Anyone had success in the Med?

[KevinB]

After 2 years patrolling the Atlantic I decided to transfer to the Med. Boy, is this a place you want to be if you are tired of life?
Nearly every ship I come across, even a humble small merchant has an escort. The bloody schweinhunds detect me before I even open the bow doors.

After two patrols bagging zilch and my poor boot battered to shreds I transferred back to Lorient.

Anyone had success here? and if so, any tips or tactics would be appreciated.

[Jimbuna]

It's not all sunshine and bonny blue seas is it ? :lol:

I presume your using GWX and in a VII :hmm:

The Med IMO is even more of a challenge than the Atlantic if not just for the heightened state of escorting traffic.
There is no real answer to your question other than to say you need to exercise a lot more caution :arrgh!:

[KevinB]

I agree Jimbuna, I'm using GWX 1.03 and the only thing attractive about the Med is the beautiful tranquil blue sea and skies! A beautiful place to die in!

[Salvadoreno]

Ah i remember the med in NYGM 1.2 or something. I had sooooo much fun, i would find freindly convoys under attack, Luftwaffe planes flying overhead, and konvoys that only the most brave kaluens would attack. I had to cancel many of patrol due to air attacks and botched convoy attacks. I think the only good success i had was a lucky attack on a passengar liner. Then i canceled the patrol right after because two escorts for that 1 liner pounded me for like 2 hours realtime. FUN!!!!

I am running GWX now and i havent been to med. I have only had 2 patrols too, and only 3 ships sunk.... hard.. But with the experience i had with NYGM in the med i can tell you this. If you feel unsure about attacking that konvoi with 10 escorts, or those 2 ships with those 2 black swans.. DONT.. unless you are only under the most extreme circumstances!! (choppy seas, fog, and night). lol.

[HunterICX]

My succes in the med?

if the fact of that I manage to finish in the TOP10 of the most suicidal Kaleuns in the Med. does that one count as a succes :doh:

:rotfl:

[TarJak]

I love the Med cos its all action. Especially after 42. It gets so hairy in 43/44 that you really need to be on the ball with the C key.

I love the 3/4 cruiser TF's taht cruise up and down all the time and the many 2/3 ship convoys and the air cover from both sides always makes for interesting viewing. Saww a Sunderland being chased by an Italian Stuka until it got shot down by my AA gunners.

I remember scoring an Illustrious class aircraft carrier early one morning as it cruised up the Med from Gibraltar. Never a dull moment unless you want to have a swim break up in the Greek Isles.:up:

[STEED]

The Med is a hell hole be warned, when you get the Type IV Ells you got a slightly better odds. Not by much but it helps.

[Jimbuna]

I agree Jimbuna, I'm using GWX 1.03 and the only thing attractive about the Med is the beautiful tranquil blue sea and skies! A beautiful place to die in!
Precisely :lol:

[melnibonian]

I agree Jimbuna, I'm using GWX 1.03 and the only thing attractive about the Med is the beautiful tranquil blue sea and skies! A beautiful place to die in!
My thoughts exactly :yep: :up: The Med is beautiful and really deadly

[KeptinCranky]

I've been moderately succesful in the Med, but I didn't get to soak up any sunshine because of staying underwater when the sun is in the sky :doh:

also, early on count on seeing lots of juicy convoys with nary an escort to be seen, only to find out they're Italian :damn:

All in All the med is good fun, the merchants and convoys just don't have a lot of different routes to follow so you'll always find something to shoot at plus you get to sink more capital ships per patrol than anywhere else, just don't count on friendly aircraft, Flugzeug gesichtet is still--> Alarm!

[DrMilton]

I agree Jimbuna, I'm using GWX 1.03 and the only thing attractive about the Med is the beautiful tranquil blue sea and skies! A beautiful place to die in!

I'm under the impression that no uboat ever made it back from the Med sea (In spite of what Das Boot says ;)). So, we should be ok that we follow history... :up:

[Jimbuna]

Well let me tell you I've every intention of 'making it back' :o
:rotfl:

[KeptinCranky]

Just did a patrol in the med in June of 42, no fun at all, no radar warning yet and the Brits do have radar, got myself thoroughly bombed repeatedly, 4 Wellingtons dropping their eggs on my boat :o, just barely survived. later on even more planes, as far north as Corsica...where do they keep coming from?

eventually got back to la Spezia minus my flak guns, deck gun, periscopes, half my batteries, radio, hydrophone, and 70% of my diesel fuel.....:nope:

hull integrity 36,5% but no casualties thankfully

after patching all the holes, rebuilding the sub from the ground up, what do they give me? a shiny new radar warning gizmo. Hopefully next patrol will be a bit better

[KevinB]

Just did a patrol in the med in June of 42, no fun at all, no radar warning yet and the Brits do have radar, got myself thoroughly bombed repeatedly, 4 Wellingtons dropping their eggs on my boat :o, just barely survived. later on even more planes, as far north as Corsica...where do they keep coming from?

eventually got back to la Spezia minus my flak guns, deck gun, periscopes, half my batteries, radio, hydrophone, and 70% of my diesel fuel.....:nope:

hull integrity 36,5% but no casualties thankfully

after patching all the holes, rebuilding the sub from the ground up, what do they give me? a shiny new radar warning gizmo. Hopefully next patrol will be a bit better


Better make out your last will and testament KeptinCranky because you will need to provide for your widow and children:o

[KeptinCranky]

I have good hopes op surviving in the med a little while longer :D

what I didn't mention Is that, before those wellingtons went postal on my poor uboat, I did sink 2 Cunard Liners that were sailing in a small convoy with only 1 escort....:arrgh!:

so despite damage and not even reaching my patrol grid, I still got 106k tons :rock: (that might be considered a bit of an atrocity though, so I'd better not survive the war so they can hang me at Nuremberg):-?

The med is so crowded with everything from spanish schooners to Cunard liners to Battleships to More planes than you can shake a stick at that it's still worth the risk going out there....especially now that radar warning gives me a better chance at surviving (for a while)

[SmokinTep]

Haven't ventured in there yet.

[KeptinCranky]

latest patrol, seen a lot of planes, they usually decide to bomb the Italian traffic (there's lots of it) have been watching lots of battles :up: between planes and soldati destroyers, the planes usually win though :nope:

also was nicely positioned to shoot another Cunard liner but the Luftwaffe got there first:damn::damn::damn:

did sink another 47k tons despite bad weather and sunk yet another passenger liner.

also had to dodge a really good escort, couldn't shake him for hours, despite anti-sonar coatings and being at 230 meters....

am now docked in lampedusa to restock torpedoes, then it's onward to patrol 5 staking out the lanes south of sardinia

[irish1958]

Yes