Tell us what you are upto in your current campaign

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Leandros

What is that, please...?

It's a small mod that gives your deck gun 250 rounds instead of the standard issue 110ish.

There are reports of some U-boats carrying as many as 370 in RL....but that was the exception to the rule.

http://files.filefront.com/GWX30+Add.../fileinfo.html

[Leandros]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

It's a small mod that gives your deck gun 250 rounds instead of the standard issue 110ish.

There are reports of some U-boats carrying as many as 370 in RL....but that was the exception to the rule.

http://files.filefront.com/GWX30+Add.../fileinfo.html

I see. That is what I liked about the VIIB - it's larger DG shell capacity.

[Leandros]

U-108, Sept. 13th. 11:11 - still 10th patrol - East of Aberdeen:

Have passed between the Orkneys and Shetland on our way home. What are these echoes...?



Gulp...!!.....the whole bloody Home fleet...!!.....do we dare this...?

[Jimbuna]

SINK EM ALL!!

If you've still got a few shells left that is

[Leandros]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

SINK EM ALL!!

If you've still got a few shells left that is

Plenty of shells but no weather. Look at the picture. Some torps, though. We shall see....

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Events in the last 3 or 4 hrs real time

19:00
Finally black up top now,safe to make our interception proper now.Proceeding towards target at high speed while recharging.Making about 12kts,which seems adequate.We expect visual contact any time after 20:00
19:59
Finally made visual contact on target.Looks like a Coastal,heading from Iceland to GB.Making initial course observations from directly behind target for approx 30mins.
Target vessel is heading on course 115deg at about 6kts.
Proceeding to move up onto the port flank keeping at a distance of between 2500-3000m,ship just about visible through the binoculars,that is close enough.
Drew up level with ship and monitored his speed for a final 30mins.Target is confirmed at 6kts.
Prepared an ETorp for 1st attack,range 2500m,impact,depth 3.Also made meticulous preparations this time with the ETorp,due to our disappointing result with the last attack made with them.
All settings finally ready for attack.
20:52
Fired 1,AOB 90,aiming point just forward of centre.Torpedo makes its slow crawl to the ship,crew can barely look at the stopwatch,seconds later BOOM!,torpedo slams into the bow of the ship causing fires on the deck.An EXCELLENT shot!
Ship however still afloat after about 30mins,meaning we will need to send another to finish it off.Will wait 1 hour for ship to finish zig zagging,allowing us another perfect opportunity.
22:00
As planned ship has returned to original course.As we have already set our speed to his crippled speed of 5kts we already have most of our settings ready for the attack.
New range - 2600m,chose steam torp in order to save our dwindling supply of ETorps,depth 1m in order to try and cause more fires nearer to the ones already blazing.
22:14
Aiming point - forward masts.Tube 2 fire! Seconds later again another huge explosion,this time ripping the ship into 3 seperate parts,going to the bottom in seconds.
Patrol report sent in just before diving to 50m and returning to previous contact spot of last engagement.We could spend a few days,even 1 week in this spot,hoping of course that ships will in fact sail past this spot again.

Tonnage - 2.620
Total so far - 2 small merchants for 5.238 tonnes.

7 torpedoes remain (5 steam,2 ETorps) + 3 Falkes for emergency/and or rare opportunities against important warships,like BBs etc,which I have yet to encounter in my career.

End of report
.................................................. ................................................

Finally a great result from the ETorp at medium range.As this was a perfect shot it has definitely lifted my confidence using them.
Shame about the low tonnage so far.
Will try our best to get as much use out of the deck gun as possible on the remainder of this mission.

.................................................. ................................................

Tonight's report
16th Nov 1942
Day 11

01:12
surfaced to reload tubes after previous attack.
finally in position in patrol zone.

01:51
radar signals detected! aircraft incoming! immediately dived,bomb glanced us

damage report
flak 2 damaged
minor damage to foredeck

01:54
attack ends.
will need to carefully monitor how much time we spend on the surface now,this seems to be a more dangerous area than the bay of biscay at the moment!.
current range from Rekyavik - 660km

02:30
surfaced for repairs
repairs complete
almost recharged

03:00
submerged to patrol depth
will leave area after patrol expires , then proceed to patrol 2 in the Denmark Strait.
en route to PZ2 we will run 1 hr at 7m and 1 hr submerged in the day,and make a full surface run at night to recharge.

