Patrol 7: December 7th, 1943

HauptmannFox · 02-26-14, 08:36 AM

[OOC: Playing at 43% realism, limited O2/Fuel/CO2/Batteries, realistic repair/sink time and vulnerability, dud torpedoes, realistic reload. One of my first career patrols, I'd say it went pretty well! I'm also new here, so be kind

]

T-1937: Set off from Toulon, heading to patrol grid CN26 approximately 100KM from hostile port of Valletta.

T-2117: Met contact with a friendly Merchant ship in the inlet just East of Toulon while passing through the clearing. Proceeding to grid CJ14 and moving down along the coast of the islands.

December 8th, T-1357: Passed the coast of Alghero, moving south to designated patrol grid. SO reported sound contact West of my position at long range. Disengaging and continuing on route.

December 9th, T-0128: Met contact with a hostile ship, west of my position, moving away at slow speed. Attempting to pursue and engage.

T-0436: WO reports ship spotted at bearing 310, long range. Engaging target with deck gun.

T-0450: Enemy ship has returned fire with deck gun. Firing at medium range and aiming for waterline.

T-0454: Enemy merchant ship has been sunk. Sending patrol and contact reports to command. 70 HE shells remaining, 40 SS shells remaining. Returning to designated route.

T-0809: WO reports visual contact with single enemy bomber aircraft, bearing 206, long range. Maintaining Ahead Standard speed at bearing 103 degrees and engaging with Flak guns.

T-0811: Bomber aircraft disabled. Burst into flames mid-air and touched down approximately five meters behind aft. Close call. Maintaining speed and bearing.

T-0951: WO reports radar and visual contact with three enemy aircraft, bearing 347, long range, closing. Engaging with Flak guns and maintaining speed and bearing.

T-0952: First two fighter aircraft disabled during their first strafing run. Both touched down to the port and starboard sides of the ship. Final aircraft broke off and did not re-engage. Sending reports. Maintaining speed and bearing.

December 10th, T-0754: Passed by island of Pantelleria and into CN26 with no contact. Commencing patrol pattern.

T-1911: Detected ship moving into grid CN26 from the North at slow speed. Moving to engage.

T-1932: Came under fire from bomber escort. Two pieces of ordnance dropped in the vicinity of boat; no damage taken. Could not engage due to rough water. Diving to 25m and continuing to pursue ship contact.

T-1945: SO reports sound contact; Merchant moving slow, constant distance, bearing 035, long range. Continuing to pursue.

T-2321: WO reports three visual contacts. Two small merchants, one coastal merchant, approximately 3 KM range at bearings 013, 020 and 028. Moving to engage.

December 11th, T-0154: One merchant ship breaking off, heading South. Continuing to pursue and engage group of two merchant ships heading West.

T-0205: Contact with merchant ship group. Approached from the rear at periscope depth and fired two torpedoes undetected. Both struck the midsection of the rear vessel and sunk it. Moving to engage second vessel.

T-0209: Coastal merchant hit with torpedo in aft section. Still afloat but appears immobile. Repositioning to fire second torpedo at starboard hull.

T-0217: Re-approached from starboard side at surface depth. Took fire from deck gun, damaging bow and stern quarters and causing a water leak. Maintaining surface depth and assigning damage control team.

T-0225: All repairs finished, hull integrity at 65%. 24-hour patrol objective complete. Returning to Toulon.

T-2145: WO reports visual contact with Liberty Cargo ship and one small merchant vessel. Moving to starboard side to engage.

T-2151: Fired three torpedoes at starboard side of Liberty Cargo vessel. First torpedo impacted with no explosion; fired fourth tube at this time. Torpedoes two, three and four impacted the starboard midsection hull.

T-2155: Returned to engage vessel with final two torpedoes in reserve. Vessel's aft appeared to be sagging. Second torpedo impacted the starboard side of the aft. Took fire from deck guns; all three flak guns were destroyed.

T-2202: Vessel capsized. Hull integrity at 27%. Crew exhausted. Returning to Toulon in Surface Cruise mode and avoiding any and all contact with enemy vessels.

