eek! blooded but nowhere to hide

[She-Wolf]

hello folks, a sort of quite-pleased-but-doubtful-I-will survive sea-cub here. I bagged a medium merchant last night, in the dark, and used up all my remaining torps doing that, wanting to be sure I had done the job. They all found their mark (bosom swells with pride!) but I guess one mistake was to hang around to make sure she was going down.
Anyway, I snuk off, but not fast as there were plenty of warships around anyway - and more coming once I lit up the skies. Kiel seemed an awful long way away, and the problem was, I could not run deep as there seems only to be about 20 meters under the keel at best working not too far off the southern coast of the British Isles.
I thought I was doing OK as no-one seemed to know I was there, but then, suddenly a fast small boat zoomed right over the top of me - came from no-where. I took an angels eye peep up top to see what it was - bloomin motor boat type thingy - and hot on his heels was a destroyer. Hmph, even on silent running I could not escape as there was nowhere to escape to. He got me. I went back to a previous save, but is it all inevitably going to end in the same way -am I going to have to begin my career all over agin?

[danlisa]

If you know the Elco (speed boat) is coming, change your course and travel at 1kt as deep as you can. You can usually escape an Elco after it has found you just by changing course, the Elco will normally circle your last known position until backup arrives.

Or you can take a totally different route away from the sinking merchant and bypass the Elco & Destroyer completely.

You should be able to escape.:yep: It will be hard and you may need many course changes.

[She-Wolf]

thank you DanLisa, I am re-heartened :) I will do as you say

[baggygreen]

that is the best bet, following danlisas advice. it may even be worth motoring off quietly in the opposite direction from which the DD and elco came - if you can create enough space in time, you might be outside their search pattern and thus escape!

[Brag]

All of the above is good advise.

Main trick of getting away is to put some distance from position you launched the torpedoes.

Aaaaand (for future use) Stay away from shallow water!;)

Good luck!!

[ReallyDedPoet]

I went back to a previous save, but is it all inevitably going to end in the same way -am I going to have to begin my career all over agin?

You will start many careers over again:damn:

[Keelbuster]

First, don't take any sh*t from Elco's. You can drop that little wasp with a few rounds of the deck gun and/or flak guns. Second, Elco's don't have hydrophones. If you dive, and there's just an Elco around, go flank towards deep water. Go for a bit. Periodically check with the scope - see if there's a destroyer coming (but locate him with the hydrophone first!). If there is, and he's < 3km, go silent and you'll be fine provided they don't make another visual sighting of your periscope. Remember - it's distance from you enemy that matters - you can go deep, or get further away laterally. I usually stay at PD and keep the vision advantage, but go for distance.

Using this techique, I can be spotted by a warship at a long distance (~8km), and by the time he gets to where he last saw me, I'm somewhere else and he has _no_ chance of finding me. Remember that he'll approach you at flank turns, and will be deaf right up until he arrives. BE BOLD. HAVE COURAGE. STAY AT PD AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

Kb

P.S. And yea you have to start over. Dead is Dead (DiD) :).

[Jimbuna]

Treat the Elco with respect :yep:
They quckly call up support and their guns soon make a mess of your watch crew :yep: :arrgh!:

[She-Wolf]

I have had an exhausterpating day in the 'real' world so won't try and put all your good advice to work tonight - but I would like to query summat. Brag says 'stay away from shallow water' - and I think that is good advice - but I was there because that was where some of you suggested I go to catch some merchant men as they travel the shipping routes. Harwich to Southend was where I was snooping, and not THAT close to the shore, but wherever I went it seemed shallow. So am I to stay only in the big ( and not so populated ) deep ocean then?

anyways, thanks for the tips, will put them to use

yawn.. wheres me 'ammock...

[Penelope_Grey]

they also drag hull integrity down like no other.

[Sailor Steve]

So am I to stay only in the big ( and not so populated ) deep ocean then?
Might not be a bad idea, at least until you are very, very good.