Do you ever "wait" when searching for targets?
 

Once you've arrived at your assigned spot, and are tasked with sinking enemy vessels, do you continue to sail around (perhaps at 1/3 or 2/3) in the hopes of finding contact, or in some spots is it appropriate to sit at all stop and wait for something to hit your radar?

Thoughts?

In open seas, i think it’s best to zigzag at low speed to force the meeting.
But in some hot spots, like in a narrow strait, a harbor exit etc, best is to stand still :yep:
Anyway, when patrolling along a shipping route, soon or later they will come :salute:

Zig zag at 1/3 power (the most efficient setting), leg lengths depend on available open ocean space, suspected convoy tracks and whether a search radius is required by the mission orders.

If I'm low on fuel for a time-limited search mission, I'll park the boat in the search radius to run out the clock and gain the points before heading home.
:Kaleun_Cheers:

I think in real life it's customary to cruise back and forth just fast enough to maintain steerageway.
A British "Bobby" would refer to that as "Loitering with intent"! :cool:

"milling about smartly" comes to mind,:Kaleun_Wink:

We come to a stop, pull out the swim trunks and bbq grill, having total faith in our radar operator..

all the time.

once are in your patrol area, you can do a box pattern search or a ladder search or you can set down in the middle of the path and wait for your radar operator to sing out with a contact. it depends on your patrol area.
depending on your mod set your area may draw a lot of traffic or none at all...which has happened to me. if you are shut out for a few days, you need to go on the hunt...find the closest shipping lane.
:salute:

Sure, don't forget hydrophone if you don't have radar yet.

My experience mostly comes from Atlantic (haven't played American boats since SH1), but in general sitting still on surface is suicide - the boat needs speed to crash dive fast if an aircraft suddenly appears. Submerged - yes, I often sit still for many in-game hours, listening to gramophone and waiting for hydro to pick up a contact.

I have 'lurked' at times. With radar, watch for contacts.
When you don't have radar, dive and run the sonar around, watching for that green light. You can sometimes pick up a faint sound before the sonar man.
I usually check sonar now and then, even with surface radar, just because.

I have sat at all stop, but usually wander around at 2/3 bell, occasionally less.
With air search radar, even from all stop, you can dive in time to avoid being shark bait.

I think in real life, the boats patrolled around looking for contacts. I normally just sit my boat in one spot, up time compression and keep an eye on the stop watch for lag. I spend the waiting time being social with my family.

I do the same, except for the social time thing. I'm alone in the house with 3 dogs during the day, and they don't require much social time with me. They sleep almost all day long.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is when waiting (saving fuel, keeping batteries charged) I put the boat at Decks Awash by setting the depth to 25-27 feet, just low enough as not to be considered "Submerged" for purposes of CO2 accumulation. Diving time is much better with that extra 10-12 feet head start should the need arise.

Wait in a good spot, even just a guess, and eventually they will come to you and reveal their lanes. Almost infallible in my experience!

whatever your orders are, it matters not. I get sent to Marshall Islands, never any shipping there but go to Gilbert Islands and find quite a few.