AAR U-52

[JohnWoo]

After-Action-Report:

Leutnant z.S. Kurt Gies, captain of ‘U-52’ Type VIIB
U-flotilla Saltzwedel, Wilhelmshaven
Playing GWX and SH3 commander at 72% difficulty (I’m new to this game, so it's ok)

Patrol 1.

2 August 1939;
we left Wilhelmshaven for our first patrol in SH3. WW2 hadn't started yet, so I didn't expect a lot of action during our time at sea. We reached our patrol grid BF19 without any problems except some very rough weather which forced us to stay submerged for most of the trip (winds 15m/s).
On our way back to Wilhelmshaven, good weather and the gramophone eased the boredom of the trip.
13 August 1939;
we arrived safely in Wilhelmshaven.

Patrol 2.

28 August 1939;
U-52 and his crew leave for their second patrol. Our orders are to patrol grid BF19 once more, and the beginning of WW2 is just a few days away.
31 August and 1 September 1939;
the air is full with reports of the Germany-Poland aggression. Since Germany is now at war with Poland, Bdu orders that Polish vessels should be treated with hostility. Unfortunately, my course is not even near Polish waters.
3 September 1939;
War with Great-Britain! This is a great opportunity for U-52 to get his first kills and earn a place between the great U-boat aces. After the 24hour patrol, we set sail to AM 53, which I heard to be an excellent hunting ground.
And by God, it was! Upon arriving at AM 53, an alert sounded. ‘Ship spotted, Kaleun’. An Ore Carrier, the SS Coracero, going to great-Britain and crossing our path. We dive and position ourselves in a 90° angle and prepare 2 torpedos. Result: 8088 ton going to the bottom of the sea. U-52 claims its first victim!
3-4 september 1939;
We continue to patrol AM 53 and AM 52 during these 2 days, leaving with a total of 5 merchant schips sunk, good for a total of 18411 ton.
With my 5 remaining torpedos, I plan something big: an assault on Scapa Flow (Is that something a 1st-timer should do?).
6 September 1939;
We reach the southern entrance of Scapa Flow when the night falls. Not much merchant traffic in these parts, but the destroyers are well on their guard. We dive and run silent: this will take some time, but it will be our safest way in.
Upon entering Scapa Flow, I set course into a side way, covered from the main gateway by some small islands. U-52 resurfaces and I hope that the islands between the destroyers and me will block their tracking signal. It seems to work and in that side way, a big floating dock is discovered. A nice target for later, but now I steam forward, because a prized target has been found! The HMS Repulse, a Renown class battleship, lies still in the center of Scapa Flow. I just couldn’t resist that. We dive again and slowly make our way to the Repulse. 12km… 11km… 10km … 6km… 5km…
When we reach 4 km, I order full stop. The engines halt and the periscope is raised. There she is, at exactly 0°, bathing in the moonlight, unaware of her soon-to-be demise.
Torpedo 1…. FIRE
Torpedo 2…. FIRE
Torpedo 3…. FIRE
With small shocks, the torpedoes leave U-52. We turn around, creeping back to the safe side way. 1 torpedo is left for the floating dock.
After a nerve-wracking couple of minutes, the WO confirms that all 3 torpedoes have hit!
(Yippikayeeee)
But she didn’t sink…
Furious, I order U-52 to turn and assault once more. With 1 torpedo left, it’s all or nothing.
Meanwhile, the destroyers have begun their seek-and-destroy work. Luckily, it’s 1939 and they are not so effective. Once again, I approach the HMS repulse, which was heavily tilted to one side, but still floating. This time, the order to fire is given at 2 km, to ensure a hit. We turn tail, set course to the side way and hope that this torpedo will do the trick.
I can’t describe the joy I felt when torpedo 4 hit and my WO informed me the Repulse was sinking. Such a prize on my second patrol, it’s just unbelievably lucky!
But now, how to get out of here?
Our attack has taken quite some time and the sun is coming up. With all these angry destroyers, it’s not a good idea to stick around. We head back into the narrow channel and suddenly, U-52 shakes and shudders. Keeping close to the islands, we hit a torpedo net, damaging our U-boat (bringing it down to 43%). Luckily, the crew responds quickly and flooding is rapidly stopped.
We surface and steam to the nearby floating dock we ‘forgot’ in the night. With no torpedoes, the gun remains. Quickly, the gunners take their positions and begin firing rounds at the dock’s waterline. At point blank range and with a calm sea, they don’t miss.
With the sun up, the destroyers react too fast and shells start landing into the water surrounding us. I give the order for full speed ahead and hope that we don’t take a hit. The gun-crew keeps firing and they succeed in sinking the dock.
With shells exploding around us, I give the order to dive again in these shallow waters, hoping that the destroyers will lose our position.
Again, the islands block all contact and silently we creep out Scapa Flow, back into open waters.
With no more torpedoes left, I decide to head back home, to Wilhelmshaven. My boys have earned it.
10 September 1939;
We reach Wilhelmshaven. Time for some well deserved rest.

In Wilhelmshaven, we were received as heroes. The crew was awarded medals, with most of my officers receiving the Iron Cross 2nd class.
I myself was promoted to Oberleutnant z. S, a proud moment for mommy and daddy.
During this patrol, the total tonnage sunk was 99971, with 7 ships destroyed.

In a few weeks U-52 will leave for his 3rd patrol, hopefully with the same luck as we had during this one.




Oberleutnant z. See Kurt Gies
U-52

[JohnWoo]

Caould someone tell me how to display the captain's log from SH3 commander?

[Fozzy22]

If you press K in game it should bring up the log.

[Jimbuna]

Use the print screen button, open with paint and save as a jpeg file.

Mount with ImageShack....http://imageshack.us/

Edit: I thought you meant display it on SubSim as a screenshot

[JohnWoo]

You were right jimbuna, I meant showing it in this thread.

But it's nice to know a shortcut, thanks Fozzy22

[JohnWoo]

Here's the captain's log.
Hope you enjoy this AAR

[Jimbuna]

Nice to see your sorted




BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

[JohnWoo]

I'm still a bit sad about not getting 100k ton. Would have been a nice bonus
Maybe in a future patrol?

[Jimbuna]

Edit the CFG file