Uboat patrol length?

[jmr]

Something I've often wondered about but couldn't find any concrete info so I thought I'd ask here. For example, in my Type VII based in Saint Nazaire my patrols can last a little over a month (sometimes less than that) as it doesn't take long to find the action. I feel a little guilty returning home so soon but I guess that was the norm for Type VII's? I'm assuming the TypeIX's would have longer patrols given their greater range?

[Wilko]

I stay out until the eels are gone, badly damaged, low on fuel.. usualy it is all of them that sends me limping back to port .

This has happened within a couple of weeks on occasion :arrgh!:

[Genghis Khan]

Personally,I do think that patrolling duration depends on weather and traffic very much.

You see,you can have full torpedo reserves and plenty of fuel,but there maybe awful stormy weather with zero visibility for week or so,without traffic at all.

Sometimes,it is worth to return to base and end current patrol in order to start next one with good weather and perfect hunting conditions.That is just a matter of saving a campaign time.:)

[GoldenRivet]

according to various articles on U-boats.net anywhere from 14 or 15 days to around 25 - 35 days up to some of the longest patrols on record lasting over 200 days at sea.

generally the information on that site is very accurate.

I would say that if you are in a type VII then you could be proud of a patrol lasting between 20 and 40 days.

one must consider that a German U-boat leaving french bases would only be at the most 3 or 4 days journey from the western approaches. If a commander spent a week or two patrolling the western approaches and ran across a convoy and used the tactic of stalk -attack- stalk on them for a period of only a few days he would have likely depleated nearly all of his torpedos sinking a good number of ships. factor in perhaps another week or two searching for a few more targets to slam those last few torpedos into and the return voyage then your looking at about a 20 to 30 day patrol assuming that there was no reassignment from BdU.

On some occasions U-boats returned to base for mechanical problems or unforseen issues with the boat.

and if you get lucky and run across a lot of targets of opportunity on your way to your patrol zone and run out of torpedos you will pretty much be useless depending on the phase of the war. so things like that can cut your patrol length down some.

So, yeah, if your NOT using unlimited fuel i think that SH3 puts a fairly accurate spin on patrol length because it forces you to consider the amount of fuel required to reach home too.

[_Seth_]

Something i have always wondered about....Is there any way to simulate realistic usage of supplies in SHIII? Like food & water, IE... This would add more realism besides fuel & torps..:yep:

[Brag]

From what I have read, outside of quality, food was seldom an issue on long patrols. For water, the boats had desalinators, which provided drinking water. I can't remember exactly the quantity. I think It was something like 70 percent of what was needed. So having fuel as the primary concern limiting patrol lenght is realistic enough.

When in the central Atlantic, I stop at the Cape Verde Islands for lobsters :smug:

[joea]

When in the central Atlantic, I stop at the Cape Verde Islands for lobsters :smug:

Hmmmm seriously, I wonder if the u-boats or any other subs took the chance to try some fishing? Maybe not in the busy, that is dangerous areas but the Type IXs way off in the South Atlantic or something? :hmm:

[_Seth_]

From what I have read, outside of quality, food was seldom an issue on long patrols. For water, the boats had desalinators, which provided drinking water. I can't remember exactly the quantity. I think It was something like 70 percent of what was needed. So having fuel as the primary concern limiting patrol lenght is realistic enough.

When in the central Atlantic, I stop at the Cape Verde Islands for lobsters :smug:

:up: Thanx for clearing that up, mate! (BTW: Bernard sent an enigma, ordering some pizza.....i dont know if "Adolf's" deliver to the western approaches, and if the pizza would be warm on delivery...:lol:)

[ReallyDedPoet]

Wonder what was the longest patrol:hmm:

RDP

[KeptinCranky]

They'll probably have to airdrop your pizza from a Kondor, Seth, so you could be waiting a while there, If it does arrive and it's cold, you can get your money back from Goering:D

btw that ham in your zentrale is starting to look mighty iffy, better feed that to Bernard first:D

[red_one]

BdU sent me from Lorient to Grenada in a VII!

