Time to fix the T&T page for Shells i think....
Only started playing this recently, and I must say this is very refreshing.
A few things off the top of my head:
1. The most important thing to remember - the enemy spotters are very, and I do mean VERY good at their job. Running on the surface or even raising the periscope carries with it a big risk of detection.
2. The second most important thing - this is WWI, which means no sonar. Below 10m you are virtually invisible, and can run at flank speed with impunity. The downside is that you're practically blind as well.
3. I have no way to verify this, but since I've had reasonable success with stealth approaches I'm going to assume it works: before raising periscope, give the "all stop" and wait until your boat comes to a halt - since the primary method of detecting submarines at the time was to see the periscope "feather" or wake, this should reduce the likelihood of being seen.
4. raising the scope high enough to get map icons (and subsequently a lock to fire in auto mode) is very risky. I found myself detected much less when only raising the scope just barely above the surface (when the waves still wash over it) - this leaves you with manual targeting, but hey - you can't have everything, and hardcore fans won't even complain about this one.
5. A good way to make a stealth approach:
First, point your ship towards the enemy (assuming we're running on the surface when detection is made). Next, switch to binoculars (F7), and point them at the enemy ship, to get an ID. Hardcore fans may scoff at how easily this game gives you the range, speed and heading of the target, which would othervise have to be estimated.
Once you have the info, go to the map screen (F3). Now, since running on the surface, or with the scope up is risky, the best way is to make a blind approach.
Suppose the target ship is making 5 knots. If you match 5 knots, the contact point should be somewhere half way - if the distance is now 8 km, that's 4 km we're looking at. Using the "show distance" tool, you can draw a line roughly half way between your sub icon, and the target ship icon.
After that, submerge, and match the desired speed - for a type UC-II boat, all ahead full will give you 5kn submerged. Don't worry about the "contact lost" message - if they don't zig, you'll meet them again right near the line you just drew. You can now use time compression to speed up the transit if you wish.
Now - before the hardcore fans scoff again at the game giving you accurate, real-time information on your position - doing this maneuver in real life (without such aids) would require solving one simple equation: t = d/v, where both d (distance to travel) and v (your speed) are a given, and then simply using a stopwatch - something that's kind of difficult with time compression higher than 1x.
Once you reach your "line of contact", point your boat so that your heading is now perpendicular to the enemy course, and order all stop. Raise the periscope just barely above the surface - don't worry about icons - you're looking for smoke. The next part is guesswork, but at a distance of ~400-500 meters, if you fire with a zero gyro angle, just as the target is about to cross your 0 bearing, you shouldn't miss.
If the target is unarmed and undefended (something you can never be quite sure of with the dreaded Q-ships), your best bet is waiting for them to pass, and then ordering ahead standard and surface to use the deck gun.
Otherwise one fish is enough for most ships (unless it's a dud).
Note: this scenario assumes that the target is heading right for you (meaning you are ahead with close to 0 angle off their bow) - otherwise the calculations for d are a bit more sophisticated.
The correct height of the periscope is when all you can see above the waves is he column of smoke raising from their funnels. You shouldn't even see the ship until her bearing is 330 and well under 1000m.
Do otherwise, and you risk detection - you might get lucky, but know the danger.
Cheers.
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