Tekopo fucked around with this message at 12:35 on Feb 6, 2014

Tekopo fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Jul 10, 2014

Tekopo fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Oct 15, 2014

TheMcD fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Feb 3, 2014

gradenko_2000 fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Feb 3, 2014

It was now almost 4 months since the start of the war against Allied shipping and gradenko_2000 felt distinctively unlucky. This was a feeling shared by his crew and, as per maritime tradition, it was difficult to shake a sailor out of luck-centric superstition. The issue, however, was not only with the crew. BdU was also unhappy at the performance of U-49 and with a mere 8.8k tons in shipping sunk, it was clear that better results were necessary to keep the Rear Admiral happy. Descending down the platform from the mooring to the ship, gradenko_2000 could see that the earlier excitement of the earlier patrols was gone. Hopefully it would soon be replaced.



The ship, still completely unscathed after two patrols, had been inspect as per usual and yet again no faults had been found. Other ships had reported extensive issues with the G7e's especially, with many of them turning out to be duds or just suddenly stop running. U-49 had yet to fire any of the electric torpedoes, but this would be useful knowledge in case he was forced to use them.

The patrol assignment was yet again to the British Isles, this time north of the Hebrides, which would mean either going around the Orkney islands or going through one of the straits near Scapa Flow. gradenko_2000 decided on the latter: it would be riskier, but potentially more fruitful.


_{An image of Scapa Flow}

The passage through the Kiel Canal was still uneventful, as always, and soon the ship had left Germany behind and ventured into the middle of the North Sea. The radioman decided to place a record in order to keep the crew entertained and at least the sound would briefly make them forget about their unlucky patrols so far. The calmness was cut short when a freak storm hit the ship, U-49 crashing up and down waves.



In order to get a bit more calm, gradenko_2000 ordered the ship to submerge, finally giving a welcome respite to the crew. After more than a day of raging winds, the storm finally dissipated, showing a flat, calm sea once again.

It was night when suddenly the sonarman shouted out excitedly. He had heard a faint sound north-west, near the direction that U-49 was heading. KptLt gradenko_2000 immediately ordered the U-boat to submerge in order to allow the sonarman to better hear the signal. Once underwater, the sonarman confirmed that he was hearing multiple screws that were becoming louder. This likely meant one thing: a convoy.

Approaching as quickly as possible, it was night by the time that LtzS FebrezeNinja spotted the convoy. It was a large one, and well escorted, but gradenko_2000 had waited too long to waste this moment. Notifying the crew, he prepared for a night surface attack.



Three targets were identified to be in range: the 3.6k ton Aenos, the 5k ton Kafiristan and the 4.4k Condylis. Unhappy at the choice of targets, gradenko_2000 scanned further and suddenly he saw something that made his heart skip. In a perfect firing position, he saw a huge 10.7k ton tanker, the Pendrecht. It was clear that this was the prime target. Coming up on the surface at medium range, gradenko_2000 got a firing formula on the Kafiristan and the Pendrecht, firing one tube at the former and three at the latter. As soon as the formula was in, he called the command "Torpedo los!" and soon the eels were off, streaming towards their respective targets. As soon as all torpedoes were released, gradenko_2000 immediately ordered the bridge cleared and the ship to submerge.



The first torpedo struck the Kafiristan, doing damage but not noticeably slowing the ship. The three torpedoes aimed at the Pendrecht all hit the ship, creating a staccato sound as the three explosions could be heard in quick succession. Another explosion could be heard and then the sonarman reported the sound of buckling compartments: the Pendrecht was already going down. Soon, though, reports popped up of warship screws approaching. For the first time, the U-49 had become the hunted.



Depth charges could suddenly be heard, but it was clear that the enemy destroyers were off target. After a couple of hours, the depth charges stopped and the sound of warship screws grew fainter. Under the cover of night, U-49 surfaced. gradenko_2000 now had a choice. He could see smoke on the horizon, probably from the damaged Kafiristan, but losing the convoy for such a small prize hardly seemed worth it. Ordering the torpedo tubes refilled with G7a's, gradenko_2000 set a plot in order to interdict the convoy once again, while sending a report of contact to BdU as well as to nearby U-Boats.

Unfortunately, the convoy, fearful of other U-Boats, had changed course, seeming to head back to Scapa Flow. Not quick enough to overtake it, gradenko_2000 soon lost contact, cursing the luck that had made the convoy turn around. Still, a 10.5k ton tanker was nothing to sniff at.



Luck, however, would prove to be in gradenko_2000's side. Passing the straits near the tip of Great Britain, U-49 finally found itself in its allotted patrol zone, only for LtzS space pope to spot something on the horizon to the South-East. Multiple smoke trails were spotted and sonar confirmed the presence of multiple screws: another convoy. Maybe it was the same as before, trying to find another route after a rest at Scapa Flow, maybe it was a different one: gradenko_2000 cared not.