07:00
Patrol 1 complete

08:45
proceeding to PZ2
first 7m sf run at 09:00

19:00
daylight runs passed without incident
surfaced for night surface run proper
recharging

17th Nov
Day 12
last 5 hrs passed without incident

01:30
radar signals incoming! ALARRRRRRRRRRM!! no sooner had I bellowed out the command the bomb caught us at about 15m sending my UBoat into a fierce roll!
plunged into the depths as fast as we could,levelled off at 50m

damage report
both flaks destroyed
serious damage to the watch tower
radio antenna destroyed
serious damage to the forward deck

carrying out hull test,dive set for 200m

01:43
dive successful,no damage to pressure hull

list of changes to now be implemented due to the last events
daylight
daylight must now be used to try and counter allied radar which has increased significantly recently.
we stand a better chance of evading radar if we can spot the planes further out on a clear day,but to dive as standard during even the slightest cloud cover.
night time protection is now officially at an end.
recharging to be carried out in daylight.
damage to be repaired only in daylight.
night time
this is now the critical time.
as we were running 1hr at 7m and 1hr smd during daylight it must now be done at night.
both engines to be used at night,strictly no recharging whatsoever.
*if we sustain another hit like the previous one then we will have to turn back for base.better than losing everything to a rush of blood.

03:00
1st hour of 7m sf run

end of report

.................................................. ................................................

As you can see,a lot to think about
For the moment the loss of my guns and radio antenna is not as bad as it sounds,I rarely use both,and the loss of the radio antenna just means we have no contact with base,which doesnt neccessarily mean we should turn back.As they will assume us lost in about a weeks time we hope to give them a nice surprise sometime in the new year of 1943.
We shall see.

[Leandros]

U-108 back in Wilhelmshafen Sept. 21st. A long patrol. Actually two as the Lorient-Wilhelmshafen stretch counts as Patrol 11.

Yes, we dared. Unfortunately enough HMS Hood got away - she limped away over the horizon with two T1 magnetics under her belly - escorted by, among others, 3 Southamptons. Rodney and Nelson did not pass. They joined the Revenge which was disposed of earlier on this patrol. Not with the deck gun. So, here is the score:

[Leg]

ET41 28 march 1941

Received a radio report of a big convoy headed north west... ahead full to intercept.

[Paul Riley]

Leandros,

I am sorry to bother you about this,but can you just tell me what version you play the game in,some of the major mods you use,realism settings,and of course the date you are currently playing?
The only reason I am asking is because of those titanic tonnage scores (compared to the measly 5000 tonnes or so in my current patrol) you present,not to mention the apparent relative ease you are dispatching major British warships
I am not discriminating you my friend,but in real life no single UBoat,in fact no ship (except the Bismarck,man for man) could challenge the might of British warships with such relative ease or comfort,unless they had serious issues upstairs
The only time British (English to be exact) warships ever faced such a problem against other warships was against the Spanish armada,and even then they got wasted in the end.
The most I ever sunk EVER in one patrol was no more than 30.000 tonnes if I remember,and only ever 2 destroyers.

Thankyou.

[Leandros]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Leandros,

I am sorry to bother you about this,but can you just tell me what version you play the game in,some of the major mods you use,realism settings,and of course the date you are currently playing?
The only reason I am asking is because of those titanic tonnage scores (compared to the measly 5000 tonnes or so in my current patrol) you present,not to mention the apparent relative ease you are dispatching major British warships
I am not discriminating you my friend,but in real life no single UBoat,in fact no ship (except the Bismarck,man for man) could challenge the might of British warships with such relative ease or comfort,unless they had serious issues upstairs
The only time British (English to be exact) warships ever faced such a problem against other warships was against the Spanish armada,and even then they got wasted in the end.
The most I ever sunk EVER in one patrol was no more than 30.000 tonnes if I remember,and only ever 2 destroyers.

Thankyou.

North Sea, Sept. 22nd, 1940 - patrol 12.

