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Das October? Or Red Boot?
 
nice touch, the jerry's are going to be frustrated to have no radar, when they want to launch there icbm's radar is a must.
Keep up the good writing. And like you said to many people forgot how much fun it can be reading a nice story.
And maybe script it and send it to hollywood. :cool:
 
@ EvilFishtank: Thank you! As for the quote, it's a play on Cpt. Lindemann's response on the Bismarck during the Battle of the Denmark Straight, "I will not have my ship shot from under my ---" was the original quote, I used it and turned into my own variation. But how could we sink the Sea Wolf so early in her voyage, that would be anti-climactic! :p

@ Kurt_Steiner: As a reader, most 100% absolutely. But as the writer, it's the best! It makes the readers angry, and (I think) it makes them come around for the next update to solve the situations. Unfortunately, I have a lot, A LOT of cliffhangers to end my updates.

@ endier: Thanks, and glad to see your still wanting to read this. The story is going for a turn for the worse.

@ Projekt 919: Well, if you mean it in terms of "The Red October," and "Das Boot" both of which are famous submarine movies, both have an influence on the AAR and story, but this story will have much more terms and many differences from the two movies, and the novel "Hunt for Red October," which is probably Clancy's best book.

@ endier (2): And two really good movies. ;)

@ pwncake111: Surely the destruction of the radar is going to come around as a consequence, a nice touch of fore-shawdowing (or at least I want it to be). And I'm glad to know you're having fun reading this story, that's what I'm trying to put-out, "a good read." As for Hollywood, LOL! :rofl: Not in a million years, plus, Paradox owns all copyright to anything on their forums.
 
The Sea Wolf was descending quickly into the deep blue of the Atlantic. As the German U-Boat dived for safety, the HMS Belfast and HMS Tribal were circling overhead, Nathan Banks and John Brooks looking over the edge of the British ship as Captain Strokes ordered his crew to prepare to launch depth charges deep into the ocean, as they prepared, the crew of the U-SSN 881 nervously looked at their ceiling, having only a machine reading their descent: 101 meters, 102 meters, 103 meters, while their radar gave them no clear sight of where the British ships overhead lay, whether they were directly above or safely off to the side.

“Patience, don’t make any sudden moves. Lieutenant, keep diving,” said Captain Kruger looking at the depth meter and sweating as a result of his fear of botching his mission at hand.

Above, the HMS Belfast began launching depth charges into the middle of the Atlantic. “Captain,” said Lt. Wells, “I’ve set charges for 125 meters, after the first set, we’ll change by increments of 25 after each rack.”

“Good job lieutenant. Lieutenant, give the order.”

“Do you really think you’ll sink her captain?” asked Nathan Banks, looking directly at the captain as the calls to release depth charges hit the air.

“I’m not sure, Banks. All I know, all I know is that Admiral Ramsay is leaving Scotland with the HMS Howe, Anson, Intrepid, Southampton and Illustrious. My guess is, if we fail, he’ll succeed.”

Beneath the waters of the North Sea, the KMS Sea Wolf silently slipped away as the British depth charges exploded far and away from the current position. As the U-SSN 881 dived deeper, it became apparent that the British had let the ship, slip through their grasp.

~ Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom

The Fourth Battle Fleet, commanded by Admiral Bertram Ramsay, commanding officer on his flagship the HMS Howe, carried with him the battleship HMS Anson, the destroyer HMS Intrepid, the light cruiser HMS Southampton, and the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, on with a simple goal: to find and the U-SSN 881, the “Sea Wolf,” and send her to the bottom of the sea.

As the pride of the British Royal Navy left harbor, they were greeted not by cheers, but by an unaware public that had gathered to watch the sight of the best of the Royal Navy leave ports, presumably on a typical training exercise, but the truth far from that.

HMSHOWE.jpg

The HMS Howe (right) and the HMS Intrepid (left) leave port and steam for the North Sea with the last known coordinates of the U-SSN 881.

The departure of the Fourth Battle Fleet left the British Home Fleet standing small, all the while the post-war aim of the United Kingdom was to rebuild their navy, the navy that remained (although much smaller than their German and American counterparts) was still considered to be the third largest, and strongest naval-arm in the entire world. Admiral Ramsay, on the deck of the bridge looked at Scapa Flow one last time, sat on a chair and began eating a sandwich as the mighty British battleship left the harbor on yet another war mission.