Although initial contact had been made in the afternoon, by the time that U-49 was in position, night had descended. Another set of targets presented itself: the 4.6k Willimantic, the 5k ton Sheaf Mead, the 6.5k tanker Tahchee and the 4k ton freighter Stakesby. Once again, the tanker would be one of the targets while the Sheaf Mead would be the other.



Yet again, this would be a night surface attack, and thus gradenko_2000 used the UZO to formulate a firing solution on the two ships. Aiming tubes 1 and 2 at the Sheaf Mead and 3 and 4 at the Tahchee, gradenko_2000 ordered all tubes to fire, before submerging the ship once again into the icy brine.

One of the torpedoes aimed at the Sheaf Mead missed completely, while the other hit the ship square amidship, almost splitting the boat in two. Soon the building weight of the water split the ship into half and both sides descended down into the deep. As for the Tahchee, both torpedoes hit, but the first was a dud, hitting the side of the ship with a thud. The second torpedo, however, hit the aft of the ship, causing a massive secondary explosion. With a huge hole on its side and fires spreading into the ship, the tanker soon stopped altogether and slowly started taking in water.

Yet again, the dreaded sound of fast warship screws were reported on the sonar. This time, no depth charges were heard: it seemed that once again U-49 would manage to slip away undetected. After a couple of hours, the warship screws faded into the distance, and U-49 surfaced once again.



The sight in front of it was an inferno. The Tahchee was taking in water in the aft compartments while burning fiercely. Watching the spectacle for a few minutes, the U-49 finally moved off, heading on a course to intersect the convoy once again.

It was day by the time that U-49 caught up with the convoy once again. Not wanting to waste a possibility to strike at the convoy again, gradenko_2000 opted for a submerged attack at medium range. Tubes 3 and 4 were filled with G7e's, however, which meant that they were likely to miss at this range, but to get any closer with the escorts at high alert during the day would be suicidal.

The targets in range were the 3.7k ton Kyleglen, the 5.2k ton Vermont, the 7.2k ton Thomas McKean and the 10k tanker Torinia. With the G7e generally unreliable and inaccurate at range, gradenko_2000 opted to fire the two G7a's at the Torinia: hopefully at least one of the torpedoes would find it's mark. The two G7e's would be fired at the Thomas McKean: unlikely to do anything but if they even damaged the ship, it would be easier to follow.



As soon as the torpedoes were out of the tubes, gradenko_2000 brought the periscope down. As expected, the two G7e's missed completely, running out of power before they could even reach their targets. The G7a's, however, both ran true, but the expected explosion were instead followed by two dull thuds as both torpedoes failed to explode. gradenko_2000 cursed the designers at ordinance, how could they be fighting a war with such faulty equipment?

The escort, following the torpedo wake left by the G7a's, were soon on the tail of the U-boat. With deft manoeuvring, however, gradenko_2000 left them to chuck depth charges at the wrong spot and even though hours of depth charges followed, U-49 remained completely unscathed. Waiting until the signals were faint once again, grandenko_2000 waited until the dead of night before surfacing.



The forward torpedoes had been completely expended: there only remained a single G7a in the aft tube, with a single G7e as reserve. Without enough firepower to seriously harm the convoy, gradenko_2000 elected not to pursue: the torpedo would be put to better use on a single, unescorted ship. It had been a wild couple of days but U-49 had emerged triumphant and completely unscathed.

The rest of the patrol was rather uneventful, until U-49 started heading back towards the Orkney islands. In the dead of night, LtzS FebrezeNinja spotted a ship on the horizon, escorted by a couple of destroyers. Assessing the situation, gradenko_2000 could see a single small freighter under considerable escort. What could be so important? Deciding to attack on the surface, gradenko_2000 positioned the ship so that he would have a shot from the aft tube. The target in question was a 2.6k ton freighter, the Thurso.



Unfortunately the torpedoes immediately steered to starboard after launch, sending it into a wild direction and completely missing the freighter. gradenko_2000, seeing the destroyer escorts closing, immediately submerged, hoping that the escorts had not spotted him. Fortunately, they had failed to spot the trail of the torpedo. A few hours passed before U-49 surfaced and with only a G7e in the aft torpedo reserves, there didn't seem to be much point in attempting to follow the small (yet potentially important) freighter.

After slipping through the Orkneys, the trip through the North Sea was not as eventful as the patrol and soon the German coast was once again back into view. With a few more substantial victories under their belt, the mood within the crew had gotten better, although everyone was still happy to be back in one piece. BdU, notified of the recent victories by U-49, even sent a congratulatory message and a large band was awaiting the U-boat's return into Kiel.

