How close to death have you survived?

[applesthecat]

Since I've been playing SH3, I have yet to sink a merchant in a convoy. I always get detected, even underwater, by a destroyer, which pushes me out of the picture until the convoy is long gone. Sometimes I get away, sometimes I die. When I die, it's always depth charges that cause critical flooding. In this game either I get back to base with nearly full integrity, I don't get back at all.

What is the closest you have come to being a goner, but managed to get back?

Apples

[GREY WOLF 3]

Nearly pre-ordered SH5 Those DRMS are worse than the hedgehogs.

[KeptinCranky]

Closest I got and got home was hitting a mine in the Thames estuary, this blew off the entire conning tower (location destroyed) ruined one diesel, both electric motors and all torpedo tubes (this was type II boat). the boat sank to the bottom but it was shallow enough to sit there, fix the flooding and surface by blowing ballst.

it also cost me 80% of my diesel fuel. I got the boat back to wilhelmshaven by hugging the dutch coast all the way at 4 knots.

I also once sailed a Type IX back from North of Scotland with the conning tower destroyed and both flak out as well, thankfully the diesels were all right so it was maximum speed all the way back.

It can be done, but it's not what I'd consider a fun trip

[BillCar]

When I was starting out, I got beaten up really badly on a patrol. On docking, it told me my hull integrity was 1.35% or something like that.

The RAF jumped one of my IXCs a couple of hours out of Lorient.
That was a real short patrol.
Much prefer the IXB.

(It's usualy Aircraft that do me in).

[Obltn Strand]

Depth charge attack in BF 13, 120m deep, year was 1939!

Conning tower destroyed, flak and deck guns too. Severe flooding. Port side diesel, electric motor and propeller out of action. Radio, sonar and fore batteries beyond repair. No working torpedotubes. 3 dead one wounded.

Had sail around British Isles to reach Kiel. Actually docked in Helgoland. No watch crew on deck

Similar damage from mines to type II have occurred.

[Lzs von swe]

Soo close so many times, but this one I will never forget

Black Sea, standing on the bridge during an air attack.
Watching the bombs passing overhead when the flak gunner called out the kill. Looking back up at the plane I saw this

I went NONONO and snapped it, and then it crashed in the sea spraying the boat with water and debris. Memorable moment

[ryanglavin]

In my pregnant sea cow (IXD2), I was attacking a convoy Northeast of Madagascar, got jumped by a random escort so I dived down to 180 M.
THey had sonar contact on me for 23 hours in game, and had flooding at least once in every compartment. Escorts lost contact when I was flooding down to 250 M and dropped all my sonar decoys. One diesel was out completely, the other deisel could only manage 4 Kts at any speed, diesel reserves down to 20%, both electrics down, 1 propellor shaft dead, all torpedo tubes dead, all batteries destroyed (of course) watch tower extremely heavily damaged (still able to be manned) all radar apparatus and sonar apparatus destroyed. Deck and flak guns destroyed. when I got back to Penang, and exited SH 3, SH3 Commander showed my H.I. was down to 9%. Guess I got lucky. Made it back with about 9 KM left of fuel .

[Dissaray]

I was running in a VIIC and making a convoy attack once. They cought me on the way out. Sucessful attack, two sunk one cripled to be finished after the evaiding. Not sure how they cought me, prbly breached the surfus with the bridge while runing at parascope depth, dumb move on my part with as bad as the weather was. A passing distroyer light me up with flood lights, flack guns and cut loose with the deck guns. I only relised I was under attack when MG rounds were pinging off the hull.

All the suden the boat starts to shake and there was an explosion. I was hit by a deck gun shell, right into the bridge when it breached again. So it was crash dive and nuckling as fast as I could. By the time I was down around 50m there were distoyers on station ready to depth charge me into oblivion. The first two runs missed and I thought I was home free. I get report of "vaserbombs" from the sound man and braced, we had just changed directions so I thought it was all safe. I was wrong I found out when the first one explodes tearing my forward tube room a new one. The second charge struck just aft of that and opened up my crew quartars and removed my deck gun.

We were nose down and coming up on 100m. I decided that flooding was too bad to not adress it so I set the crew to work and kept up my evasive manuvers in hopes I can dodge enuf that the sound wouln't mater and I was sucsesful for the most part. I came up on 150 and knew I had to stop going down so I threw the engins into back emergancy, a fiting setting given the situation. this slowed us down enuf that things were starting to look up. At 200m I had to blow balast and that stoped the decent and slowly started our way back up. At this point we had the flooding under control and the boat leveling out. Then they hit again and that took out the desiles, both of them perminantly, and cracked the port prop shaft. And this brought up more flooding. One more DC poped near us and took out the starbord electric. With one engin and one prop, the one not being connected to the other, we had to stop moving.

