Night Convoy Attack
A numbered hex map game
A numbered hex map game
Atlantic Convoy SC41 Halifax - Liverpool
Position : 54 degrees 2 Minutes N 41degrees 7 minutes W
16th October 1941 - 2214hrs
15 merchant vessels
3 Escort vessels :
HMS Viperous - V&W Destroyer [Capt. E.L. Irwin] 4 x 4" guns, ASDIC, Type 251 radar max speed : 10 hexes
HMS Compass Rose - Corvette[Capt. J. Errickson] 1 x 4" gun, ASDIC
max speed : 5 hexes
HMS Lobelia - Corvette [Lt. Comm. R. Smith] 1 x 4" gun, ASDIC
max speed : 5 hexes
Convoy Commodore ; Empire Hudson [Capt. W. Brooks MN]
Wind 10mph WSW Broken cloud occasional showers of light rain.
Convoy formation :
Bestum; Empire Crossbill; Empire Springbuck; Sally; Maersk Stargard
Jedmoor; Baron Pentland (rescue ship), Scania, Tahchee, Thistleglen
Winterswijk; Empire Hudson (Commodore); Stonepool; Gypsum Queen; Muneric
Attacking U-Boats :
U-564 (Type VIIc) Kapitanleutnant J.G. Voss - [Veteran] ; Tonnage sunk 55k+ [Knights Cross awarded 17.06.1941]
U-791 (Type VIIc) Kapitanleutnant H-D. Muller - [Regular] ; Tonnage sunk 17k
U 729 (Type VIIb) Kapitanleutnant W.H. Schultz - [Green]; Tonnage sunk - 0 [first operation]
All boats armed with 4 x bow tubes & 1 x stern tube & 88mm gun
Max speed : 5 hexes surfaced and 3 hexes submerged
1) Convoy at edge of board (radar and sonar working). U-564 approaching convoy on surface from south and U-791 approaching from north east also on the surface while U-729 moves from the north slowly while submerged.
2) HMS Viperous gets radar contact off U-564 and fires starshell revealing the U-boat
3) HMS Viperous moves forward with HMS Compass Rose to intercept. U-571 starts to crash dive.
4) U-571 submerges and turns sharply to port and dives to 200m . HMS Viperous begins depth charge run dropping 15 depth charges.
5) A near miss on U-571's bows jam the forward torpedo tubes. Torpedo crew attempting repairs. U-boat drops to 300m.
6) U-791 getting close to torpedo range while convoy's zig-zag inadvertently it moves closer to U-729.
7) HMS Viperous gets distant radar contact off U-791 and moves towards it firing a starshell which picks out the U-boat. HMS Lobelia moves towards the U-boat.
8) Viperous' four inch guns score hits on U-791 damaging it severely and under fire from Lobelia as well the crew start to abandon ship.
U-564 (Type VIIc) Kapitanleutnant J.G. Voss - [Veteran] ; Tonnage sunk 55k+ [Knights Cross awarded 17.06.1941]
U-791 (Type VIIc) Kapitanleutnant H-D. Muller - [Regular] ; Tonnage sunk 17k
U 729 (Type VIIb) Kapitanleutnant W.H. Schultz - [Green]; Tonnage sunk - 0 [first operation]
All boats armed with 4 x bow tubes & 1 x stern tube & 88mm gun
Max speed : 5 hexes surfaced and 3 hexes submerged
1) Convoy at edge of board (radar and sonar working). U-564 approaching convoy on surface from south and U-791 approaching from north east also on the surface while U-729 moves from the north slowly while submerged.
2) HMS Viperous gets radar contact off U-564 and fires starshell revealing the U-boat
3) HMS Viperous moves forward with HMS Compass Rose to intercept. U-571 starts to crash dive.
4) U-571 submerges and turns sharply to port and dives to 200m . HMS Viperous begins depth charge run dropping 15 depth charges.
5) A near miss on U-571's bows jam the forward torpedo tubes. Torpedo crew attempting repairs. U-boat drops to 300m.
6) U-791 getting close to torpedo range while convoy's zig-zag inadvertently it moves closer to U-729.
7) HMS Viperous gets distant radar contact off U-791 and moves towards it firing a starshell which picks out the U-boat. HMS Lobelia moves towards the U-boat.
8) Viperous' four inch guns score hits on U-791 damaging it severely and under fire from Lobelia as well the crew start to abandon ship.
9) Viperous orders Lobelia to rescue survivors. Simultaneously, Compass Rose reports torpedo tracks behind her and the Gypsum Queen is suddenly hit by a torpedo from the submerged U-729 who has fired a spread of four torpedoes one of which narrowly misses Tahchee's stern and another brushes Muneric's bow.
10) U-729 immediately turns away back to the north diving to 100m depth. U-564 fails to repair jammed torpedo tubes but Kapitanleutnant Voss heroically decides to surface and fire his stern tube at the passing convoy. Muneric starts to pick up survivors from Gypsum Queen
11) Unfortunately for the already damaged U-564 the U-boat surfaces within close range of the merchant ships and several of them fire their rear deck guns at her fatally damaging the U-boat. The crew begin to abandon ship.
12) HMS Lobelia picks up 15 survivors from U-791 and heads towards the last the last reported position of the torpedo tracks while Viperous heads back to the convoy which is nearing the edge of the board. Compass Rose picks up 13 survivors from U-564 including a bedraggled Kapitanleutnant Voss. Muneric finishes picking up 22 survivors from Gypsum Queen
13) As the convoy starts to leave the board U-729 picks them up on her hydrophones and turns to shadow the convoy but at her slow submerged speed is obliged to surface to keep up.
14) Viperous picks up the surfaced U-boat on her radar and the two corvettes move back to attack.
15) A starshell illuminates U-729 and she submerges once more turning to the north and the two corvettes rejoin the convoy which sails off unmolested and unshadowed.
A distinct victory for the British who have sunk two U-boats for the loss of only one merchant ship and the U-boats are no longer in contact with the convoy. In addition the senior escort commander wins the Jeremy Corbyn Award for Extreme Niceness in picking up the survivors of the sunken U-boats.