Some good news awaited LtzS FebrezeNinja once ashore. Due to his seniority, he was to be promoted to Oberleutnant zur See. It was possible that his days on the U-49 were numbered: soon, he might even have his own command...

Tekopo fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Feb 4, 2014

The invasion of Norway was almost complete by the time U-49 had finished refitting. The British were already on the run and a lot of U-Boats had been diverted either to scour the area near Trondheim or to patrol the northern tip of the North Sea in order to sink British merchant ships that were even now beginning to ferry troops back to the British Isles.



The patrol zone that had been assigned to U-49 was largely the same areas as she had gone to in her previous patrol, although this time there was more emphasis on remaining on station east of the Orkneys in order to intercept any merchant ships coming back from Norway.



The transit to the patrol area was, as always, relatively quiet, but a few days into the patrol, on the 10th of May, the radioman excitedly brought forward a message to KptLt gradenko_2000: Germany had finally invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Spreading the news throughout the ship, many cheered, while others silently wished their Kameraden on land good luck.



After a few days of zig-zagging in the patrol area, on a cold and windy night, the crew headed by LtzS space pope finally saw the first contacts of the patrol. Steaming quickly west, a small 5k ton freighter, the Carabulle, could be seen, escorted by a single destroyer. Under the cover of darkness, gradenko_2000 got U-49 ever closer, calculating a fire solution in the UZO and quickly firing two eels at the freighter. The angle of attack seemed perfect, but yet again the only thing that the sonarman could hear was two dull thuds as both torpedoes failed to explode. Yet again, faulty equipment had prevented the sinking of enemy ships. When would the issues with those darn torpedoes be removed?!

Angrily, gradenko_2000 lowered the periscope, but suddenly, the entire ship was filled with the ominous sound of ASDIC. The sonarman, however, seemed shocked. The sound was not coming from ahead, where the destroyer had been spotted: it was coming from starboard, much nearer than expected. gradenko_2000 immediately gave the order to dive. The ASDIC got louder and louder until it seemed to be just a single sound and soon even the fast screws of the destroyer could be heard. Quickly removing his earphones, the sonarman announced that depth charges were in the water. "Flank speed, rudder full starboard!"



The depth charges shook the entire ship: they had landed close: not close enough for an instant kill, but close enough to cause extensive damage. Sudden shouts filled the U-Boat:
"Flooding in electric engine room!" Suddenly, gradenko_2000 saw a dreadful sight: Chief Engineer Davin Valkri was brought into the officer's mess hall, a huge wound on his side. Doctor Herpicle immediately cleared the table, bringing out the first aid kit in order to close the wound.



As the explosions abated, gradenko_2000 mentioned for his crew to quiet down, while ordering the submarine to dive deeper and for the engines to be set back to silent running. The ASDIC continued to sound, but slowly the submarine descended deeper and deeper, not yet surpassing test depth but getting ever closer to it. A sudden explosion shook the crew, but these explosions were much further off. A couple of hours passed, no one daring to make a sound. Then the explosions stopped altogether. It was over.

Davin's status, Doctor Herpicle declared, was serious but stabilised. There was not much more he could do with the limited supplies aboard the ship, but he was likely to survive until the end of the patrol and the trip back home. The flooding in the electric engine room was now under control, although the bilge pumps were working overtime in order to pump out the sea-water. With a taste for revenge, gradenko_2000 did not want that freighter to escape and thus set a course to come around and intercept the Carabulle once again. Fortunately, it was still night by the time that U-49 caught up, and, after making sure that both destroyers were accounted for, gradenko_2000 angled for another surface attack.



As U-49 approached at flank speed, gradenko_2000 rapidly made the calculations necessary before firing tubes one and two. As soon as both torpedoes were off, the u-boat started slipping below the waves, submerging as fast as possible. The first torpedo was once again a hit, but yet again, the torpedo was a dud. The second, after the freighter started zig-zagging, was a complete miss.

This time, however, U-49 had managed to submerge underneath the waves before being sighted, so the attack went unnoticed except for the torpedo-shaped bump on the freighter's side. With dawn rapidly approaching, U-49 decided to give up the chase: a small freighter like that was not worth wasting any more torpedoes.

After returning to her patrol pattern, it was clear that the crew of the U-49 was visibly shaken. Their first experience of being attacked with depth charges had ended up with the Chief Engineer, a popular officer on board, injured. Three of their torpedoes had been duds as well. Was the lucky spell of the ship finally over?



