Holy crud! 90 degree active arc!!

[pythos]

So my most experienced comander is out on patrol in the oldest boat of my fleet. A well worn type VIIC with all the trimmings. After cruising in the Mediterainian (spelling) for a couple of days and shooting down 2 cats 1 welli, and sinking one Pyro, his crew is feeling pretty good.

The following is comander Johan Scum's account of a very harrowing experience.

On Novemember 24 1942 the boat is less than 24 hrs from it's patrol zone for the 24 hr patrol we all know. My radio operator announces that he is getting radar signals. The last times this happened a hapless aircraft bumbled into our sites, and so I preparred for another air assult, by manning the AA guns. Unfortunately a few minutes later we learn the contact was in fact a destroyer.

Alaaaaaarm!, and down to 70 meters. I am not playing around with this kinda threat before getting to the patrol zone. We get to 70 meters and silent running is ordered.

Several minutes pass during which I have the boat's narrow profile presented to the incomming ship. Despite this a couple of minutes later his active strikes my hull. There are only three "search" pings, which are imeadiatly follwed by the pounding of the "gotcha" pings. I order flank speed and head right toward him, and take the boat down to 120 meters. As he passes over me, I order a 90 degree turn, and wait for the charges.

This is the part where things go wierd.

BEFORE the charges go off, he starts pinging me again, and these are not search pings but instead the pounding and repetitive gotcha pings. The charges start going off and my boat gets tossed about. It must have been a fluke for him to start pinging me so fast. I repeat the evasion tactic again. He passes right overhead, as we descend to 180 meters.

Once again, before the charges go off, I am getting pinged. WTH?

This scenerio repeats its self an uncounted number of times, I have the boat down past 200 meters, and wondering when things are gonna start popping.

It seems to me that his passive arc is actually acting as his active. Or his turn rate is unbeleivable. During this little dance I have lost three crew members, and gotten a boat sevearly pounded. This evasion tactic usually does not get such results.

Finally after ordering "deeper still chief" I come to a decision. This super boat is not gonna let us go. In my stearn I have loaded a new weapon of the kriegsmarine, a homing torpedo know as the TIVes falke. I have had some good luck with these getting rid of escorts that don't know what skipper they are messing around with . and which boat he thinks he has got. U-555 will not go down today!

I wait for one more pass of the bastard. Before he passes over us I order flank speed (now reduced by two damaged motors), and blow ballast. With this the boat at first slowly starts climbing, but is soon soaring up to the surface. I can only guess that we passed right through the next lot of charges, cause their thuds were heard below and behind us, which did cause a little rocking. We didn't care, the boat was already hurting.

Unfortunately I miscalculated the rate of ascent, and order periscope depth too late. This also didn't matter. Our advesary was the whole time pinging us again. The depth meter is starting to slow down around 20 meters, but not slowly enough, seconds later the tower pops above the surface, just long enough for these british supermen, to lock their sights and start pounding away with their cannon.

We are rocked by the impact of the shells, damage reports start comming in. While getting the scope on the bastard the boat gets rocked by another shot. Then I see him, all lit up with his searchlights, not more than 700 meters away, but closing. His pings are still hitting us. I order tube 5 opened, while the weapons officer gets what he needs. When I see the solution set, I offset the aim so the falke passes to his side, and order the shot. As the torpedo shoots out, I order the scope down and a dive back to 120 meters, full flank.

Then we wait.

Did the falke fail to acquire?

The screws approach nearer as we continue our dive.

Thud! Torpedo impact!!!!

We hit the bastard!

But his pings continue?

This goes on for a few more minutes, after which I ask the soundman what our friend was doing. The response; "He's stationary herr kaluen"

I order the boat to periscope depth. Several long minutes later we get there, all the while still being pinged. When I get him in the sights I am astonished. Despite the fact I am looking at his broadside, I am still getting pinged.

That's enough!!! I finally look at my chart, and click on his icon.

I discover that his active arc is a huge 90 degree, 2000 meter arc! No wonder he could lock on more before the charges went off!

Then he does something astonishing. He fires starshell after starshell over my position, then starts pounding my scope the best he can.

He has to go!!!

We swing around (with the scope down) to bear our forward tubes at him.

Scope back up, full four salvo, I want him gone.

Minutes later it is all over but the screaming. Four fish into his side, and the pinging finally stops.

For the first time, I, Johan Scum, have to abort the patrol zone and get to a friendly port.

On Novemember 28, 1942. U-555 entered the port of Salimas, for emergency repair.

This patrol was done with GWX and the destroyer escort was a River class.

Is this actually what the boats had to deal with later in the war, or did someone goof with specs for the river's sonar?