~ North Sea

Hours had past since the close call the U-SSN 881 had suffered. Captain Kruger had retired to his offices, and Captain Gysae wasn’t in the heart to command the ship, a ship that seemed to be low on morale since they all had finally realized they were being hunted, something that they weren’t briefed about before leaving Antwerp. Captain Gysae looked at Lieutenant Kress, “Take control, I’m retiring for the night.”

As Cpt. Gysae uttered these words, the familiar voice of Cpt. Kruger appeared from behind, “Kress, take the ship up for some air, we should be clear from the British now, and I want you with me for a minute.”

“Of course captain,” replied the young and gung-ho lieutenant. “Raise the ship.”

As the U-SSN 881 hit the top of the waves again, this time under the cover of darkness, the captain and his most senior junior officer, Lieutenant Kress were the first men out of the hull and into the fresh night air. As they began pacing across the deck of the submarine, the captain began speaking plainly to his subordinate.

“What the hell was that?”

“Was what?”

“That little disobedience of order. Because of you, the entire ship was nearly blown out of the water.”

“Captain,” interrupted the lieutenant, “look at the men. Look at them for once instead of being locked up in your quarters with Captain Gysae. You don’t walk with the men, they’re tired, hungry, cold, and they want action. And what action is this. Sitting inside, heading for Iceland and for what? What is it that you know that the rest of the crew doesn’t? Why the hell would we go to such a remote island in the first place?”

The captain stood stern, looked the lieutenant in the eyes and took his gloves off of his hands and slapped them against his thighs. “Never question my authority again, or I’ll report you to the SS. Do you understand me Kress? It’d be a waste of a good naval talent as yourself. But don’t you ever say that I don’t know the men. I know more about the men than you think. I’ve served with each and every single one of them, outside of the junior officers and Captain Gysae. The men you think I don’t know, the men you think you know, I’ve spent the last three years of the World War with roaming the Mediterranean Sea with. So don’t tell me I don’t know my own men.

“My job isn’t to get them action, it’s to ensure they survive the mission I’ve been tasked with carrying out. Is that something they forgot to teach you in the academy? As captain, and you might just become more than what I am one day, believe me, there’s no coincident why I choose you over your entire class of 313 officers. But you must learn as captain, you’re the father of the family, and the last thing you want is to let your sons, the sailors, down, and by down I mean dead. It’s the captain’s responsibility to ensure everyone survives, and if that means hiding and running when we could be fighting, than that’s it. My mission is specific, and it doesn’t mention to engage the Royal Navy, or god forbid the American navy.

“Now, I’m going to retire for the night, and Gysae will likely follow, so I want you to steer the ship towards Ireland during the night. Keep her surfaced, and don’t be afraid to wake me in the wake of you or Conrad and Ruth not being able to handle a situation. Lastly, don’t be a hero. Most hero’s don’t make it that far in a military career. They’re normally buried in Berlin.”

And with that, Captain Kruger left his ambitious little lieutenant on the deck to ponder what he had just said to him…

As the night continued, Lt. Kress and Conrad were looking out into the dark blue ocean, only the light of the moon was guiding them.

“Are you sure we’re heading for Ireland?” asked Kress to Conrad.

“Of course, Ruth has already checked on it.”

“God,” said Kress, “I hate this job. Still awake in the middle of the night, no danger at hand, nothing to eat or drink, nothing remotely dangerous that is a cause of alarm, or for that matter any cause for being awake.”

Lt. Conrad sighed, “I feel your pain, but that’s the life we’ve chosen.”

“Do you feel, feel like we’ve made the wrong choice sometimes?”

“No.”

“I think I should’ve joined the Wehrmacht,” joked Lt. Kress.

“Look up there, a shooting star,” said Lt. Conrad.

The lights of the star got brighter, “That’s not a shooting star,” replied Lt. Kress, shielding his eyes from the intense amount of light shining down upon him. “God dammit, I can’t see!”

uboat.jpg

The massive thunderous roars of twin engines of a British plane roared overhead. The searchlight of the plane shining directly on the U-Boat. “Shit, it’s a plane, get the captain, I’m going under, we have to dive immediately.”

