How soon do you call it quits?

[Hanomag]

At what percentage do you call it quits and head for port? Outside of critical damage. I am talking hull integrity here.

I mean I don't want to limp into port at 1% and have a seagull crap on my bridge and sink my boat. :o

Just curious to see how far the pros push it.

[antikristuseke]

I dont have my H.I. visible so I go by gut feel.

[Blacklight]

Regardless of hull integrity, I don't come back till every eel is gone.:stare:

[Kodaita]

I don't show my H.I either, so it's mostly by feel. If I just took a major hammering then I'll head for base, If it wasn't too bad I'll go back in. I've never had a problem going back to base with fish still in the tubes. It's nice to go back in and get that extra tonnage, but it's not worth dying for. I try to play as if my life and the lives of my crew are on the line. My highly trained crew and sub are more valuable than 10-20K tonnage. I can make it up next trip. But have to be alive to do it.

[U-96]

Normally, the following cause my return to port.

1- All my torpedoes are spent. (self explanitory)

2- have 3 or more compartments in the red, even though they're repaired, the hull integrity has been weakened significantly if it does that. And the trip home doesn't mean it's a safe one. It's good to have a safe zone incase you're attacked again and can take some more punishment.

3- When my fuel is down to 35 percent. Simply put, I don't want to crawl home. you become easy pickings for aircraft and destroyers if that's the case.

[Spruence M]

I would not return to base until under 50%. Unless vital systems were destroyed. However, once after making an attack on a convoy, I suffered damage down to about 5.6% and decided to return to base.

[Brag]

I don't show my H.I either, so it's mostly by feel. If I just took a major hammering then I'll head for base, If it wasn't too bad I'll go back in. I've never had a problem going back to base with fish still in the tubes. It's nice to go back in and get that extra tonnage, but it's not worth dying for. I try to play as if my life and the lives of my crew are on the line. My highly trained crew and sub are more valuable than 10-20K tonnage. I can make it up next trip. But have to be alive to do it.

Same here :cool:

[StarFox]

I dont have my H.I. visible so I go by gut feel.
same here

when stuff like this starts poping up....its time to go home (note the depth)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/will107/Screenshot_955.jpg

[Kodaita]

I would not return to base until under 50%. Unless vital systems were destroyed. However, once after making an attack on a convoy, I suffered damage down to about 5.6% and decided to return to base.

:huh::o:o:dead:
5.6% !!! Hearing things like that make me glad I can't see my H.I. number. I'd be afraid that flushing the head would sink the boat.

[StarFox]

dang...my lowest is 6.58 HI left after patrol 10...

[Lagger123987]

My lowest is 0%(really, I'm not kidding) but stil manage to limp home.

[U49]

The general idea is: keep up the attack.

1
no ammunition
- shot all torpedos (most often)

2
empty fuel
I returned once with 100km estimated fuel range left :-)

3
severely Uboot (not combat ready anymore)
- broken engine
- broken screw (I hate it, every ugly coal steamer can run away unharmed :-( )
- ALL torpedo tubes broken
- hull integrity may drop below 50%, no strict limit here

4
estimated max. patrol time is over
i.e. in type II I will not spend more then 25 days on sea
i.e. in type VII I will limit my war patrol to 6-8 weeks
Although food replenishment is not modeled, I stick to the numbers that I read about it.

[Cezbor]

I don't quit before all mission objectives are completed and all torpedo's or gun ammo fired. The exception is only situation when my crew safety is in threat. Only once I quited mission at 0,61 % hull integrity. With damage rate so high I couldn't even dive to periscope depth and sail faster than 3 knots.:-?

[Junafani]

I haven't hide hull integrity (How do you even do that?), but I have never got bad hull integrity. Normally it gets to something like 96%. But destroyers have get few good hits, and it is game over then... But I would think going back to home when HI gets down to something like 30%.

And I get normally back to base when my torpedoes and deck gun ammo is used. I am now in 1940, so those cargos dosen't have guns, but when they get I think it is not very wise to try gun them down. If you remove your deck gun, does it affect to your U-boat submerged cruising speed in GWX?

