So then I shot him...

[Foghladh_mhara]

Well he was obviously incompetent. My Watch Officer that is. It was for the good of the crew.

I was on patrol in BE37 May '41 and sitting submerged at a depth of 25 metres at 1xTC. Engines stopped and my best petty officer at the hydrophone. I was in the process of scrubbing the cooker (my actual cooker) when the shout went out. Merchant closing, medium speed, long range. The bearings didnt change very much so I figure he's heading pretty much straight at me. I surfaced the boat and set depth for 7 metres, decks awash. My First Officer was on the bridge since he was Watch qualified and had 2 petty officers with him one of whom was also watch qualified. Weather conditions were good and it was daytime. No rain, no fog, visibility moderate so I figured I'd see his smokestack and get an idea of his course and speed before carrying out a submerged attack.

Happy that the boat was in safe hands I turned up the speakers and went back to scraping my dinner off the cooker. I kinda got carried away with my cleaning so didn't really check too often, just the occasional sweep of the horizon, when all of a sudden I heard the distinctive sound of a shell whistling overhead.

I ran in from the kitchen and scanned the horizon. Sure enough there was a large merchant with the Red Ensign about 4000 m away letting loose another round at my boat!! There was no 'Ship spotted' call. In fact even after they had fired the second shell there was no reaction. I called the deck gun crew to quarters and targeted the merchant. My IWO then helpfully alerted me to the impending danger and shouted 'ship spotted!'

No **** Sherlock!!!

I smacked him one before realising the gun crew weren't engaging. I tried a combination of targeting commands and tried to aim myself but no joy. Eventually I had to order surface to bring the deck above water level before they would move. The target was zigzagging at this point and I had no speed estimate so I decided to slug it out on the surface. I won but took 2 hits damaging my starboard diesels. Gun battles go against my cowardly nature. If it isn't a trawler and unarmed I tend not to use my deck gun but this guy caught me on the hop.

Needless to say I brought the crew up on deck and covered up my lack of vigilence by shooting the First Officer in the foot.

I'm confused on 2 counts though. How did my First Officer with watch qualifications and 6 patrols behind him and the entire bridge crew not see a merchant in perfect visibility at 4000m? And why would the gun crew not fire? From distant memories of gun battles they would fire from decks awash in the past.