December 13th, T-0930: Entering Toulon port and docking at drydock #2. Mission success. Captain awarded U-Boat Badge. 14,149.00 tonnage sunk. 761.42 renown.

banryu79 · 02-26-14, 11:32 AM

Hi HauptmannFox,
I'm not at all an expert: I still have to do my first patrol! So I'm as green as possible but I want to try to comment (and I could be very wrong!).
I think you took some unneccessary risks:

Quote:

Originally Posted by HauptmannFox

T-0436: WO reports ship spotted at bearing 310, long range. Engaging target with deck gun.

T-0450: Enemy ship has returned fire with deck gun. Firing at medium range and aiming for waterline.

It was night, maybe it was better to close in undetected and go for a surface torpedo attack.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HauptmannFox

T-0809: WO reports visual contact with single enemy bomber aircraft, bearing 206, long range. Maintaining Ahead Standard speed at bearing 103 degrees and engaging with Flak guns.

A bit risky, but it was a lone aircraft.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HauptmannFox

T-0951: WO reports radar and visual contact with three enemy aircraft, bearing 347, long range, closing. Engaging with Flak guns and maintaining speed and bearing.

This was too risky, imo. Three aircraft spotted? Crash Dive!

In any case: congrat for your successful patrol, kaleun

HauptmannFox · 02-26-14, 12:28 PM

I thought taking on three planes was risky, too. I thought taking on even a single plane was risky. That is, until I attempted it last night just to see how difficult it indeed was.

I don't know if my Flak setup is really effective, or if my crew is expertly trained, but I have never been so much as scratched by an aircraft. They're essentially free kills for me at this point.

As for the first suggestion, I've yet to figure out the best way to attack merchant ships, because it seems like only one-fourth of the torpedoes I fire actually hit their mark and explode. The rest bounce off or end up passing behind the target's aft. Rushing forward with the deck gun seems to have worked well thus far.

IMO, no good things have come without some calculated risks, and sometimes, you just have to roll the dice. It's not like facing off against three bombers and losing will instantly condemn me to death - there's always a chance to escape if they get a good shot or two.

Anyway, thanks for the reply! Let me know how your first patrols go and maybe I can offer some advice as well.

Aktungbby · 02-26-14, 03:12 PM

Hauptmannfox!