Above, in the cockpit of the British search plan, the crew radioed in their current location, and the current path of the U-SSN 881 back to the HMS Illustrious, which then radioed Admiral Ramsay on the HMS Howe. The Admiral answered back, “Prepare for battle,” and split his fleet into two sections: the HMS Illustrious and HMS Anson taking the northern most track, with the Illustrious launching all of her planes in a continued pattern in order to keep a plane in the air at all times, and covering as much territory as possible. This group was checked by Admiral Ramsay himself, on the HMS Howe, the destroyer Intrepid and the light cruiser Southampton taking the southern-cove, heading straight for the Sea Wolf’s current path, even as the crew of the U-SSN 881 began to dive.

“Captain!” cried out the shrieks of Lt. Conrad as he raced through the halls, alarming, and awakening every single crew member as the British plane circled overhead, their lights shining directly on the German super sub.
 
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Some action is coming up..maybe to much for the crew. Keep on.

Just a question.
The Sea Wolf is a nuclear Submarine. Why need they to surface to get air ? Energy is something they have in abundance...
Or is it still a sub powered by battery and combustion only armed with nuclear missiles ?
 
The SSN is going to have a terrible headache in no time at all...
 
I must say nice pictures again (dont get me wrong like reading)
where did you get them??
So they escaped the first attack now we'll see if they can do it again. And here is an example of having no radar. I thought normally it was common sense on a U-boat when surfaced they keep always people at the AA. Does this ship has no AA at all??
But this can be an exploit for herr Kruger to change there course to USA because they no what route the u-boat is taking. So he can explain to his crew this is just to keep the english in the dark.
Keep up the good work.
 
Awesome stuff! I was not even aware of new (well, new and new) Volksmarschall's AAR. I shall subscribe quicker than the cat. And submarines? It gets better and better :).
 
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@ endier: the sub is a nuclear ship (in-game) but with my twist in the story. Since nuclear submarines didn't actually come along until the Nautilus, the German nuclear submarine has minor nuclear capabilities and a electric turbine engine, much like the electroboots or electro submarines that came out at the end of the war. Sorry for specifying, but I didn't intend to dive into the history of the ship and her full capabilities until a later moment in the story. Plus, Kruger is old school so he still does stuff "by the books."

@ Kurt_Steiner: But who will have the bigger headache if the Brits don't nail her? The Germans, the Americans, or the Brits, or perhaps the rest of the world? I'm guessing the second choice... :p

@ pwncake111: The pictures, just a common a google search for pics that I see fitting for the narrative. The ship still has one AA gun, the 120 on the ship serves as both an AA gun and standard service gun (outside of torpedoes and the nukes of course).

@ Auray: Welcome! And I hope I don't disappoint then.

@ loki100: Thanks!

@ EvilFishtank: Ramsey eating a sandwich symbols several things: the most important though, isn't perhaps incompetence, but more of an idea of laziness and non-enthusiasm to go submarine hunting since the world war had just ended and the Brits are in no mood after the devastating war to return to action.

@ CatKnight: Thanks, and welcome aboard the U-SSN 881! :p
 
The Plot Behind U-SSN 881

After a night of panic and suspense within the halls of the Sea Wolf, the U-SSN 881, the crew was finally beginning to relax after about eight hours of silently sweeping through the Atlantic Ocean and getting ever closer to the coast of Ireland. Inside the halls Captain Kruger looked up and nodded to Captain Gysae who ordered, “Take her up!” And with that, the U-SSN 881 began to head for the surface.

Above the surface of the water, the planes of the HMS Illustrious had been searching for the German U-Boat for over six hours, no plane finding any luck. As the U-SSN 881 appeared out of the sea, a murky fog was over the sea. As the ship emerged, the crew opened the hatch to a large cloud of fog covering their entire path of vision, visibility – zero. As the ship continued for several hours, the British Fleet under the command of Admiral Ramsay was hard at work attempting to locate the German ship.

