What A Battle!
Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 5:52 pm
Thought id share a battle story with my fellow skippers today....
Last night, I set out in my U-Boat on a random patrol ...(found the random patrols! Thanks guys!) ...As I started out, not a radar blip in 8000m. I set ahead north on the surface and steamed along at 20kts looking for a fight. after a short while, I came across two friendly escort boats heading west in a hurry. I sped ahead of them at a heading of 270, hoping to find out what they knew. Sure enough, after long, we cam across a lighlty defended, but small group of merchant ships. Between our 3 boats, it took us under 5 minutes to sink them all. As i re-surfaced the boat and started to swing 180 degress to meet back up with the patrol boats id left behind, a message came across the conn that a submerged submarine was detected to mt south east. I set a heading of 180 and set flank, to chase down whatever was hding out there. As I drew closer, it became clear that a friendly patrol boat was alone out there, and was being harrased by an aAmerican sub. I set to periscope depth, despite only having half my battery charge from my previous toying with the merchant ships. i came in submerged for the last 3000 meters or so as to go undetected. Thru the periscope, i could see the friedly patrol boat was blowing depth charges left and right trying to take down the sub that was giving chase. before long, i was running silent at 2/3rds, and according to the radar, I was awful close to the enemy sub, who was still too busy getting out of the way of depth charges to notice my approach. I decided to swotch to spectator mode to see what i could see. Sure enough, there below me at about 100m was the enemy sub heading straight at me, but some 80m below me. I immediatly called for a hard starboard turn and a drop to 50m to challange the sub. He began to turn too, apparently noticing he was about to "underhull" me...he then began to climb up, and i figured he was going to try to launch a fish at me. By the time id swung around and he had continued to head to periscope depth, i was turning to be right on his tail. I set torps to 10m and prepared to fire when the time was right. I was very close, wasnt sure if it was safe to fire at him. I was sure he was going to periscope depth. In all this confusion, he must have held up at about 20m and stopped his engines, because next thing i know, he was broadside, behind me. I seithced to spectator and couldnt beleive it. I d passed right over his hull, clearing him by mere feet, and now he lay behind me still in the water. I quiclky hit ahead flan, since we were onlt meters apart, and prepared to launh a bow torp. Just as i did.....the batteries died! I couldnt beleive it. I had to emergency surface just to kcik the deisels on and put some room between he and i....As i looked back from the bridge, I saw his conn begin to come out of the water...he was surfacing too! I launched both my bow torps at a distance of perhaps 30 meters....almost at that very same time, he began to get battered by the deck guns of the patrol ship. 60 seconds later, his bow was in the air and sinking fast. I still dont know if my torps even hit him, or if he was taken by the escort boat...
What a thrill this was. This is exactly what i was looking for out of a naval sim. It was exciting, nail biting, you name it. for a minute there, it was so intense i felt like i was really there...minus that deisel smell.
Hope i dint bore you.
-Cap'n OK
Last night, I set out in my U-Boat on a random patrol ...(found the random patrols! Thanks guys!) ...As I started out, not a radar blip in 8000m. I set ahead north on the surface and steamed along at 20kts looking for a fight. after a short while, I came across two friendly escort boats heading west in a hurry. I sped ahead of them at a heading of 270, hoping to find out what they knew. Sure enough, after long, we cam across a lighlty defended, but small group of merchant ships. Between our 3 boats, it took us under 5 minutes to sink them all. As i re-surfaced the boat and started to swing 180 degress to meet back up with the patrol boats id left behind, a message came across the conn that a submerged submarine was detected to mt south east. I set a heading of 180 and set flank, to chase down whatever was hding out there. As I drew closer, it became clear that a friendly patrol boat was alone out there, and was being harrased by an aAmerican sub. I set to periscope depth, despite only having half my battery charge from my previous toying with the merchant ships. i came in submerged for the last 3000 meters or so as to go undetected. Thru the periscope, i could see the friedly patrol boat was blowing depth charges left and right trying to take down the sub that was giving chase. before long, i was running silent at 2/3rds, and according to the radar, I was awful close to the enemy sub, who was still too busy getting out of the way of depth charges to notice my approach. I decided to swotch to spectator mode to see what i could see. Sure enough, there below me at about 100m was the enemy sub heading straight at me, but some 80m below me. I immediatly called for a hard starboard turn and a drop to 50m to challange the sub. He began to turn too, apparently noticing he was about to "underhull" me...he then began to climb up, and i figured he was going to try to launch a fish at me. By the time id swung around and he had continued to head to periscope depth, i was turning to be right on his tail. I set torps to 10m and prepared to fire when the time was right. I was very close, wasnt sure if it was safe to fire at him. I was sure he was going to periscope depth. In all this confusion, he must have held up at about 20m and stopped his engines, because next thing i know, he was broadside, behind me. I seithced to spectator and couldnt beleive it. I d passed right over his hull, clearing him by mere feet, and now he lay behind me still in the water. I quiclky hit ahead flan, since we were onlt meters apart, and prepared to launh a bow torp. Just as i did.....the batteries died! I couldnt beleive it. I had to emergency surface just to kcik the deisels on and put some room between he and i....As i looked back from the bridge, I saw his conn begin to come out of the water...he was surfacing too! I launched both my bow torps at a distance of perhaps 30 meters....almost at that very same time, he began to get battered by the deck guns of the patrol ship. 60 seconds later, his bow was in the air and sinking fast. I still dont know if my torps even hit him, or if he was taken by the escort boat...
What a thrill this was. This is exactly what i was looking for out of a naval sim. It was exciting, nail biting, you name it. for a minute there, it was so intense i felt like i was really there...minus that deisel smell.
Hope i dint bore you.
-Cap'n OK