Jimbuna · 02-26-14, 05:05 PM

Welcome to SubSim Kaleun

02-26-14, 08:36 AM	#1
HauptmannFox Nub Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Patrol 7: December 7th, 1943 [OOC: Playing at 43% realism, limited O2/Fuel/CO2/Batteries, realistic repair/sink time and vulnerability, dud torpedoes, realistic reload. One of my first career patrols, I'd say it went pretty well! I'm also new here, so be kind ] T-1937: Set off from Toulon, heading to patrol grid CN26 approximately 100KM from hostile port of Valletta. T-2117: Met contact with a friendly Merchant ship in the inlet just East of Toulon while passing through the clearing. Proceeding to grid CJ14 and moving down along the coast of the islands. December 8th, T-1357: Passed the coast of Alghero, moving south to designated patrol grid. SO reported sound contact West of my position at long range. Disengaging and continuing on route. December 9th, T-0128: Met contact with a hostile ship, west of my position, moving away at slow speed. Attempting to pursue and engage. T-0436: WO reports ship spotted at bearing 310, long range. Engaging target with deck gun. T-0450: Enemy ship has returned fire with deck gun. Firing at medium range and aiming for waterline. T-0454: Enemy merchant ship has been sunk. Sending patrol and contact reports to command. 70 HE shells remaining, 40 SS shells remaining. Returning to designated route. T-0809: WO reports visual contact with single enemy bomber aircraft, bearing 206, long range. Maintaining Ahead Standard speed at bearing 103 degrees and engaging with Flak guns. T-0811: Bomber aircraft disabled. Burst into flames mid-air and touched down approximately five meters behind aft. Close call. Maintaining speed and bearing. T-0951: WO reports radar and visual contact with three enemy aircraft, bearing 347, long range, closing. Engaging with Flak guns and maintaining speed and bearing. T-0952: First two fighter aircraft disabled during their first strafing run. Both touched down to the port and starboard sides of the ship. Final aircraft broke off and did not re-engage. Sending reports. Maintaining speed and bearing. December 10th, T-0754: Passed by island of Pantelleria and into CN26 with no contact. Commencing patrol pattern. T-1911: Detected ship moving into grid CN26 from the North at slow speed. Moving to engage. T-1932: Came under fire from bomber escort. Two pieces of ordnance dropped in the vicinity of boat; no damage taken. Could not engage due to rough water. Diving to 25m and continuing to pursue ship contact. T-1945: SO reports sound contact; Merchant moving slow, constant distance, bearing 035, long range. Continuing to pursue. T-2321: WO reports three visual contacts. Two small merchants, one coastal merchant, approximately 3 KM range at bearings 013, 020 and 028. Moving to engage. December 11th, T-0154: One merchant ship breaking off, heading South. Continuing to pursue and engage group of two merchant ships heading West. T-0205: Contact with merchant ship group. Approached from the rear at periscope depth and fired two torpedoes undetected. Both struck the midsection of the rear vessel and sunk it. Moving to engage second vessel. T-0209: Coastal merchant hit with torpedo in aft section. Still afloat but appears immobile. Repositioning to fire second torpedo at starboard hull. T-0217: Re-approached from starboard side at surface depth. Took fire from deck gun, damaging bow and stern quarters and causing a water leak. Maintaining surface depth and assigning damage control team. T-0225: All repairs finished, hull integrity at 65%. 24-hour patrol objective complete. Returning to Toulon. T-2145: WO reports visual contact with Liberty Cargo ship and one small merchant vessel. Moving to starboard side to engage. T-2151: Fired three torpedoes at starboard side of Liberty Cargo vessel. First torpedo impacted with no explosion; fired fourth tube at this time. Torpedoes two, three and four impacted the starboard midsection hull. T-2155: Returned to engage vessel with final two torpedoes in reserve. Vessel's aft appeared to be sagging. Second torpedo impacted the starboard side of the aft. Took fire from deck guns; all three flak guns were destroyed. T-2202: Vessel capsized. Hull integrity at 27%. Crew exhausted. Returning to Toulon in Surface Cruise mode and avoiding any and all contact with enemy vessels. December 13th, T-0930: Entering Toulon port and docking at drydock #2. Mission success. Captain awarded U-Boat Badge. 14,149.00 tonnage sunk. 761.42 renown.

02-26-14, 03:12 PM	#4
Aktungbby Gefallen Engel U-666 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: On a tilted, overheated, overpopulated spinning mudball on Collision course with Andromeda Galaxy Posts: 29,984 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	welcome aboard Hauptmannfox! __________________ "Only two things are infinite; The Universe and human squirrelyness?!!

02-26-14, 05:05 PM	#5
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,473 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Welcome to SubSim Kaleun __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

02-26-14, 12:28 PM	#3
HauptmannFox Nub Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I thought taking on three planes was risky, too. I thought taking on even a single plane was risky. That is, until I attempted it last night just to see how difficult it indeed was. I don't know if my Flak setup is really effective, or if my crew is expertly trained, but I have never been so much as scratched by an aircraft. They're essentially free kills for me at this point. As for the first suggestion, I've yet to figure out the best way to attack merchant ships, because it seems like only one-fourth of the torpedoes I fire actually hit their mark and explode. The rest bounce off or end up passing behind the target's aft. Rushing forward with the deck gun seems to have worked well thus far. IMO, no good things have come without some calculated risks, and sometimes, you just have to roll the dice. It's not like facing off against three bombers and losing will instantly condemn me to death - there's always a chance to escape if they get a good shot or two. Anyway, thanks for the reply! Let me know how your first patrols go and maybe I can offer some advice as well.