The HMS Howe, HMS Intrepid and the HMS Southampton were all searching for the same target while running through a rough fog, similar to the one of the U-SSN 881. At the same time, the U-SSN 881 emerged out of the fog, some twenty miles from the Irish Coast to a relatively clear sky and water, navy blue as far as the eye could see. Captain Kruger looked at Captain and told him, “Now let’s head for Iceland.”

“Iceland?”

“Iceland,” answered Cpt. Kruger, “we have a job to do,” he smiled with a little laugh.

“I thought…”

Captain Kruger looked sharply at Captain Gysae who just nodded and went down into the hatch to tell Lt. Ruth to shift course and head for Iceland. As Captain Gysae went under, out from the murky fog that was quickly dissipating came the mighty British ship the HMS Howe and the smaller supporting ships the HMS Intrepid and the HMS Southampton.

“Christ,” muttered Captain Kruger as he looked out and could the mighty British ships only five or six miles away. He dove down into the hatch and commanded the ship to begin diving, no response. Panic quickly filled the ship as men began screaming that the Royal Navy was right behind their tale.

From out of the back-tail of the U-SSN 881 came Lt. Kress, rushing forward to inform Captain Kruger of a urgent situation, “Sir,” he said, “the engines are jammed, we can’t dive.”

“Jammed, how long until you fix it?”

“I don’t know captain, ten, twenty minutes.”

“In twenty minutes we’ll be headed in one direction, the bottom of the sea. Lieutenant, get her repaired, and hold tight; we have no choice but to go at them.” Captain Kruger rushed to the main deck, looked at Captain Gysae and shouted, “All hands, man your battle stations. Lieutenant Ruth, steer right for the center of that British squadron, we have to close the distance before that battleship can organize and destroy us.”

On the decks of the HMS Howe, Admiral Ramsay had already sounded the battle alarms and contacted the British Admiralty in London, who then contacted the American Sixth Fleet off of the Irish Southern Cove. Admiral Ramsay looked out of his binoculars and looked straight at the center-mass of the U-SSN 881, and turned to his captain, “Looks like their turning to fight us.”

“What?” replied the captain.

Admiral Ramsay gave his binoculars to his captain, “Take a look, I think they’re turning right into us.”

Back in the halls of the U-SSN 881, the crew began arming the torpedo tubes and prepared to engage the British Battle squadron at close distance, a close enough distance to keep the mighty guns of the HMS Howe from firing at full effects. The battle opened rather quickly, before the U-SSN 881 could even fully turn, a frontal volley from the HMS Southampton ripped through the skies, overshooting the German submarine, but none-the-less sending an important message to the German crew.

The Germans responded by heading straight at the Howe, which was aiming her guns at the Sea Wolf and preparing to fire a massive volley that Poseidon would be able to hear and feel. As the Howe prepared to fire, Captain Kruger ordered to move at full speed, 28-knots. As they began to close the distance, the first 38-foot Type CL “Eel” torpedo, with a charge that could rock and destroy any ship on the high seas. The massive torpedoes were placed and the crews waited for the order to fire.

As the Sea Wolf steamed for the Howe, the Howe unleashed her massive and water-shaking volley directly at the Sea Wolf. Although the Howe didn’t score a hit, one of the shockwaves pierced the thinly armored side skin of the U-SSN 881. The thin metal armor being the result of the “hard to find,” stealthy technology that was used to build the Sea Wolf, which also meant that the submarine was susceptible to shockwaves potentially piercing the sides of the submarine, which finally happened as a result to the massive shockwave dispensed by the shell of the HMS Howe.

The siding of the Sea Wolf was punctured and taking in water. The repair crew was now fighting two battles with an undermanned staff, some working to repair the engine freeze, and the rest repairing the two-foot hole in the side of the submarine. From his position on the HMS Howe, Admiral Ramsay noticed a small circulation of water along the side of the Sea Wolf, indicating that she was taking in water, and he said to himself, “Why don’t they dive?”

Inside the Sea Wolf, Captain Kruger ordered the Sea Wolf to launch her two torpedoes, and ordering the remaining two torpedoes to be loaded and prepared for launching. The first and second torpedoes raced towards the Howe, eventually coming to miss her but skim the siding of the HMS Intrepid, causing the small destroyer to stall beside the mighty Howe, which fired another volley.

