Whats the most distant patrol in your type VII?

[NipplesTheCat]

Whats the most distant patrol youve done in your type VII?

[Kaleun_Saxi]

June 1940 - Wilhelmshaven to BF15 (south of Ireland) - not that far, really. Was fortunate enough to encounter a big convoi in bad weather, sunk a DD, one C2, one C3, one troop transporter and two small freighter. :arrgh!:

[Tijn]

As i patrol the convoy routes sometimes i go al the way to canada (flemmis cape) to hunt convoys. It's not really that far but still gives you some room for action.

Grtz Tijn

[Tijn]

*My first doublepost* oeps

[Kapitan]

Brest to AK37 if i had done it in a straight line there wouldnt have been an issue but because i made tonnes of deturs along te way i arrived back in port with a little under 5% of diesel left or there abouts.

[Tijn]

I'm also not going in a straight line bit below Ijsland just to cover the concoy routes. It's just that i like the hunting ground near AK and AJ.

Grtz Tijn

[Kapitan]

Im after a carrier kill i know theres one in norfolk and well i want to get it sometime within the next 5 months.

[NipplesTheCat]

I have been extremely tempted to see if I can make it to Norfolk in my type VII. I want that carrier. I have no idea if I can make it, or how much fuel ill have to work with if I do, but I do know that every patrol I go on I always have plenty of extra fuel. Maybe ill head out that way after my next patrol. I need to pay a visit to Freetown first.

[Ducimus]

Oh im sure you can get there. Infact i know you can. Getting back however might prove to be problematic.

[NipplesTheCat]

Oh har har har. You think youre better than me because your boat has longer range? Well ive got news for you,....you arent!;)


P.S. I plan on running out of fuel a few miles from base and riding one of my own torpedos the rest of the way to shore.

[andy_311]

Lorient to GR89 on the return trip took out a 14knt convoy could'nt actually miss ii it spawned right in front of me all ships were Tankers and a Bouge class carrier in the centre.

[NipplesTheCat]

Lucky find. I was forced to let the first and only carrier ive ever seen pass me by on the horizion at 21knts. There was no way I could catch it. Too fast, besides I was hiding under a tanker in Gibralter with DDs all over looking for me. It broke my heart.

[Ducimus]

You know back when i first started SH3 i was totally into type 7's. Over time i found myself drawn to far off shores, and drumbeat in 42. I'd sit there and plot and scheme my entire patrol to get over there to do it. But eventaully reality sunk in.

Assuming i got over there (which i would have), my ability to loiter would be limited. I woudlnt have enough fuel to chase any targets or search any signficant distance for targets. But thats a moot point anyway because without a milk cow, going to there is a 1 way ticket. And even while over there, i wouldnt have enough torpedo's to make the trip worth while. It takes on the average 20 to 25 days to cross the atlantic. Those 14 fish on a type 7 you'll go through all too quickly.

Your bottom line with long range patrols with a type 7 is you NEED a milk cow. If it wasnt for the fact that using a milk cow effectually ends your patrol, id use them more often. As they are, they end your patrol and give you an unreasitic relaod of fish and fuel. But since you need one.... thats better then no milk cow at all.

[Subwolf]

From pen to lighthouse in Wilhelmshaven, Bernard became seasick.

[kiwi_2005]

I never go on long patrols with the type 7's always stay around britain hunting for convoys and i pretty much worked it out where the convoys spawn AM54 is a good spot or anywhere near it. Theres also a taskforce that must come from Gilbrator which heads straight up to the AM grids then makes a right towards AN grids then disappears, never manage to attack it as im always in the wrong position. It travels numerous times between 1939 - 1942

[NipplesTheCat]

Im just giving you a hard time Ducimus. I know its not practical to take a 7 that far but I am curious to see how far it will go. Im sure ill end up exiting and reloading from the dock to run a real patrol, but like I said, im curious. Like Kiwi said, there are enough convoys close to Britian that I never get far before I am out of torps.

[JSalinger]

I got sent out somewhere near Greenland once...that had to have been the most boring patrol in VII I've ever had...(probably one of my most boring times ever...got a radio message asking me to intercept a convoy that was off the coast of Brazil lol I told Bernard to get out of the radio room and quit imitating Onkel Karl)...

A bit off topic, but has anyone ever explored what shipping traffic there is up around Northern Russia?

[Ducimus]

If your out to set a record, Assuming you have the "nasa battery fix" in place, i think you'll get more range out of your boat if you use your diesals as little as possible, and run on your battery as much as possible. It will be a LONG trip, but you should get pretty far.

[Subwolf]

A bit off topic, but has anyone ever explored what shipping traffic there is up around Northern Russia?

Yeah you got the Murmansk convoys, lots of traffic up there. From Bergen and Trondheim (GWX) ports its just a couple of days to reach the lanes. Not been up there in winter time, I hope SH3 doesn't simulate icing. Weather is very bad and it's always dark, but that's your cover :ping:

[NipplesTheCat]

I have been wondering if you use more fuel while charging your batteries. Anyone know?

[Ducimus]

I have been wondering if you use more fuel while charging your batteries. Anyone know?

Ive thought about that often.

It comes down to this:

Fuel conception increases on how many RPM's your engines are doing. Higher RPM's, more fuel consumed.

With that in mind, you have two scenarios:

a.) Running at ahead slow using diesals for 24 hours. I think you do about 100 or 200 RPM's at ahead slow, on each engines.

or

b.)Recharing your batteries at ahead slow for a 4 hour period. While recharging, ONE engine will be at 500 RPM's, the other that is propelling the boat will be at 100 to 200 RPM.


This delimna i answered for myself the hard way. Long story short, a patrol to GR89, i was just short of fuel to make the round trip without a milk cow. By only running the diesals 4 hours a day to recharge batts, i had enough fuel to make the trip. IF i had cruised on the surface the entire time, i wouldn't have had the fuel.

[NipplesTheCat]

Ive never felt comfortable running on my batteries. I wasnt sure if I was burning more fuel that way or not. Im going to run into some real problem in another year or two when the air traffic increases.