Dear Paul!

I have now finally found time to answer you. We came to Wilhelmshafen yesterday and it turns out our base people (2nd flotilla) have moved to Lorient with all their gear and replenishments. We did not feel very welcome in Wilhelmshafen now and was only given a quick refuelling, a standard torpedo load-up - and whisked out of the base. It seems we missed the message that our base was changed to Lorient and therefore went to Wilhelmshafen. You can surely understand how busy I got at this speedy turnaround. If we reach Lorient safely this letter shall be mailed from there. In the meantime we have some serious business to attend to enroute.

Thank you for your nice letter and your congratulations on our latest sortie. Sorry to hear about your less than totally succesful patrols. Please do not despair, I am sure your luck shall change eventually. Or, rather, your constantly improved proficiency. The important thing is to conserve your boat and crew - do not take too many risks, you are very valuable to the defense of the Reich. After all, you have already expedited much more of enemy tonnage than your own.

As for your question how my boat has achieved the result it has - this honour goes mainly to my crew. If anything, my contribution to this is my ability to pick the best men, to get the most out of them and see to that they are properly taken care of. I let them serve on various stations and when in harbour use much of the time to run them through all possible specialist courses. I constantly pester the Commander for their rightfully earned leave, promotions and decorations. My officers are very special. I have two mathematical geniuses as navigation and weapons officers. They practically dream fire solutions from all angles and, together with our sonar crew, have an uncanny abiltity to see the enemy's moves on the surface.

My torpedo officer and engineers are also very special. They have investigated much into the recent torpedokrise and have come to their own conclusions on the problem. These have been conveyed to the TVA but due to political reasons their opinions have not been followed through. In the meantime they are taking their own steps to see to that our topedoes are functioning properly. These are regularly overhauled with particular care to the correct pressure ratios in the vacum chambers. We have therefore experienced much less of the problems our comrades have. This is something you should suggest to your own torpedo crew.

While you find it frustrating that you yourself have not been able to demolish any of the enemy's capital ships history shows this shouldn't really be a problem. Günther's experience outside Narvik in April proved that he could have sunk the Warspite three times had his torpedoes functioned properly. The Brits have also shown that submarines can do this (Karlsruhe, Lützow) - so why not our own...? As for the success in this respect on our latest patrol much credit must go the fact that we ventured straight into the enemy columns (rather they run us over) - as you yourself have advised is a good tactic - and the very bad weather on both occasions which made us very difficult to detect. As a matter of fact, in the instance with the Rodney, Nelson and Hood, we weren't even detected by the escorts. They just sped off to cover the wing-shot Hood and its Southamptons.

While my boat do not have the latest upgrade (3.0) I have found that at the present I do not want to make these improvements for fear of upsetting the fine harmony of my boat and crew. However, this is bound to take place in some not too distant future.

I shall also regret the day my best officers shall be transferred to their own commands. An action that has not been sabotaged by me but rather by their own decisions to stay on as my crew. However, that day shall also not be too far away and I shall have to take over the work of these professionals as today's replacements, due to the present extreme build-up of the uboat fleet, tend to be quite inexperienced. Even if our training system is excellent. I have been quite spoiled by my present fine young officers and it shall certainly take some time for this old salt to learn the trade they way they have handled it.

If this had been a game I'd say the proficency of my men have resulted in a 65% reality score if compared with normal uboat crews.

I wish you good hunting in the future and - Hals und Beinbruch!

Your Friend

Karl Schulz - CO U-108

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Leandros

Plenty of shells but no weather. Look at the picture. Some torps, though. We shall see....

Perhaps it be time to unleash the secret weapon....all weather guns mod

[Leandros]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Perhaps it be time to unleash the secret weapon....all weather guns mod

You mean - making it even easier..........free showers to all crews manning the deck gun now...!!!!......come on, guys - hurry up.....

Or is there a remote control from below deck...?

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by Leandros

North Sea, Sept. 22nd, 1940 - patrol 12.

Dear Paul!

