AHHHHH!! I've been *Q-shipped*!

schlechter pfennig · 05-01-10, 11:32 PM

It's a beautiful May 26, 1940 and I and my shiny U-64 are headed to DJ12. It's only my second patrol with my IXB and it still has that 'new-car' smell . . . (kinda-sorta . . . if you really use your imagination and try ignoring the unwashed-body funk).

We receive a contact report: ship moving dead North, and currently 50KM approximately north of our position, so I have a course plotted to intercept and ahead we go at flank. Reaching the theoretical intersect point there's nothing, so I continue north for two more hours before calling out a reciprical course at ahead slow. About an hour later one of the watch crew call out "Ship spotted!"

By now it's 2200 hours, but the weather is calm, no more than 4mps wind, and there's no overcast and quite a bit of light from the moon. I take us to full deck awash, just shy of eight meters, and slowly continue advancing at ahead slow. I haven't, as yet, decided to go for a torpedo attack or a deck gun one; I'll have to estimate ship size before I make that decision.

At a little over 3.5 meters I decide I'll go with the deck gun, based upon what I can see.

Slowly, very slowly, we creep closer and closer.

At around 2,000 meters I bring us fully up and man the deck guns, although I order them not to engage until we're within 1,000 meters, as I intend to bring us abeam so as to stabilize the gun better and improve accuracy.

Closer and closer . . . right hand upraised, waiting to drop it and give the order to open fire.

The hapless, unaware and unarmed merchant:

At 800 meters I order to commence firing . . . and that's when all Hell breaks loose. My Watch Officer screams that the enemy is engaging us. Huh?? I do a quick 360 scan, but there's no one else but the freighter and us. What enemy!?

Then I see a brilliant, blinding muzzle flash from the merchant . . . hear the shriek of a shell whizz scant meters above my head . . . see the merchant begin manuevering to engage us!!

Once again I curse the slow dive speed! Before we can clear the bridge, before we can submerge, we start taking hits.

Thankfully we weren't severely damaged, but we certainly have been 'kissed'. I'm now slowly pursuing the ship, hoping the damage sustained by what gunfire we managed to get off will prove to be mortal. This is definitely one ship whose papers I want to retrieve, along with their senior officers. I think BdU might want to know about this new development!

05-01-10, 11:32 PM	#1
schlechter pfennig Commander Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 462 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 7	*AHHHHH!! I've been Q-shipped!* It's a beautiful May 26, 1940 and I and my shiny U-64 are headed to DJ12. It's only my second patrol with my IXB and it still has that 'new-car' smell . . . (kinda-sorta . . . if you really use your imagination and try ignoring the unwashed-body funk). We receive a contact report: ship moving dead North, and currently 50KM approximately north of our position, so I have a course plotted to intercept and ahead we go at flank. Reaching the theoretical intersect point there's nothing, so I continue north for two more hours before calling out a reciprical course at ahead slow. About an hour later one of the watch crew call out "Ship spotted!" By now it's 2200 hours, but the weather is calm, no more than 4mps wind, and there's no overcast and quite a bit of light from the moon. I take us to full deck awash, just shy of eight meters, and slowly continue advancing at ahead slow. I haven't, as yet, decided to go for a torpedo attack or a deck gun one; I'll have to estimate ship size before I make that decision. At a little over 3.5 meters I decide I'll go with the deck gun, based upon what I can see. Slowly, very slowly, we creep closer and closer. At around 2,000 meters I bring us fully up and man the deck guns, although I order them not to engage until we're within 1,000 meters, as I intend to bring us abeam so as to stabilize the gun better and improve accuracy. Closer and closer . . . right hand upraised, waiting to drop it and give the order to open fire. The hapless, unaware and unarmed merchant: At 800 meters I order to commence firing . . . and that's when all Hell breaks loose. My Watch Officer screams that the enemy is engaging us. Huh?? I do a quick 360 scan, but there's no one else but the freighter and us. What enemy!? Then I see a brilliant, blinding muzzle flash from the merchant . . . hear the shriek of a shell whizz scant meters above my head . . . see the merchant begin manuevering to engage us!! Once again I curse the slow dive speed! Before we can clear the bridge, before we can submerge, we start taking hits. Thankfully we weren't severely damaged, but we certainly have been 'kissed'. I'm now slowly pursuing the ship, hoping the damage sustained by what gunfire we managed to get off will prove to be mortal. This is definitely one ship whose papers I want to retrieve, along with their senior officers. I think BdU might want to know about this new development!