Missing, Presumed Lost

[Sailor Steve]

Long story warning:

Two months ago I actually started playing again, after more months of working on my Ship Names project and trying out different mods until I had it set up just the way I wanted it. First I did a prewar visit to Gdansk in a Type II, then played out a transfer from Konigsberg to Kiel in a Type VII.

March 12: For my first patrol in the Type VII I very carefully set SH3 Commander's 'Days In Base' to let me depart on patrol along with the other 13 boats on August 19, the historic date they were sent out. Of course I was still based at Konigsberg but leaving from Kiel, so Commander made it one day and I actually left on August 5.

On the way I ran into a sinking merchant in a storm and role-played saving some of the crew and dropping them off at Rotterdam. The a leisurely voyage through the Channel to my self-assigned grid at the Western Approaches - BF12. I then stopped the boat, saved the game and set the max TC for 2048 (I normally keep it at 128), and fast-forwarded to the 19th plus transit time. I think I started actually playing again on about the 24th.

On September 1st the war started as it was supposed to, and I patrolled the area for almost two months game time, sinking six ships along the way. I headed home, this time taking the long way around Scotland and the Shetlands, then headed for Brunsbuttel. My last save was just off the mouth of the Elbe, and I thought I would load it up on Sunday, April 12, and make the trip through the Kanal to Kiel in one last session, exactly a month after I started the patrol. Since I have that kind of information, my plan was to exchange the randomized tonnages for the real tonnages of the ships I sank, once I had the names.

Yesterday morning I loaded the game, loaded the patrol and it CRASHED!!!

I tried it again and it crashed again. I tried it without Commander and it crashed again. I loaded up my Type II career and it started with no trouble. So I went for a very long walk and then it hit me: During the week I updated the Ship Names mod with Jimbuna's Q-Ships and VonDos's Arandora Star. I don't think adding those to Commander would have any effect, but I'm pretty certain I also added the ships to my Sea and Roster folders without thinking, and that's something you don't want to do in mid-patrol.

So, after a month of carefully nurturing my new boat and crew, they failed to come home from their first patrol, and no one has a clue as to their fate.