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Post by silentwolf on Jan 14, 2024 4:30:06 GMT
1 November 1941
Our flotillas are currently based out of La Rochelle and La Spezia. We have destroyed 663,200 tons of enemy shipping.
Our operations in the Mediterranean shall greatly benefit the war effort!
God speed and good hunting!
NOTE: Any new Boats entering the game will begin their patrol in Wilhelmshaven but end their patrol in La Rochelle.
Patrol Assignments:
U-45 (VIIB) KKpt Shroeder - Mediterranean
At Sea:
Active U-Boat Status:
U-39 (IXA) KKpt Borchers - Refit, Ready Dec 41
U-45 (VIIB) KKpt Shroeder - On Patrol
U-46 (VIIB) KKpt Hess - Refit, Ready Dec 41
U-96 (VIIC) KKpt Bonhoeffer - Refit, Ready Jan 42
Lost U-boats:
U-28 (VIIA) KKpt Bonhoeffer - Replaced by U-96 (VIIC), Mar 1941
U-37 (IXA) KptLt List - Sunk, Nov 1939
U-38 (IXA) KptLt von Margur - Presumed lost, did not return from Apr-May 1940 patrol
U-52 (VIIB) KptLt Engel - Presumed lost, did not return from May 1940 patrol
Required information for end of Patrol Report: U-Boat # Patrol Month(s) Patrol Location Patrol # for this Kommandant Successful Patrol (Y/N) Number of freighters sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant) Number of Tankers sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant) Number of Capital Ships sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant) Tonnage sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant) Refit Time Award Requests
Optional information for End of Patrol Report: Patrol narrative
* Boats overdue for 2 consecutive months will be presumed lost.
End of Patrol Reports for November 1941 due no later than Midnight, January 20th.
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Post by crushedhat on Jan 19, 2024 4:05:17 GMT
30 Nov 1941, La Spezia, U-45 enters the port with Three pennant flying from the periscope and obvious damage to the hull, although her full crew appears to be turned out on deck.
U-Boat #: U-45 Patrol Month(s): Nov 41 Patrol Location: Mediterranean Patrol # for this Kommandant: 12 Successful Patrol (Y/N): Y Number of freighters sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant): 3/15 Number of Tankers sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant): 0/3 Number of Capital Ships sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant): 0/0 Tonnage sunk (This Patrol/Cumulative for this Kommandant): 13,300/110,000 Refit Time: 1 Month standard + 1 month for Hull damage, ready Feb 1942 Award Requests: WBB for Sanitatsmaat Ernst Pozner, KC for KKpt Albert Shroeder
Crew Improvement: DR Experte
Narrative:
3 Nov 1941, La Spezia, Italy KKpt Albert Shroeder tries not to dwell on his recent disappointments. First, being banished to the Mediterraen and Second, being passed over for promotion. The latter was made even more poignant when he entered the bar he and his officers have adopted as their own, only to find the entire crew of U-45 there to celebrate the promotion Albert didn’t receive.
To add to his worries, Marta has been hounding him about returning home to celebrate the holidays with her and the children. At the same time, Gina has invited him to spend the holidays with her in the Italian Alps with her husband away in Africa. Albert smiles at the thought of Gina; more specifically of the nights they spent together.
“We’re ready, Herr Kapitan.” LtZs Rudolf Hintzmann’s comment interrupts Shroeder’s reverie.
“Yes. Yes.” Albert acknowledges his 1WO. “Take her out. The sooner we get going, the sooner I’ll be back to Gina.” The last thought Shroeder keeps to himself.
4 Nov 1941, Tyrrhenian Sea By the time the lookout spots the incoming airplane it is too late. While U-45 manages to dive, the patrol bomber drops a series of waserbombs uncomfortably close. The Boat rocks violently, both electrics being knocked off their mounts as well as The #1 Diesel being damaged by unsecured tools falling into its workings. The aft torpedo room Chief announces buckling of the hull and fear that the outer torpedo door may give way. It doesn’t. In an ironic twist, the only crewman injured in the incident proves to Sanitatsmaat Ernst Pozner. Fortunately, the medic is not seriously hurt.
After a period of relative quiet, KKpt Albert Shroeder orders the Boat brought up to periscope depth. A quick sweep reveals no sign of the enemy aircraft and the Boat surfaces. After some time, Lt (Ing) Max Gotha reports everything but the #1 Electric is back on line.
“We could return to La Spezia,” the LI suggests. Without the #1, we’ll have a harder time maneuvering underwater.
While Shroeder finds the thought of being back with Gina tempting, the sting of his recent perceived rebukes carries the greater weight. “We can still fight the Boat,” he tells Gotha. “Thanks to your good work,” Albert adds to soothe his LI as he claps him on the shoulder. “We’ll continue the patrol.”
7 Nov 1941, off the Algerian coast, day A large, 8,900 ton steam merchant lies off U-45’s port beam. As the doomed ship’s crew scrambles for the lifeboat U-45’s 8cm deck gun opens fire. While the gun scores some hits, it is the eel fired from the aft torpedo tube that seals the freighter’s fate.
18 Nov 1941, the western approaches to Malta, night The difficulty of having only one electric engine notwithstanding, KKpt Albert Shroeder maneuvers U-45 into position to fire on two small merchantmen, mindful of the escorting Flower class corvette. At 1,200 and 3,200 tons, neither is particularly large. Shroeder sends two steam driven torpedoes at each target.
Watching the seconds tick by, the sound of multiple explosions signals success. Funkobergefreiter Friedrich Radener holds up three fingers, indicating one eel missed. Over the creaking protests of U-45’s hull as Shroeder orders her deep, the crew can hear the unmistakable sounds of a shipbreaking up, but only one. The escort leaves U-45 unmolested and she is on on the trial of the remaining damaged freighter.
Later that evening The injured ship in sight, and still under escort, KKpt Albert Shroeder orders two torpedoes readied for firing. When LtzS Rudolf Hintzmann raises a questioning eyebrow, Shroeder tells him, “We still have another week on station. Don’t want to come up short if more targets present themselves, eh?”
Shroeder’s decision proves correct as the enemy ship literally disintegrates under the impact of the two eels. Once more U-45 manages to slip away undetected. While the two torpedoes were sufficient to the task, the remainder of the patrol shows there was no need to save any eels for later.
30 Nov 1941, La Spezia, Italy U-45 enters the harbor at La Spezia, three pennants flying from the periscope and obvious damage to the hull, though the full crew appears to be on deck. This patrol being more successful than the last several, the crew is in high spirits. None more so that KKpt Albert Shroeder who has finally secured sufficient tonnage to earn the coveted Knight’s Cross. Though, truth be told, his good mood probably has more to do with a certain Signora among those waiting on the pier. And, with the damage to the hull, U-45 will be in port for two months, giving Albert even more time in Gina’s arms, he already having decided where he will be spending the holidays.
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