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Sniper297 · 12-18-17, 02:08 PM

Start with the second question -

"...focus more on hunting down convoys or sitting on routes where lone ships would always pass..."

Yes.

In reality, they were assigned patrol areas with additional instructions - example "priority tankers" or "report all air traffic going south" or "reconnoiter harbor at Wewak". Without a specific mission the standard was "sink everything, assume no friendlies in area". The patrol area had specific boundaries, inside that patrol area any allied ships were instructed to stay out. Later in the war the US started using wolf packs, prior to that one sub per area, and chasing a convoy past the boundary into another sub's patrol area was a bad idea since he would have the same "sink everything, assume no friendlies in area" orders, and might fire at you on sight.

Within the patrol area, you would look for "chokepoints", like straits between islands or capes sticking out that would force traffic crawling along in shallow water to divert away from shore to go around the cape. Convoys VS single ships was not a factor, you took whatever came along unless you had specific instructions - example, her comes two fat tankers with no escort, but you've been told that two carriers were coming the next day, so you have to stay undetected. Lot of variables involved.

As for deck guns, again it depends - sampans and small coastal freighters could be sunk with the AA guns (especially 40MM BOFORS) and the 4 or 5 inch deck guns could sink 1000 to 3000 ton unescorted ships with no problem in calm waters.

"Calm waters" makes a difference - the US fleet boats were a lot bigger, heavier, and deeper draft than the German U-boats, a Type VII in the North Sea wouldn't get much chance to use the deck gun.

In the US Pacific war the use of the deck guns was more common toward the end of the war because;

1. Japan was running out of airplanes and pilots so being on the surface was a lot safer, and
2. Most of the remaining targets were small and not worth a torpedo.

Lot of non fiction I read painted 1945 as a time of lifeguard patrols, plinking sampans, and shelling small shore installations on isolated islands.

12-18-17, 02:08 PM	#6
Sniper297 The Old Man Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia Shipyard Brig Posts: 1,386 Downloads: 160 Uploads: 19	Start with the second question - "...focus more on hunting down convoys or sitting on routes where lone ships would always pass..." Yes. In reality, they were assigned patrol areas with additional instructions - example "priority tankers" or "report all air traffic going south" or "reconnoiter harbor at Wewak". Without a specific mission the standard was "sink everything, assume no friendlies in area". The patrol area had specific boundaries, inside that patrol area any allied ships were instructed to stay out. Later in the war the US started using wolf packs, prior to that one sub per area, and chasing a convoy past the boundary into another sub's patrol area was a bad idea since he would have the same "sink everything, assume no friendlies in area" orders, and might fire at you on sight. Within the patrol area, you would look for "chokepoints", like straits between islands or capes sticking out that would force traffic crawling along in shallow water to divert away from shore to go around the cape. Convoys VS single ships was not a factor, you took whatever came along unless you had specific instructions - example, her comes two fat tankers with no escort, but you've been told that two carriers were coming the next day, so you have to stay undetected. Lot of variables involved. As for deck guns, again it depends - sampans and small coastal freighters could be sunk with the AA guns (especially 40MM BOFORS) and the 4 or 5 inch deck guns could sink 1000 to 3000 ton unescorted ships with no problem in calm waters. "Calm waters" makes a difference - the US fleet boats were a lot bigger, heavier, and deeper draft than the German U-boats, a Type VII in the North Sea wouldn't get much chance to use the deck gun. In the US Pacific war the use of the deck guns was more common toward the end of the war because; 1. Japan was running out of airplanes and pilots so being on the surface was a lot safer, and 2. Most of the remaining targets were small and not worth a torpedo. Lot of non fiction I read painted 1945 as a time of lifeguard patrols, plinking sampans, and shelling small shore installations on isolated islands.