I used to raid harbors all the time. It does seem much easier than I imagine it would've been in real life. I don't raid them as often as I used to because it's starting to become "old hat" with me. Still, it can be challenging in it's own right nevertheless. I've raided Rabaul too many times to recall, but I've never seen a warship bigger than a DD docked at it's harbor. Historically, it should have a much larger selection of warships. I raided Truk once and found no less than 4BBs plus the Yamato, 2 CVs, numerous Cruisers and too many merchants to remember.
At Okinawa, I've raided Naha and Itoman, both are usually filled with merchants and usually some tankers. I've raided ports at the top of the Bungo Strait or along the Japanese coastline, Guam, Saipan, Formosa, Iwo Jima and even Wake Island over the past couple of years (TMO + RSRDC).

Now, I usually only raid them if I can't find any merchants to sink. As my gaming progresses, I become more acclimated to the shipping routes or naval battles and my port raiding becomes a secondary concern. Still, it has made for some interesting encounters.:03:

That link didn't work for me. Do you have another? Thanks!

Yamato again
 

January 15-16 at the mouth of Bungo Suido received a strong radar return. Turned out to be Yamato, an Agano light cruiser, and 2 destroyer escorts. I tracked them heading southwesterly at about 18 knots. Before I could race to get ahead of them, the two escorts charged me. I sank one outright as he made a run at a decoy (see, I did learn a lesson about decoys after a bad encounter with Pete), and eventually got the other when he slowed to listen for me. Yamato still showed up on radar so I surfaced and raced after her. Got into position and at 800 yards let go all six bow tubes - 5 hits, 1 dud. Barely slowed her. Fired remaiing 2 stern tubes (all are Mark IVs) at Agano and missed. Dove deep and let Yamato manouver away. Allowing her to move out of visual range, I then surfaced and reloaded bow tubes with last six remaining MK IVs, still running south at all-ahead flank to keep Yamato in radar range. She turned directly south and held course, making only 14 knots now. So I was able to intercept her again. Fired all six tubes at about 750 yards. Six hits, but first four killed her (total of nine hits). Regrettably Agano got away, but it was still a thrill to intercept Yamato. I believe she was on her suicide run to Okinawa but have not tried to verify the dates. What great fun!

January is too early for operation Ten-Go, the Yamato suicide mission to Okinawa. Okinawa was invaded on April Fools Day (1st) 1945.

That is all true in my opinion.

What I like in harbor raiding is to attack the DD (or DDs) that usually are there scaning the outlet. They do predictable circles, but are by no means easy do hit, and if you miss, you are as sure as dead. It is fun to calculate slowly an attac, hour after hour, predict that one perfect attack and then do it and hope it works. Its so different from open-seas engagements.

The Y and CL are constantly coming out of the Bungo heading down the coast of Kyushu in late war...more so after it's mid-April 45 suicide run. 5 or 6 Mk16's that are available then will take it down.

I always seem to catch it at night with moderate to heavy seas and fire 6 forward tubes from about 6,000 or 7,000 yards. But like anything, once you know where it is and you catch it so many times it becomes routine to the point of boring.

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/...225455_622.jpg

Back when I first loaded 1.5 with no mods, I torpedoed a BB. It stopped and listed heavily to one side. All the DD,s left so I went around to the high side and having no more torpedoes, surfaced just enough to start shooting it with my deck gun. It was kind of funny as I was right next to it but the guns could not angle down to hit me. My deck gun did absolutely nothing to it.

I did the exact same thing, used every shell to no avail.

Another time I got a BB dead in the water, the TF pulled away then returned. As about 10 DD's kept me far away, an undamaged BB pulled up in front of the dead in water one, nose to tail....then they slowly went into Manila Bay....I didn't see a tow line but it must have been towed in.

That is the only one I know of. The zipfile here at Subsim is an empty file.