[Huskalar]

Using SH3 Commander gives you the option to hide or show hull integrity. My lowest HI was about 15%, but I was already heading home because I had no torpedos left. A Hurricane scored a direct hit on me on my way back. Normally I would not consider to go home if my HI is 25% or higher.

[andylegate]

My HI is normally kept hidden too.

But when I loose something vital (like my conning tower :roll: ) then I head back home. Better to limp back home, even if my HI is above 50% and still loaded with torps than to put the crew and boat in an unreasonable risk situation. Even BdU can't expect us to be THAT much like Superman! :hmm:

[SmokinTep]

Depends on the damage and fuel reserves.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

I dont have my H.I. visible so I go by gut feel. when stuff like this starts poping up....its time to go home (note the depth)


Given your depth, forward speed, flooding/water weight and various damages...

..That boat didn't make it home in GWX. The situation you have shown in the screenie you posted above is impossible to recover from without further modifications to SH3, mate.;)

[minute]

when stuff like this starts poping up....its time to go home (note the depth)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/will107/Screenshot_955.jpg
Man, you need to give your repair team a rest! No wonder your sub looks like this!:lol: Look at all those folks chewing the fat in the diesel engine compartment:o

[Blacklight]

Originally Posted by StarFox

when stuff like this starts poping up....its time to go home (note the depth)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y241/will107/Screenshot_955.jpg

Wow ! Is that battle damage or did you have Bernard on board ?

[KeptinCranky]

No visible HI for me, didn't watch it when it was visible, I only return home if my boat is incapable of performing its intended function effectively, usually when I get both periscopes, my radio and my hydrophone destroyed (this always happens all at the same time to me:nope: ), loose a screw, an engine or most of my torpedo-tubes.

[Bismarck]

Lowest i got was 1.17 i crashed into a King George Battleship and managed to limp into a Neutral port. This was stock ShIII in Scapa Flow. :-?

[Avatar]

And I get normally back to base when my torpedoes and deck gun ammo is used. I am now in 1940, so those cargos dosen't have guns, but when they get I think it is not very wise to try gun them down. If you remove your deck gun, does it affect to your U-boat submerged cruising speed in GWX?

Interesting question. Does anyone know about this? I've kept mine and its May 42, still in a type VIIB.
GWX and SH3 CDR.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

And I get normally back to base when my torpedoes and deck gun ammo is used. I am now in 1940, so those cargos dosen't have guns, but when they get I think it is not very wise to try gun them down. If you remove your deck gun, does it affect to your U-boat submerged cruising speed in GWX?

Interesting question. Does anyone know about this? I've kept mine and its May 42, still in a type VIIB.
GWX and SH3 CDR.

Unfortunately, SH3 does not allow for variable hydrodynamic physics based on equipment loadout. (You are limited to having one set of drag coefficients.) Removing the deck gun would only give you a marginal increase in performance at any rate if multiple physics models for each U-boat type were represented in SH3.

Back to the original topic though, disgression is the better part of valor. It is okay to return to base with some of your torpedoes remaining in order to preserve the boat as a military asset for continued use in patrols subsequent to repair.
In real life all patrols and returns to base would be scrutinized by senior command staff / BdU... performance evaluations... pretty standard standard stuff. However, there was one U-boat commander who was shot for cowardice in WWII.

I'll leave that for you good folks to look up.:ping:

[papa_smurf]

Been down to 76% Hull Integrity, and still managed to sucessfully complete a patrol.

[The Munster]

Usually after I've lost both periscopes which happens all too frequently.

[papa_smurf]

Usually after I've lost both periscopes which happens all too frequently.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Penelope_Grey]

Actually I dunno if I will be believed or not, but the lowest hull integrity I have ever had is 40% or there abouts. It was back during my first days playing GWX and I was attacked in a Type IIA while patroling off the Shetland and Orkney islands. I was peppered with bullets, no more bulletproof U-boat... and a bomb landed pretty close to my hull, so... I decided to creep back to Kiel.