I have now finally found time to answer you. We came to Wilhelmshafen yesterday and it turns out our base people (2nd flotilla) have moved to Lorient with all their gear and replenishments. We did not feel very welcome in Wilhelmshafen now and was only given a quick refuelling, a standard torpedo load-up - and whisked out of the base. It seems we missed the message that our base was changed to Lorient and therefore went to Wilhelmshafen. You can surely understand how busy I got at this speedy turnaround. If we reach Lorient safely this letter shall be mailed from there. In the meantime we have some serious business to attend to enroute.

Thank you for your nice letter and your congratulations on our latest sortie. Sorry to hear about your less than totally succesful patrols. Please do not despair, I am sure your luck shall change eventually. Or, rather, your constantly improved proficiency. The important thing is to conserve your boat and crew - do not take too many risks, you are very valuable to the defense of the Reich. After all, you have already expedited much more of enemy tonnage than your own.

As for your question how my boat has achieved the result it has - this honour goes mainly to my crew. If anything, my contribution to this is my ability to pick the best men, to get the most out of them and see to that they are properly taken care of. I let them serve on various stations and when in harbour use much of the time to run them through all possible specialist courses. I constantly pester the Commander for their rightfully earned leave, promotions and decorations. My officers are very special. I have two mathematical geniuses as navigation and weapons officers. They practically dream fire solutions from all angles and, together with our sonar crew, have an uncanny abiltity to see the enemy's moves on the surface.

My torpedo officer and engineers are also very special. They have investigated much into the recent torpedokrise and have come to their own conclusions on the problem. These have been conveyed to the TVA but due to political reasons their opinions have not been followed through. In the meantime they are taking their own steps to see to that our topedoes are functioning properly. These are regularly overhauled with particular care to the correct pressure ratios in the vacum chambers. We have therefore experienced much less of the problems our comrades have. This is something you should suggest to your own torpedo crew.

While you find it frustrating that you yourself have not been able to demolish any of the enemy's capital ships history shows this shouldn't really be a problem. Günther's experience outside Narvik in April proved that he could have sunk the Warspite three times had his torpedoes functioned properly. The Brits have also shown that submarines can do this (Karlsruhe, Lützow) - so why not our own...? As for the success in this respect on our latest patrol much credit must go the fact that we ventured straight into the enemy columns (rather they run us over) - as you yourself have advised is a good tactic - and the very bad weather on both occasions which made us very difficult to detect. As a matter of fact, in the instance with the Rodney, Nelson and Hood, we weren't even detected by the escorts. They just sped off to cover the wing-shot Hood and its Southamptons.

While my boat do not have the latest upgrade (3.0) I have found that at the present I do not want to make these improvements for fear of upsetting the fine harmony of my boat and crew. However, this is bound to take place in some not too distant future.

I shall also regret the day my best officers shall be transferred to their own commands. An action that has not been sabotaged by me but rather by their own decisions to stay on as my crew. However, that day shall also not be too far away and I shall have to take over the work of these professionals as today's replacements, due to the present extreme build-up of the uboat fleet, tend to be quite inexperienced. Even if our training system is excellent. I have been quite spoiled by my present fine young officers and it shall certainly take some time for this old salt to learn the trade they way they have handled it.

If this had been a game I'd say the proficency of my men have resulted in a 65% reality score if compared with normal uboat crews.

I wish you good hunting in the future and - Hals und Beinbruch!

Your Friend

Karl Schulz - CO U-108

A fine letter Leandros.

You clearly are a bull at sea,taking the fight to the enemy head on.Prien would be proud no doubt.
I see myself as a meticulous hunter...much like a snake carefully observing its prey,holding its life in the balance until the time to strike arrives.If the prey is too strong then the hunter retreats,only to come back with stronger venom next time.There is a lot to be learnt from close calls and disasters,how else are we to learn?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Leandros

You mean - making it even easier..........free showers to all crews manning the deck gun now...!!!!......come on, guys - hurry up.....

Or is there a remote control from below deck...?

Simply a small switch that allows the gun to be used in any and all inclement weather conditions

[Leg]

isn't the all weather gun actually "cheat"?

Just failed an attack on a convoy due very stormy weather...
This convoy is really escorted... 6 DDs, some of them with radars; and the night is coming. Asking to myself if it's better to continue or let it go.