily sunk the destroyer if I didn’t spot me, and then it would have been a turkey shoot. Next time….next time.