I usually am extremely cautious during my main patrol... I really do my utmost to be as considerate as I can, basically, I hate it when I get blown up, so.... I just take it steady and I'd rather not attack nothing and preserve the boat than attack something and die. Cause to me, given the nature of the game, dying is the ultimate defeat. Mind you, I've had equipment smashed to bits and egines blew up and all sorts... so I've been had by the scruff of the neck plenty of times.

[Junafani]

I haven't hide hull integrity (How do you even do that?), but I have never got bad hull integrity. Normally it gets to something like 96%. But destroyers have get few good hits, and it is game over then... But I would think going back to home when HI gets down to something like 30%.
Now that is corrected, that I dont get lower HI than 96% without dying after that.
I was in BF21, and it is very shallow. I sunk one Large Cargo, and after that I went to periscope depth to use hydrophones. After three hours I get sound contact from merchant. So I plotted course to it and then I went to the TDC to setup torpedoes ready.

After few minutes there was loud BANG in the front of U-boat and when I went to watch the map I saw that I just sailed to that Large Cargo what I sinked 3 hours ago. :rotfl: And after fixing boat, my HI was 9% and all bow torpedo tubes are inoperatible. Now I am sailing back to home. I hope anyone dosent see me when I am going around England. :rotfl:Stupid shallow waters.

[Blacklight]

After few minutes there was loud BANG in the front of U-boat and when I went to watch the map I saw that I just sailed to that Large Cargo what I sinked 3 hours ago.

That's what you get when you stick Bernard at the helm.:nope:

[NiclDoe]

Regardless of hull integrity, I don't come back till every eel is gone.:stare:
What happens if you waste all your torps and don not sink a single ship

[Col. Caldwell]

I usually return to base when I have one or two torpedoes left. Most often I have at least one torpedo remaining in my VIIC's aft tube. I save those torpedoes in case I need to fight off warships.

[Kodaita]

[/quote] What happens if you waste all your torps and don not sink a single ship[/quote]

You need to go back to the academy. If you aim correctly you can sink lots of the ships with one hit, two at most. Unless you using one of the type II's and get a large amount of duds, you should be able to sink a fair number of ships. I know duds can screw us up quite a bit, but I've never had all my torps come up duds. Most I ever had was around 50% once in November 39 with a type II. Still got two kills for around 9000 tons total.

[Blacklight]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blacklight
Regardless of hull integrity, I don't come back till every eel is gone.:stare:

What happens if you waste all your torps and don not sink a single ship

Easy !! I blame Bernard !! ;)

Anyway.. I'm one of those insane captains who is willing to sacrifice his boat to take down a few ships. I like to live on the edge. Sure I'll get blown to pieces a lot but then, I've discovered that you get some of your best stories by being crazy like I am.:arrgh!:
30% hull integrity... 4 torpedoes left and a task force in front of me... Well... that sounds like a personal challenge...
Okay men ! Lets make sure we get that TMA solution just right !!!!:rock:

[sunvalleyslim]

My Boat (U-39) goes home when the Jack Daniels runs out, and we head back for port. That's because Kapt Balz (Brag) is there and he's buying rounds for all Kapts that have beat his tonnage. Go to the bank Balz cause we're really thirsty....:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Blacklight]

My Boat (U-39) goes home when the Jack Daniels runs out, and we head back for port

Okay. That would make me turn around too. Also, if we ran out of beer. I find keeping my crew well buzzed is the best way to keep them relaxed when I order "Full steam ahead ! Man the deck gun !" when I spot that task force of 200 sub hunting ships.:arrgh!:

[ReallyDedPoet]

Many conditions to take into consideration: damage, where is it; place of operations; what year am I patrolling in; how many torps left....


RDP

[minute]

I usually call it quits when the stink from Bernard's bunk gets so bad it gives you watery eyes in the conning tower...:oops: That can seriously affect our survival chances... I don't think he ever does the laundry, Bernard.:88)

[The Munster]

Many conditions to take into consideration: damage, where is it; place of operations; what year am I patrolling in; how many torps left....


RDP

.... needle close to zero on the Jack Daniels guage