Fools!

[Sailor Steve]

I once had a patrol with no action, and being a realism fanatic I didn't wander off looking for action. When I finally got home my Type VIIb had been at sea for 85 days. Not as realistic as I thought.:roll:

[danurve]

Pizza & Lobster?!? You guys are livin it up out on the Atlantic.
Can't let my crew find out about this, I could have a mutiny! All they get is Spam, crackers & beer.

red_one try BE instead, Id's bet you can more then make up for the minor renown you don't get for the grid.

[bigboywooly]

Wonder what was the longest patrol:hmm:

RDP

225 days
U196

http://uboat.net/men/kentrat.htm

[GoldenRivet]

"Adolf's Pizza" is the pizza chain with the lowest profitability - they deliver exclusively to U-Boats - but rumor has it that bernard's cousin is the district manager and he still insists on the delivery policy....

"30 minutes or less - or its FREE"

[ReallyDedPoet]

Wonder what was the longest patrol:hmm:

RDP
225 days
U196

http://uboat.net/men/kentrat.htm

Thanks BBW:up:

RDP

[Iron Budokan]

I just had a patroll in a IIA (restarting career, got spanked by DDs in my IXB and lost her off the western approaches *sniff*) in which I had to return to base with all my torps and about a teaspoon of fuel left. Bad weather which turned downright awful, those contacts I had I couldn't run 'em down in my little IIA with its limited fuel and flashlight batteries....I was LIVID. I had never returned to port with all my torpedoes before.

Playing GWX, of course, so I took the hosing like a good kaleun, returned chagrined to my base and got my tail chewed out by Doenitz. Somehow I scraped together enough renown for a IID and I'm noodling off Hartlepool at the moment. I'm still angry so even if a sailboat or a luckless hospital ship crosses my path I'm gonna murder it....

[_Seth_]

Hmmmm seriously, I wonder if the u-boats or any other subs took the chance to try some fishing? Maybe not in the busy, that is dangerous areas but the Type IXs way off in the South Atlantic or something? :hmm:

Yepp, they actually did! According to G. Williamson's book "Wolfpack", page 237, the boats would occaisionally seek to supplement the food rations by fishing. On the picture on the page there is actually an officer with an MP40, shooting sharks..! :o:yep:

[Avatar]

Yikes! 225days at sea. Their beards must have touched their feet!

[KeptinCranky]

I did 2 patrols in 39, both lasted 25 days, the first i went to the Polish ports first, then to England, the second I went all the way around England first through Der Kanal and then back around Scotland

Heh, type IIs and no targets, That does happen...I once took out my frustration on an armed trawler, it was the only thing to get within firing range the whole patrol, still took 3 eels to sink it :damn: and it was Dutch in 39 so still neutral which din't help all that much :-?. sometimes that just happens

or sailing all the way to New York and getting sunk by the first American plane you meet:cry: without a sinking to your name

and shooting sharks with an mp40? :hmm:
That's just dumb..I mean, you kill one shark...so now there's a lot of blood in the water and all his buddies are getting up a nice feeding frenzy, and then some poor slob has to go over the side to haul the damn thing in so the cook can make fish stew?

Ok so maybe there is a use for bernard after all :rotfl:

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

My 1st patrol spoiled me; 1st radio intercept is a warship convoy and I torpedo an Illustrious Class Carrier. I move on to rack up 120,000 tons. 2nd Patrol, I'm using calm seas to deck gun my way to 25,000 tons. Then the wind hits, the waves, then the rain and fog. I manage to sonar a contact, sink a large merchant. Spend two days getting to my assigned patrol grid. 24 hours-nothing going on and the weather is lousy. I sit there another day. Nothing.

