DeadEye Dan

[Hanomag]

Ok...

Who are the guys manning the deck guns on merchants? :o I mean really...

I am playing Stock GWX using SH3 Comm with like nothing activated.

Its March 7th 1941... Rough seas...Fog... I surface about 3k from convoy and immediately the shelling starts.

"Bah ...Shwinehund..They'll never hit me!", I think to myself.

wizz..Kersplossh wizz..Kersploosh wizz Kersploosh

"Hah I knew it, those inferior gunners cant hit me. Hell, Im doing 13knots in rough seas." I snicker brimming with arrogance and overconfidence.

Then suddenly....

wizz Boom Crash Crumple! Ouch!

"WTF! Inconceivable!" I exclaimed as I superman dive down the hatch!

...from 96 to 89 hull integrity in one hit. And the hits keep on coming forcing me to dive. :cry:

Sure I was happy to survive and that only one maybe two convoy ships were armed But they cant be that good. I was watching from the external and the bows of the ships shelling me were taking the deep plunge...way below the surface of the water. Is there a mod that decreases the accuracy of these DeadEye Dan gunners?

Are the gunners on these merchant freighters all retirees from battleships during WW1? They cant have been really that good in real life. Maybe 1 or 2 gun crews in a merchant fleet could have been that elite. And BTW have there ever been any real Uboat sinkings credited to merchants from shelling not ramming. Im talking regular cargo here not uber freighters that are Cruisers or whatever in disguise.

Anyways see you at the "NightClub"............I hope ;)
Watchout for those Tramp Steamers!

[andylegate]

A mile and a half away, moderate to heavy seas.......tough, not impossible, but you would be a tough target.

Naval gunner, especially back then, had several different ways to get their rounds on you (yes, even civilian merchants).

1) O.S.O.L.O.O. Stands for One Short, One Long, One On. Meaning where the rounds land. One short of you, increase the angle of the barrel, one over you, decrease the angle of the barrel. you keep doing this until you find the right angle of the barrel that will make a balistic tajectory to place rounds right on you.

2) Walk it to the target. This has the side benifit (for the shooter of course, not you) of hurting the target psychologicly. There's something about seeing HE rounds slowly, but surely, coming closer, and closer to your target. The gunner will see the hit instead of a splash and know that they have the right angle on the barrel of their gun.

3) Spotting. There's another crew member with a set of binoculars. They are watching where the rounds land, and saying that information to the gun crew. This allows the gun crew to adjust the angle of the barrel, and train it around in bearing so that they can put a bead on you.

Basic rule of thumb: When you start getting shot at, it's time to dive, and dive quickly! Ships merely have to float, you on the other hand need to float and dive. A ships hull can take a pounding and still stay afloat. Your hull on the other hand should be treated like an egg shell! One or two hits from a small caliber weapon can place your sub in serious danger the next time you go to dive.

Be thankful that these are not modern day HE rounds. They can actually be set with a timer to go off. An air burst of one of these simply NEAR your sub, and it would be hit with shrapnel!

Oh, and by the way: Merchant gunners were trained! Here's a link that talks about US Merchants:

http://www.usmm.net/gunnery.html#anchor266245

[Hanomag]

Omgz...

Hey Thanks For the info....least it makes a little more sense when Im out there gettin pounded!

[Brag]

Wait 'til you meet the GWX gunners :eek:

[bookworm_020]

Wait 'til you meet the GWX gunners :eek:

They were crew of the Black Peal in a former life!:dead:

[andylegate]

:rotfl:

[papa_smurf]

When it comes to armed merchant ships I have one peice of adviec for you - Stay away from them!

Risking a gun duel will almost certainly result in you taking heavy damge/or been sunk. Remember that a U-boat is not the idea gun platform, as it rolls/pitches more than a large ship.

Its much easier to sink an armed mercahnt wih torpedoes, and is much safer.

[Jimbuna]

When it comes to armed merchant ships I have one peice of adviec for you - Stay away from them!

Risking a gun duel will almost certainly result in you taking heavy damge/or been sunk. Remember that a U-boat is not the idea gun platform, as it rolls/pitches more than a large ship.

Its much easier to sink an armed mercahnt wih torpedoes, and is much safer.

You could have a point :hmm:

;)

[BulSoldier]

Well i using most of the cases the deck gun against sigle merchants(or two but only if i am aproaching from behind and there are no escorts) but first of all i go personally to deck gun to take out the gun/s (1/2 if there are more dive and bang a salvo).In curent carier my "deck gun" is single barreled flak gun (IIA) so i stay out of engaging any ships with it!;)