Detection range of destroyers

[Scape]

I know you can see it mapped when your surfaced and looking on the map but what is the detection range of the destroyers for surfaced, decks awash, P depth, 60m and 200m and crush depth? I know there is some randomness but I have been using 1.5km range around them and using that as a rule of thumb and not going above 2/3rd speed and once inside 1.5k I cut to 1knt.

Greed an impatience kills me a lot but this will allow me to set better expectations.

[Paul_IronCoffin]

I'd be interested in seeing an informed reply to the OP. So far, I've been successful in avoiding detection (most of the time!), but it takes careful attention to the search pattern the DD's are employing; and almost constantly manouevring to avoid.

[KeptinCranky]

There is no fixed rule, depends a lot on the level of the DD crew, if they're veteran AI or some such 1,5km is too close and 60m too shallow

but if they're early war Green AI you can get fairly close on the surface without being spotted at night, especially when deck's awash, and when I say fairly close I mean 500 meters or so :o

it's never smart to get too close when submerged though, sometimes you can be at 30m silent running, and stopped and they can still find you from 750 meters away when you thought the DD would just pass you by...

A careful Captain will be able to avoid escorts fairly easily up until 1942 after that... well it gets tougher real quick, and in 1944 it boils down to get detected and you're toast unless you get lucky...

[Paul_IronCoffin]

Best advice I can proffer is don't give the enemy any chance to detect you in the first place. Stay deep and slow on coastal approaches, and anywhere nearing the open sea routes.

You'll still detect approaching ships. Go to PD, identify, and attack if the tonnage is woth it...

[A Very Super Market]

Other ships see as far as you do when surfaced in good weather.
Bad weather gives you an advantage in sight because you are so low in the water.

Your hydrophones are basically the same as the escorts, but they are chugging at full speed, making them louder.

ASDIC has a much shorter range than hydrophone, and angles downward. Meaning that if you are directly underneath a destroyer, it can't detect you with ASDIC (still can hear you)

I think hydrophones can hear you as far as you can safely go, so crush depth is only to escape depth charges

[Scape]

sometimes you can be at 30m silent running, and stopped and they can still find you from 750 meters away when you thought the DD would just pass you by...

I know! It's like did Bernard drop the wrench AGAIN?

[KeptinCranky]

:lol: No it's Bernard hitting his head against the bulkhead again, which makes a nice hollow BOIIINNGG sound :damn:

My best advice early war would be:

In daylight, stay submerged and be very careful with the scope, only attack if you're going to lose the target otherwise

At night you have a lot more leeway and the advantage over the escorts if you stay surfaced, at night, only dive when they've seen you and have opened fire,

as to torpedo attacks, don't be afraid to use your TIs at medium speed from 4km or 5km out
they will still usually spot them too late to do anything about it.

for big (unrealistic) tonnage do the one eel one ship thing... at least in GWX. in stock SH3 your best bet for this would be C3 cargos, fire just when the bridge hits the vertical crosshair, this splits them in half 9 out of 10 times

oh and sink every single merchant you find... no exceptions :arrgh!:

[peterloo]

The followings are based on my experience

With Mark I eyeball

daytime --- good visibility => about 5 to 6km
rough sea => less than 1km (so as you!)

nighttime --- about 2km to 3km for flat sea

With radar --- more than 10km

edit: the 1km refers to heavy rain, and rough sea

[meduza]

With Mark I eyeball

daytime --- good visibility => about 5 to 6km

I think it's much more than this. If you are going fast, with the broadside turned to enemy, and if the sea is calm, they can spot you from 15-16km. That is if you have the GWX 16k atmosphere mod. If not, it's about 8km.

[danurve]

It's funny about the detection thing, the other night I'm playing a Med patrol, late `42, a pair of DE's traveling along I surfaced breifly about 2.5km away so they WOULD detect me.
I needed Something to sink for crying out loud.
Ended that patrol with 7 warships & 4 merchants on the books.

Paul_IronCoffin; Best advice I can proffer is don't give the enemy any chance to detect you in the first place.

That is fairly solid. From an unsuspecting point you can wreek havok from a good aob.