going after escorts?

[I'm goin' down]

While I may not be the best shot in the Navy, I am familiar with the various attack techniques and the easy AoB mod (my favorite). All of these are based upon tracking/plotting a target's course and speed. But destroyers change course frequently, change speeds, stop and go, and are sub killers. It takes time to track/plot course and speed, and with regard to a destroyer, there is not enough time to do the calculations, push the buttons, etc., or its course and speed changes so quickly that is has changed before you input and sent the data to the TDC, making the information input unreliable and usually inaccurate. Is their a solution (no pun intended) to this problem other than laying in wait and catching a destroyer while it cruises on a set course? If not, it means you will only have a good set up when a destroyer is not in the hunting mode (i.e. constantly altering course and speed) or a torpedo attack is implemented before it has spotted your boat and begun its attack run (which, although an attack run may be on a set course, the course change to an attack run happens so quickly that there is usually insufficient time once it has begun to plot/track or set up a firing solution).

[Inner Sound]

I've certainly fired a few fruitless fish at them. The one down the throat shot offered came off ok, and v satisfying as it all happened so fast and unexpected, but that was flukey, wouldn't invite it.

Used to shoot at them alot in Stock 1.5 when they were stationary and listening. total waste of fish, they just scoot away when they hear something coming. Guess it's much the same in the big mods so haven't bothered trying since.

You can study the patterns of harbour defenders if you have radar and get them to intercept a fish.

[I'm goin' down]

Inner Sound, take one of those nukes stationed in Holy Loch for a test run on some destroyers and tell me how it handled. Watch out for Nessies.

[Inner Sound]

Will do, smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.

[Armistead]

Best shot IMO against DD's are DTT. If they're not zigging, I've popped many with M18's. But I wouldn't waste much time with DD's unless your playing stock where they're made of paper.

[magic452]

What I do for sitting a DD is to fire one ahead of her bow, that way you can get her to commit to a course of action, sitting still. I than fire just ahead of the bow and a third one at the bow. The DD will sit till the first one or two pass than start to move and the second or third will get it MoT or in the stern.

Conditions play a key roll. Sunny day calm seas not the best, so you have to guess what the spread should be. In low visibility you can tighten up the spread and with a little practice get 'em every time.

Same goes for one on a constant speed and course. But you do want to be somewhat close. 1,500 yds. or so.

A zig zagging DD is a tough nut to crack and I leave them alone unless forced to take 'em on.
Most of the time you come off second best.

I only attack one if the reward is greater than the risk or I have no other option.
A sub captain is payed to sink merchants not escorts.

Magic

[U-84]

going after destroyers are a complete waste of fish. They detect them way before your torp even comes near there ship...the only technique i know to guarantee a hit is a stern torp when a destroyer is on a depth charge run behind between 300-500 ft, and i don't recomend this strategy at all.

[Rockin Robbins]

Sometimes in TMO, lousy as the odds are, the escorts give you no choice but to throw the dice on them. I was just driven away from a convoy by at least five escorts guarding four freighters and a small tanker. I never got a shot off at the convoy.

Sank one of the escorts with the deck gun though, a major miracle! I found in the heavy seas they had trouble tagging me. By playing jack-in-the-box I was able to kill one with the 40mm and deck gun combination, crew on the deck gun, me on 40mm. Got 12% hull damage, decided I was being stupid and dove for all the 150' available to me...

It wasn't a pretty sight. If it weren't for the very heavy seas I would have been dead six times over. So my score on this convoy: one minesweeper. Zero torpedoes expended. Damaged sub. Merchies unmolested. I was glad to escape at daybreak and lick my wounds.

[I'm goin' down]

Captain Robbins,

Nice to hear from you. You have more courage than me. If my boat is forced to the surface or I am badly shot up, I will attack, figuring I might as well go down in a blaze of fire.

By the way, I named a Gar after my son: The USS Taylor Miller, SS "NYU."

[Rockin Robbins]

I am always looking for a way to surface or remain at periscope depth to press the attack, but I'm not sticking around in 150' of water in daylight against a heavily escorted convoy. Time to pull out, spend the day setting up another approach from an unexpected angle and run the show again tonight!:arrgh!:

As a fringe benefit, when I pulled out to the east I met a single merchie running the opposite direction and put him to bed in a daylight attack with two torpedoes and some 40mm for dessert.