Drive east towards Ireland. get a radio contact, 5 knots convoy going north. The seas are rough and I have to travel almost 300 kms to have a shot at him. I'm on 3/4 fuel. I say noway, I'd run out of gas. I let him, go but I cruise towards the entrance between the Irish Sea and the Atlantic. The weather is lousy. I see some tramp streamers and small freighters. I cant use the deck gun in this weather so I let them go too. I want to save my fish for the bigguns - Large Merchants, medium cargo, whale factory ships. What can I say? I've been spoiled! Besides, I think when the weather calms down I'll go back to Mr. Deck Gun. 10 days pass and I shoot at nothing! Then the clouds go away but it's still blowing about 10 knots at bearing 255 and the seas are swelling. I make contact with a Large Merchant. Got him. One shot below the first mast is always money.

Then the rain and fog comes back! Whats up with that? Next I get a radio intercept of a convoy due west of me heading straight east. I cruise at 2 knots at periscope depth to intercept. As I'm making a visual on the convoy I see a Large Merchant due East of me heading West. I line up for a portside shot, get him.

The fact is, I went 10 days without anything! Now that is a dry spell I've already been killed once, and even in my previous profile/life, I never went through a spell like that! I guess it happens. I wish this lousy weather would go away. I had calm seas all through my 1st patrol and I have never seen lousy weather pop up 2x on one patrol. Wierd.

[Telgriff]

Sounds like you have a few dozen horseshoes on your Uboat UnterseeBoogeyMan! I have had entire patrols where I have not seen (or sunk) anything more than a couple of trawlers. A good patrol for me 50K.

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

Sounds like you have a few dozen horseshoes on your Uboat UnterseeBoogeyMan! I have had entire patrols where I have not seen (or sunk) anything more than a couple of trawlers. A good patrol for me 50K.

I guess I play hard and die early. My last career ended in the Irish See and I averaged 2 patrols, over 100k each. We'll see if I can buck the trend. Kaleun Willenbrock met his match at 90 meters, hopefully Kaluen Adama can pull through to the Operation Weserabung! Granted, I did choose the Flotilla that gives you Type IIVs in 1939. :up:14 fish and then some does wonders!

[Telgriff]

Sounds like you have a few dozen horseshoes on your Uboat UnterseeBoogeyMan! I have had entire patrols where I have not seen (or sunk) anything more than a couple of trawlers. A good patrol for me 50K.
I guess I play hard and die early. My last career ended in the Irish See and I averaged 2 patrols, over 100k each. We'll see if I can buck the trend. Kaleun Willenbrock met his match at 90 meters, hopefully Kaluen Adama can pull through to the Operation Weserabung! Granted, I did choose the Flotilla that gives you Type IIVs in 1939. :up:14 fish and then some does wonders!

I'm cruising around in my IXB from the moment they were available...my convoy approach just sucks...so i only get lone or twin merchants most of the time.

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

Sounds like you have a few dozen horseshoes on your Uboat UnterseeBoogeyMan! I have had entire patrols where I have not seen (or sunk) anything more than a couple of trawlers. A good patrol for me 50K.
I guess I play hard and die early. My last career ended in the Irish See and I averaged 2 patrols, over 100k each. We'll see if I can buck the trend. Kaleun Willenbrock met his match at 90 meters, hopefully Kaluen Adama can pull through to the Operation Weserabung! Granted, I did choose the Flotilla that gives you Type IIVs in 1939. :up:14 fish and then some does wonders!
I'm cruising around in my IXB from the moment they were available...my convoy approach just sucks...so i only get lone or twin merchants most of the time.

Have the DDs, as a forwardscreen, started pinging, thus smoking you out if your setup ahead or do you try to shoot the gap in the screen on the surface?
My approach sucks in the fog. I get lined up for a 90 degree shot on a Large Merchant and a DD shows up and puts holes in my boat. Adama goes to Davey Jones' Locker and thus begins the carreer of Kaluen Thomsen.