U-49: Patrol Report (56K warning)

iambecomelife · 08-13-05, 10:57 PM

November 23, 1939
After leaving Wilhelmshaven late last night, dawn finds us in the North Sea without another vessel in sight. We've left the local traffic - and minefields - behind. The men breathe a bit easier.

I still maintain a full watch crew even in local waters where the risk of attack is low. This is a mind-numbingly boring duty for the men assigned, but there's no way around it. I'm proud of the men for holding up as well as they do. I'll have to remember to get them some new cap badges that match our emblem, BTW.

Provisions seem to be holding up well. At this stage in the patrol the decent food makes up for the lack of excitement.

As we approach the UK I submerge during daylight hours to minimize the risk of attack, conserve fuel, and pick up contacts on the hydrophones.

We're rounding the coast of Scotland when we finally get a hit - a merchant at long range.

I tell Otto to floor it and he grins. U-49 surfaces and races over the waves like a dog let off a leash.

Target sighted. She's a refrigerated ship, probably in ballast because she's sailing away from the UK. The distinctive white hull and blue funnel ID her as a vessel of the Jamaica Banana Producers Co. We make out the flag just to make sure she's not on charter to a neutral country. She's flying the red ensign - fair game. After outrunning her on a parallel course several KM away, we submerge and wait.

We launch tubes I and IV, getting hits at opposite ends of the ship. She stays intact, though, so we give chase underwater.

She's still too fast for us. I'm tempted to fire a shot at a bad angle, but we surface instead to work her over with our 88. I'll have to improve my aim and hit critical areas; soon, the British will probably arm most of their merchants, making deck gun attacks too risky.

Five or six rounds strike home, and two lifeboats pull away. We idle at a safe distance as the ship sinks by the bow. Lt. Roth hails them over a loudspeaker. Their vessel was the "Jamaica Innovator" of 5300 tons. We're happy to hear that the entire crew is accounted for. After giving them a course to the Scottish coast, we gun the engines and make for the open ocean. We're fairly close to Scapa Flow, and I'm not in the mood for a showdown with a destroyer or two.

After night falls we encounter a small merchant and take her out with a single torpedo and several deck gun rounds. We pick up a destroyer closing in on the hydrophones, but manage to elude her.

After the action of the past few days we experience a lull. The next few days and nights are as dull as our days in the North Sea. Then one night Lt. Roth shouts for me at the top of his lungs, jolting me out of my card game. It's what looks like half of the home fleet: Rodney, Illustrious, and a swarm of destroyers ploughing through the night at medium speed. We get as close as we dare on a perpendicular course and submerge, flooding all tubes for a shot at the Rodney. At the last minute I decide to let Rodney go by and get a shot at Illustrious. We let loose with four magnetic, under-the-keel shots, but the carrier's skipper earns his pay that night. With a desperate burst of speed he manages to evade all four torpedoes, including one that misses his rudder by a whisker. We frantically dive but the British only drop a couple of depth charges before leaving. Maybe they have bigger fish to fry, like one of Admiral Raeder's surface units.

After missing several hydrophone contacts that week we finally get a good, steady reading - a merchant off the Western Approaches. We give chase...

And are disappointed to discover that it's only a tug. A hurricane keeps us down for an hour or so, buying the tug's crew a little time.

After the flyboy leaves, we get down to business.

We receive a report of a lage convoy but I ignore it, assuming that we won't be able to intercept. Then we get another radio report; it's just a few miles away now. We submerge and wait for it to steam into our path.

It's an impressive array of ships, including some targets that must be over 10,000 tons. This ought to make up for the disappointment of the past few days. Just as we're maneuvering into position underwater the lone escort, a V&W destroyer, picks us up.

He keeps us down for a harrowing three hours, pounding the water with barrage after barrage of depth charges. When we surface some time later, the convoy is long gone and the V&W is a smudge on the horizon. We try to home in on the convoy by following him but I break off after a short time. The convoy is approaching the continental shelf, and we won't have enough depth to evade if we attack.

