Are you a Fish Conservationist?

[Stoli]

Senario:
On the hunt, closing in on two sound contacts, merchants moving slow... :up: Periscope depth, ahead 1/3. First contact is a small merchant armed, second is a large merchant un-armed. Small merchant gets a fish dead center, large mearchant gets one in the stern. Small merchant sinks without delay, large merchant is moving away at 2kts.

Now here is the question...

Do you fire another fish and take down the crippled merchant or do you surface and man the deck gun? Sinking a large merchant with the deck gun is no simple task and can use up most of your ammo...

Is it worth saving the extra fish or would it be better to sink the ship and use the deck gun for smaller tasks?

[SteamWake]

Hell yea !

If you can man the deck gun use it !

Just keep a sharp eye out, at times they seem to call for help. Either planes or destroyers.

Try to take her down quick and get the heck outa there.

[Sailor Steve]

I'd say it depends on the target's response at the time. If it's stopped and listing, the deck gun will probably put it down fairly easily. If it's still moving as you say, I'd think another fish would be in order.

Also depends on how much of a hurry you are to go do something else.

[Ducimus]

Do you fire another fish and take down the crippled merchant or do you surface and man the deck gun?

Depends:

- can ship shoot back?
- weather?
- dusk/dawn/night or daytime?
- How many torpedos remaining?
- How large is the target?
- how many deck gun shells remaining?
- Aircover?
- Nearby tin cans?
- etc etc.

Yeah, i can make anything sound complicated :88)

[AVGWarhawk]

Deck gun sir!

[Tiwaz]

Definitely going for the gun. I always try to save torpedoes and use first all my gun ammo.

No point using torpedo when there is small risk to self and run out of torpedoes later on patrol when you need them for pesky destroyer or sinking another big ship with escort.

[jerryt]

It would sure be nice if the reco. manual would list the merchant armament type. Would sure beat surfacing and finding out the hard way. :o

[bobwill]

I would definately surface and begin firing with the deckgun.

[NEON DEON]

No guns on the large merchant and one torpedo in her close to the stern.

Then I would draw abreast of the target, match her speed and course inside 500 meters, battle surface, and pump her full of shells untill she sank.

[nfitzsimmons]

No guns on the large merchant and one torpedo in her close to the stern.

Then I would draw abreast of the target, match her speed and course inside 500 meters, battle surface, and pump her full of shells untill she sank.

That's my technique, too.

[Chock]

If it was possible to do so, I'd simply shadow it for a while and see if it sank without further effort from me. It is actually possible to do this without staying in constant contact of the thing, as you can plot its course and you know its maximum and minimum speeds (max you knew before you popped it, minimum is as you say 2 knots) therefore it should be easy to locate even several hours later. The risk is that if it sinks out of contact, you'd not get the credit.

I'd certainly do this if I thought it might take a lot of hits to take it out (not that it usually does if you hammer the waterline with the deck gun).

This sort of reminds me of a situation I did actually get in SH4 recently, and a bitter experience it was too (but a compelling simulation experience nonetheless): Out of deck gun ammo and with a large merchant seemingly unstoppable despite being well down at the head, I spent twelve hours trying to sink the thing (probably about 4 hours of real time) owing to appalling weather and visibility making torpedo solutions difficult, as I could only just see the thing when it was well within 450 yards (that being the historical arming range for a torpedo). In the end, the thing went down after I had expended a total of SIX torpedoes on it, having had to wait for daylight to enable a last shot, which if it missed would have meant it got away. So literally the last torpedo in my stores was the final nail in the coffin for it. Had I had more than one torpedo, I might have tried firing on a sound bearing, but I deemed it too risky with only one shot left.

Kind of reminded me of Moby Dick at the time :D

None of that nonsense with the deck gun of course, and that experience has reminded me once more to aim carefully with the deck gun and try to conserve ammo, as a few well placed shots would have saved me many hours.

[Sailor Steve]

On the other hand, it was recommended to fire several torpedoes at each target, not just one:
http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/ss-doc-4.htm

See page 50.

[richoahu]

be sure and use the armor piercing shells all along one side below the water line. the kind of shots you see the explosion as well as a spout of water shoot up. i used to just hammer away at the ship till it sank. but then i discovered a few well placed hits will do the trick with way less shots.

oh, and deck gun all the way!! save the fish! :-)

[The_Rus]

Well if it is after dark battle surface, and fire away. If it is daylight and in enemy air cover I wait till dark. If not in any immediate danger, battle surface and fire way.I always aim for the under the wheelhouse and under the smokestack.:yep:

[Roadsweeper]

depends on cicumstances.

I had one case where I had put 2 fish into 2 large freighters (the 4 masted efforts), so 4 in total, only 2 fish left, both freighters immobile, went underwater and confirmed props had stopped.

Thought id be clever and go nail the small that had legged it and finish the 2 freighters off with the deck gun at range (both of the freighters had guns, so couldnt surface beside them, thier shooting sucks, but it isnt that bad) on the way back.

Marked the large frieghters on the map and legged it after the small, sunk it using my last 2 fish (one failed prematurely), then went back for the large ones.... where my X was, I found 2 empty spots. Just empty sea.

Scouted around and found one of them making a decent 5 knots, apparently it had repaired the engine damage, and most of the other damage, I left it well down and burning. It was still well down, but no longer burning. Took way more shells than I would've liked. After a few hours more searching (was an old S-Class, no radar), I found the 2nd one, also steaming away.... but ran out of shells.

Moral of this rambling. I got greedy, and lost a heavy freighter for a chance to grab an extra small freighter. Tonnage wise, I lost out, I wished I'd used my last 2 fish on the large frieghters to put them under or do irrepairable critical damage.

So, theres neither a set, use extra fish, or use the gun, its dependant on your circumstances at the time. Prob not the answer your looking for but.......

[Fearless]

It all depends on Situation Awareness.