“Captain,” said Lt. Kress, drenched in water from the hole in the side of the submarine. “Captain, the engines are fixed, I think we can dive once the hole has been repaired.”

“Lieutenant, double-speed, we’re running out of options. We weren’t armed to sink ships, and we only have two more eels left, make it happen; the fate of the crew is in your hands.”

“Yes captain.”

“Fire!”

The last two torpedoes were launched from the tubes and raced out towards the HMS Howe. The two 38-foot torpedoes ripped into the side of the HMS Howe but seemingly didn’t cause and explosion. As the Sea Wolf inched closer to the British squadron, the British began peppering the submarine with smaller caliber fire, some of the minor shells scoring hits in comparison to the main batteries. In the confusion, the HMS Intrepid moved out from the main body to engage the surfaced submarine in close quarters combat, all the while the Germans were playing a dangerous game of chicken by charging the British warships in hopes to alleviate the possibility of a major strike bringing the submarine to the bottom of the ocean.

Inside the halls, Lt. Kress rushed back to Captain Gysae, “Sir,” he said, out of breath and panicking, blood coming from a minor cut on his neck as he held a cloth to stem the wound, “the turbines are up and active again and the damages are repaired.”

And with that, Cpt. Kruger ordered the Sea Wolf to dive under the water, just as the HMS Intrepid moved in for the final kill. On the bridge of the Howe, Admiral Ramsay gave a command to the captain, the latter was looking over the side of the bridge to try and figure out the damage taken by the hull of the ship from the dud torpedo that cracked the hull but failed to detonate. “Captain,” said the Admiral.

“Yes Admiral?”

“Move the ship directly into the path of the submarine, certainly that little piece of plastic can’t withstand the pressure of a battleship.”

“Sir?”

“I want you to ram her, bring the weight of the Howe atop of that bloody ship!”

Inside the U-SSN 881, Captain Kruger pulled the plugs and took command of his own ship and began to dive, ordering the front firing quarters to be sealed off as a small, but critical breach of the armor none-the-less was letting water into the submarine.

“But sir, there are men inside the firing chambers,” said Lt. Conrad, who was in disbelief that the captain was ordering the ship to dive with a hole that wasn’t yet repaired and the fact that around ten or fifteen crew members would be shut-off and let to die.

“For the betterment of the ship, and the rest of the crew, it must be done!”

“NO! Hold, let me go and tell the men to leave before you shut the hatch!”

“You have one minute before we dive!”

And with that, Lt. Conrad rushed off to the torpedo chambers to tell Lt. Ruth and his men to leave their positions. When he entered the chambers, the crew was battling the small breach, patching it with steel and flat iron scraps. “Get the hell out of there!”

“What!?” replied Lt. Ruth.

“Get out now!” After he finished his sentence, Lt. Conrad felt the submarine shift and begin to dive, the water-filled room tilting down. The crew left their positions and entered the halls just as the submarine submerged under the water, and not a second to soon. Above them, the HMS Howe came crashing over the position of the Sea Wolf, the hull of the battleship just missing the top of the Sea Wolf by about twenty or so feet.

As Admiral Ramsay and his captain looked over the edge of the bridge to see if they’d hit the Sea Wolf, the HMS Howe was rocked by a massive explosion, one of the torpedoes that had previously failed to explode finally detonated, the resulting explosion was one unlike any by a conventional weapon. In a flash, the HMS Howe went up in flames, sending the ship’s crew into the sea, and breaking the mighty steel horse into three sections. The mighty Howe had just sunk to the bottom of the sea.

hood_blowup.jpg
 
Just found this aar, another fine aar by Volksmarshall, and I only read the 1st page!
 
Fuse delayed torpedos? A miss that sorted out itself?

What a hit!
 
Minor nitpick: A sub able to withstand 300+ feet of pressure can withstand the overpressure wave of a 15-in naval gun hitting water w/in a few feet of it. And yes, DETAILS of the ship please, so I can start niggling on the details already!
 
Minor nitpick 2: Why would the sub try to slug it out on the surface against the ships, certainly it would've dived to periscope depth? Also cruisers and battleships were useless against submarines because they didn't carry depthcharges (they were however fast and could easily slip away).

Great story nonetheless!