We're running low on fuel, so I head for home. I go back the way I came - over Northern Scotland - since the channel is still in British and French hands. We bag a lone merchant in the North Sea as a consolation prize. Shortly afterwards we collide with a tug in bad weather, but a repair crew quickly puts the damage right.

We get back to Wilhelmshaven three days before Christmas. The weather is terrible, as usual, and we can't see our hands in front of our faces. I guess we should be glad we sank anything, but those two missed chances weigh heavily on the crew. Still, Christmas will take our minds off the patrol, and there's always next time ...

Ula Jolly · 08-14-05, 04:53 AM

What grid, what date, for the Illustrious

Nopileo · 08-14-05, 05:41 AM

Excellent story and pictures! Very realistic how you missed those opprtunities. A few months ago I would have reloaded to try again, but I've stopped doing that now. Makes it much more interesting.

Anyway, it's stories like these that wake the 'must play SH3'-feeling in me...

Duli · 08-14-05, 05:50 AM

Great report.

Zie Chuckinator · 08-14-05, 09:34 AM

good report. ur crew looks in tip-top shape. mine are wearing rainbow colored uniforms cause Bdu didn't give us the proper video card lol.

Nopileo · 08-14-05, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zie Chuckinator

good report. ur crew looks in tip-top shape. mine are wearing rainbow colored uniforms cause Bdu didn't give us the proper video card lol.

:rotfl:

Any chance of a screenshot of that? Might become a new trend! :P

Zie Chuckinator · 08-14-05, 09:45 AM

how u do that?

08-13-05, 10:57 PM	#1
iambecomelife Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,706 Downloads: 300 Uploads: 0	U-49: Patrol Report (56K warning) November 23, 1939 After leaving Wilhelmshaven late last night, dawn finds us in the North Sea without another vessel in sight. We've left the local traffic - and minefields - behind. The men breathe a bit easier. I still maintain a full watch crew even in local waters where the risk of attack is low. This is a mind-numbingly boring duty for the men assigned, but there's no way around it. I'm proud of the men for holding up as well as they do. I'll have to remember to get them some new cap badges that match our emblem, BTW. Provisions seem to be holding up well. At this stage in the patrol the decent food makes up for the lack of excitement. As we approach the UK I submerge during daylight hours to minimize the risk of attack, conserve fuel, and pick up contacts on the hydrophones. We're rounding the coast of Scotland when we finally get a hit - a merchant at long range. I tell Otto to floor it and he grins. U-49 surfaces and races over the waves like a dog let off a leash. Target sighted. She's a refrigerated ship, probably in ballast because she's sailing away from the UK. The distinctive white hull and blue funnel ID her as a vessel of the Jamaica Banana Producers Co. We make out the flag just to make sure she's not on charter to a neutral country. She's flying the red ensign - fair game. After outrunning her on a parallel course several KM away, we submerge and wait. We launch tubes I and IV, getting hits at opposite ends of the ship. She stays intact, though, so we give chase underwater. She's still too fast for us. I'm tempted to fire a shot at a bad angle, but we surface instead to work her over with our 88. I'll have to improve my aim and hit critical areas; soon, the British will probably arm most of their merchants, making deck gun attacks too risky. Five or six rounds strike home, and two lifeboats pull away. We idle at a safe distance as the ship sinks by the bow. Lt. Roth hails them over a loudspeaker. Their vessel was the "Jamaica Innovator" of 5300 tons. We're happy to hear that the entire crew is accounted for. After giving them a course to the Scottish coast, we gun the engines and make for the open ocean. We're fairly close to Scapa Flow, and I'm not in the mood for a showdown with a destroyer or two. After night falls we encounter a small merchant and take her out with a single torpedo and several deck gun rounds. We pick up a destroyer closing in on the hydrophones, but manage to elude her. After the action of the past few days we experience a lull. The next few days and nights are as dull as our days in the North Sea. Then one night Lt. Roth shouts for me at the top of his lungs, jolting me out of my card game. It's what looks like half of the home fleet: Rodney, Illustrious, and a swarm of destroyers ploughing through the night at medium speed. We get as close as we dare on a perpendicular course and submerge, flooding all tubes for a shot at the Rodney. At the last minute I decide to let Rodney go by and get a shot at Illustrious. We let loose with four magnetic, under-the-keel shots, but the carrier's skipper earns his pay that night. With a desperate burst of speed he manages to evade all four torpedoes, including one that misses his rudder by a whisker. We frantically dive but the British only drop a couple of depth charges before leaving. Maybe they have bigger fish to fry, like one of Admiral Raeder's surface units. After missing several hydrophone contacts that week we finally get a good, steady reading - a merchant off the Western Approaches. We give chase... And are disappointed to discover that it's only a tug. A hurricane keeps us down for an hour or so, buying the tug's crew a little time. After the flyboy leaves, we get down to business. We receive a report of a lage convoy but I ignore it, assuming that we won't be able to intercept. Then we get another radio report; it's just a few miles away now. We submerge and wait for it to steam into our path. It's an impressive array of ships, including some targets that must be over 10,000 tons. This ought to make up for the disappointment of the past few days. Just as we're maneuvering into position underwater the lone escort, a V&W destroyer, picks us up. He keeps us down for a harrowing three hours, pounding the water with barrage after barrage of depth charges. When we surface some time later, the convoy is long gone and the V&W is a smudge on the horizon. We try to home in on the convoy by following him but I break off after a short time. The convoy is approaching the continental shelf, and we won't have enough depth to evade if we attack. We're running low on fuel, so I head for home. I go back the way I came - over Northern Scotland - since the channel is still in British and French hands. We bag a lone merchant in the North Sea as a consolation prize. Shortly afterwards we collide with a tug in bad weather, but a repair crew quickly puts the damage right. We get back to Wilhelmshaven three days before Christmas. The weather is terrible, as usual, and we can't see our hands in front of our faces. I guess we should be glad we sank anything, but those two missed chances weigh heavily on the crew. Still, Christmas will take our minds off the patrol, and there's always next time ... __________________ https://www.facebook.com/WolvesoftheKaiser/