The days passed: Davin had managed to recuperate somewhat, finally being able to sip on some soup and even laughing, although that tended to shake him with pain before long.. As gradenko_2000 relaxed in the officer's mess in the early evening, OltzS FebrezeNinja excitedly called him up to the bridge.

"Isn't she a beauty, Herr Kaleun?"

In the horizon, a large 12k ton freighter called the Llangibbey Castle could be seen heading west. gradenko_2000 was determined not to let this one get away. As night descended, U-49 closed in for the kill. With a ship of this size, it was better to fire torpedoes at her while she was unaware of the submarine's presence, so after getting close and making a firing solution, gradenko_2000 fired tubes 1 to 3. The first torpedo struck the ship at a slight angle, but thankfully it exploded, although the freighter was lightly damaged. The second torpedo followed suit and struck the Llangibbey Castle at a similar angle as the first. The final torpedo, however, narrowly missed the freighter, shooting just wide of the stern of the ship. The freighter was starting to slow down, but not enough. Ordering the 8.8 cannon manned, gradenko_2000 ordered the crew to fire 50 rounds near the waterline, near to where the torpedoes had struck.

The rounds were enough to finally stop the huge freighter, and soon the entire ship was tipping by the stern of the ship. Getting some distance, U-49 watched as the ship slowly started to sink, taking a full hour to fill with water but eventually slipping underneath the waves.



The patrol continued, with U-49 doing another leg east in preparation for coming down down to Kiel. The patrol was almost over when LtzS space pope called the Kaleun to the bridge. The Watch Officer had spotted yet more chimney stacks on the horizon: a whole convoy. With still some torpedoes to fire, gradenko_2000 elected to attack, although not before reporting the presence of the convoy to BdU.

Although it was still day, gradenko_2000 decided that it wasn't worth waiting for night, since the convoy at the current angle was likely to evade him if he waited too long. Submerging at long range, U-49 inched forward until medium range was reached, identifying four likely targets: the 5k ton Stonepool, the 10.3k ton Calchas, the 3.5k ton Baron Pentland and the 7.2k ton Thomas McKean (a ship which, through random luck, had been a previous target of U-49).



Firing a full spread of his remaining torpedoes, gradenko_2000 elected to fire 2 G7a's and a G7e at the Calchas and a single G7a at the Thomas McKean.
Looking for the explosions through his periscope, only a single torpedo exploded against the hull of the Calchas: since all three torpedoes had been fired in quick succession, it was likely that the other two had been duds. As for the snapshot against the Thomas McKean, the shot once again missed. The Calchas had been damaged, but would it be enough?

The enemy destroyers, following the trail left from the G7a's in full daylight, were quick to enter the hunt for the U-boat. gradenko_2000 ordered for the ship to dive, but ASDIC once again ringed throughout the ship.



As the screws got faster and faster, depth charges were finally launched, shaking the ship from bow to stern. Damage reports immediately arrived "One of the electric engines is hit!". With the Chief Engineer out of the action, this did not bode well: if both engines were gone, the only way that the u-boat could move underwater would be by changing her buoyancy.



As the explosions ended, the ASDIC picked up once again, with sonar reporting that it was coming around for another pass. This time, the destroyer seemed to have bracketed U-49 well, as the noise of the screws got louder and louder before another set of depth charges hit the water. gradenko_2000 ordered flank speed at the last second, but with one engine gone, it would be hard to evade the attack.

This time, the depth charges exploded closer than ever. Three large explosions rocked U-49 as it attempted to evade. One explosion occurred slightly underneath the u-boat, buckling the supporting structure of the ship. Another created a large leak in the forward torpedo compartment. Along with the leak, the forward torpedo doors were also reported to be jammed tight.



KptLt gradenko_2000 immediately ordered the ship to descend deeper: it was now exceeding test depth and the hull was beginning to creak and groan ominously. Unfortunately, even this was not enough to deter the destroyer and once again the sound of ASDIC could be heard throughout the ship. As the screws got louder and louder, many crewmen attempted to shut the noise out, almost like if they didn't hear the destroyer, it would stop hunting them. Another bracket of depth charges hit the water, perfectly aimed once again.

Multiple explosions rocked U-49 as it went deeper and deeper, attempting to avoid the explosions. Damage reports ringed throughout: "Fuel tanks are losing pressure!" "Diesel engines hit!" "Periscope hit!" "Flooding in aft torpedo room!".

Now with a tell-tale oil slick following it, gradenko_2000 ordered the ship yet deeper, the pressure now making some of the control room bolts shoot off like guns.



The destroyer, however, was not done yet. Suddenly, with ASDIC getting louder and louder, the destroyer came around for another pass...

Tekopo fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Feb 5, 2014

HerpicleOmnicron5 fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Feb 5, 2014