Fortunatly they seemed to have run out of ammo and left me alone. As soon as the distoyers left the area I went back to parascope depth, swivled my boat around for an aft tube shot and killed the merchant that was left behind. Without the means to get back home I had to suck it up and telaport back to port. I think that was as close as I have come to dieing in the game but managed to pull it out of the fires.

[KeybdFlyer]

Originally Posted by GREY WOLF 3

Nearly pre-ordered SH5 Those DRMS are worse than the hedgehogs.

[Apache312]

not more than 2 hours ago, im cruising Nordsee and spotted a convoy approaching. I submerged and stopped the screws to see how large the convoy was. I found it to be 12 large ships with 3 escorts. So I lay in waiting for the convoy to surround me, as this is a tactic I use to confuse the escorts, and so I can dive under merchants to avoid charges.

I was able to take 2 of the escorts out, going Flank speed to gain their attention, and hitting both of the destroyers with bow shots right down the throat. Fired ALL my fish, weather was too bad for guns, so I just looked for the cleanest shots and took them. I spent 1 "real time" hour evading a destroyer that appeared to have an endless supply of depth charges. I thought those boats only carried 30....wrong. I started marking a piece of paper after a while of being charged, and I had 46 marks...and that was after many depth charges. I think im going to set up a chalk board now.

Luckily for me, the ocean floor was 90 meters deep, cause thats where I kept going when my boat filled with water. I pulled out all my tricks...stop, silent speed, run flank and turn. I was finally able to slip away, but not before the destroyer had his way with my boat. I had too many kills to just give in..and since I have learned that I cannot savegame near ships, I just had to ride it out.

Half my crew died, but I was able to limp back to port. I got allot of nice kills, but my VIIC will never drive straight again.

/S

Apache312

[Oberon]

Type VII, U-35, 11th May 1940. AN 47
Approaching a large merchant, visibility good but not brilliant, opened up with the deck-gun and suddenly a C&D class pulls out from behind the merchant where it had been hiding and opens up on me. If I dive it'll roll DCs over me at shallow depth but if I stay on the surface it'll hammer me. I do a 180 and hit flank and throw a TII out of the rear tube out of desperation. My Watch Officer is killed by MG fire and I'm getting ready to shout for a crash dive when suddenly there's a massive fountain of water and the bow of the destroyer comes off.
Limped back to port with 50.6% Hull Integrity. For a conservative Kaleun with randomised crush depth as myself, that's a fair bit.

[Snow White Sorrow]

I don't have the luxury of a damage gauge (full realism settings) nor do I really read the patrol reports but I have had engaged an entire PT boat squadron on the surface (includes one with a 57mm? cannon) and lived to tell the tale in a IXC.

In a more submarine situation, I was traversing the northern approaches in heavy seas and driving storms submerged and doing an acoustic intercept of a merchant ship. I knew we were both headed towards each other but when I raised the scope I saw this gigantic bow towering over me (and I was told the contact was merely CLOSING! grr)

Something clanged loud against the hull as I went ahead flank and emergency rudder but miraculously, no damage. (see I did learn from the Titanic)

[Ancient Mariner]

Had many near death experiences in my last Career ,two memorable events;

1st battleship kill,was DC'd,had scopes knocked out,no guns,1 tube left working. Sank BB on the surface and crash dived as soon as eel hit.

Struck 2 mines on the way out past Helgoland,first was on the way out lost 2 crew,second was hit on the way to port. Lost 7 crew that time.

Lost U35 the next time out

[Apache312]

Originally Posted by Ancient Mariner

Had many near death experiences in my last Career ,two memorable events;

1st battleship kill,was DC'd,had scopes knocked out,no guns,1 tube left working. Sank BB on the surface and crash dived as soon as eel hit.

Struck 2 mines on the way out past Helgoland,first was on the way out lost 2 crew,second was hit on the way to port. Lost 7 crew that time.

Lost U35 the next time out

Im with you, except I came away untouched. Tonight was my very first battleship sinking. 6 topedos later and the H.M.S. Rodney is no more. I dove and escaped with not even a scratch.