08-14-05, 04:53 AM	#2
Ula Jolly Samurai Navy Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 567 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	What grid, what date, for the Illustrious __________________ I shall punish yee, landlubber! C'mere for spankings and popsicles!

08-14-05, 05:50 AM	#4
Duli Planesman Join Date: May 2005 Location: Novo mesto, Slovenia Posts: 198 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Great report. __________________

08-14-05, 09:34 AM	#5
Zie Chuckinator Machinist's Mate Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: up ur butt and around the corner... Posts: 121 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	good report. ur crew looks in tip-top shape. mine are wearing rainbow colored uniforms cause Bdu didn't give us the proper video card lol. __________________ Weekends don\'t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. -- Calvin Miss Wormwood: What state do you live in? Calvin: Denial. Miss Wormwood: I don\'t suppose I can argue with that... The only skills I have patience to learn are those that have no real application in life. -- Calvin If you do the job badly enough, sometimes you don\'t get asked to do it again. -- Calvin

08-14-05, 09:45 AM	#7
Zie Chuckinator Machinist's Mate Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: up ur butt and around the corner... Posts: 121 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	how u do that? __________________ Weekends don\'t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. -- Calvin Miss Wormwood: What state do you live in? Calvin: Denial. Miss Wormwood: I don\'t suppose I can argue with that... The only skills I have patience to learn are those that have no real application in life. -- Calvin If you do the job badly enough, sometimes you don\'t get asked to do it again. -- Calvin

08-14-05, 05:41 AM	#3
Nopileo Watch Officer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 333 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Excellent story and pictures! Very realistic how you missed those opprtunities. A few months ago I would have reloaded to try again, but I've stopped doing that now. Makes it much more interesting. Anyway, it's stories like these that wake the 'must play SH3'-feeling in me...