Man....1943 is Tough!

[sharkbit]

I started playing with the 2nd Flotilla in 8/39. I only lost one boat in 4/40 near Narvik. A couple of Kaleuns were posted ashore after 6 or so patrols. Things were relatively easy.

Now......:nope:.

I've lost 4 boats in 1943:

U-176 in the Atlantic. 2nd Flotilla out of Lorient.
3/43 during 4th patrol. Forced to surface and sunk.

U-968 in the Med. 29th Flotilla out of La Spezia
6/43 on her first patrol with all hands.

U-81 in the Med. 29th/30th Flotilla out of Toulon.
10/43 on her 5th patrol (or 6th-can't remember for sure off hand:hmmm:) with all hands.

Lost my 4th U-boat yesterday:
U-516 in the Atlantic. 12th Flotilla out of Bordeaux.
5/43 on her 2nd patrol with all hands.

Anybody want to join my crew when I head back into the Atlantic with another boat? :D

All but one have been lost after attacking convoys. I get a bad feeling now when I get a radio report of a convoy, but orders are orders-sink tonnage.

In all but one, hedgehogs played a big role. Those things are scary :o. No "Wasserbomben!", just bang and a lot of damage.

In my last boat, I took some minor damage in the bow torpedo room from depth charges. 5 minutes or so later I'm deep and quiet at 165m and bang! I get damage reports, look at the crew management screen, and I'm at 40% HI and almost my whole boat is yellow and the HI starts dropping, the bow torpedo room went red, and before I could even try to blow tanks(if it even would have done any good)-DEAD.:dead:
I assume the last attack involved multiple hits from hedgehogs.

I'm taking a break from the Atlantic/Med for a bit. I started a new career with the 30th Flotilla in the Black Sea in 10/42 with a type IID out of Constanza. I'm hoping it will be a nice change of pace with a little easier pickings against the Russians. :sunny:

[meduza]

I lost one boat in Med, February 43. I'm now in April 43, again in Med, but different career.
And it is tough. Almost every convoy attack ends up with hours of pinging and DC. Easy attacks are very rare.
Can't wait to get VIIC/41 later in the year. Her ability to dive deeper should make things easier.

[GoldenRivet]

I have lost a few in 43.

mostly attacking convoys en route from north africa bound for "the arsenal of democracy."

usually its a combination of depth charges and hedge hogs as i get pounded at 230 meters depth

[Task Force]

Huh, you think the atlanic was tough, just wait till you are stuck in the north sea.:rotfl: and cant realy dive too deep.:yep:

[BulSoldier]

What do you mean by "arsenal of democracy" ?

On the topic, i never reached '43 , though total i have had 5 or less careers all started at '39.

[Hanomag]

Yes...43..yes hedgehogs... the horror..the horror.. :cry:

[msalama]

What do you mean by "arsenal of democracy"?

See here:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/WorldWar2/arsenal.htm

[GoldenRivet]

What do you mean by "arsenal of democracy" ?

msalama hit it on the head.

this term stuck and came to serve as a descriptor for the men, machines and munitions of war being stockpiled daily on the island nation of Great Britain.

(interchangeable term for the capacity of industrial war-time production for the allied powers as well)

[papa_smurf]

Been to '43 once - got sunk in the Bay of Biscay. Won't be going there for a while.

[TarJak]

'43 is a cakewalk compared to '45.:D More planes than you can poke a schnorkel at and even better crews and kit on the DD's.

The way to survive 43 is to go to the South Atlantic park your boat at Rio flying a white flag and wait out the end of the war.

[Bent Periscope]

I've yet to make it to 1943 since I only get limited play and keep tyying out new mods and subs.

Thanks for the warning.

[karamazovnew]

You landlobber :arrgh!:, start your campaign in 44 without a snorkel on VII with a fresh crew and no renown. Then you'll see the true meaning of "horror".

[Sea Hawk]

Read iron coffins by Herbert Werner for an account of the real life situation. Im not surprized non of you are making it.

Im amaized that Herbert Werner survived at all.

At one point just to leave port he sunk to the sea bed to wait for the tide to turn so that he could drift under the blockadeing allied ships.
He was recieving messages all the time about U-boats sinking.

Biscay sounded absolute hell. During the Normandy landings they were sailing in line surfaced and each U-boat was picked off one by one from the last one to the 1st (mind they did have dodgy orders from high command to coap with :damn:).

He had a radar detector which anounsed his position to allied aircraft! :damn::damn:

[sharkbit]

The way to survive 43 is to go to the South Atlantic park your boat at Rio flying a white flag and wait out the end of the war.

Hmmmm.....not a bad idea. I was actually heading down that way on my last patrol in the Atlantic when I ran into the convoy.

Next time, I'll make sure Bernard keeps at least one sheet clean, just in case. :D

[RoaldLarsen]

I agree that 1943 is tough. See this thread (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=149711).

[Ancient Mariner]

@ Seahawk,I read that book too it got me back into playing Sh3. With regard to 43-45 have given it a go but sadly all attempts were in vain,1st patrol sinking everytime.

[ryanglavin]

i started my career in 1940 and i haven't died yet and i am in 1942. i have 200k tons sunk, from pure luck mostly. i found not many convoys with more than 1 escort. but then november 1941 hit me, and i find a task force in the meditteranean. Its the middle of the night in the stormy seas, which is weird for the med. i get scared because the first battleship in line is a king george only 3000K meters off my bow. i have 3 destroyers comings down on me, and right when i fire my 4 torpedoes from the bow tubes at the battleship, on of his salvoes comes flying in and has flooding in 3 rooms, everyone topside killed, and my hydrophones and radio destroyed, same with both periscopes. i dive to 200 meters and stop everything while going into silent runnings. i feel safe, and i blow ballast, and he i come up to a completely disabled king george 800 yards away with no escorts around. I think a destroyer had radar, because right when i reload my tubes and fire my torps, i look to my right and see a destroyer no more than 7000 yards off. i dive and actually go under the battleship, and i am safe. the destroyer tries to drop depth charges on my escape but actually hit hits the battleship and sinks itself. i don't want to risk anything so i go 1000 yards to put the battleship to my stern. i don't go onto the surface and fires off my torpedos straight behind. I blow ballast right afterwards so i can see the sinking. i claim a battleship sunk and 36.000 tons on that patrol. i surface the boat and go ahead flank on the shortest route back to La Spezia, to home and a cheering crowd. i take so much damage that it takes until february of 1942 to repair the boat.
Lesson learned:
Don't attempt to destroy a battleship on the surface. :rock:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

I just set sail in '44...

... and the threats to survival began within minutes as an air raid slammed the harbor. (In the wee hours of the morning with the spotlights and air-raid sirens in GWX... it was very cool.)

About five hours into the bay of Biscay and still within sight of the shore, I witnessed a returning U-boat under repeated attack by a Sunderland... was also very cool!! (Both survived... and I thought the AI U-boat was a goner!)

One hour later, I was attacked by a Catalina that I think was drawn to the area by the AI by the Sunderland...

... and I was still in relatively shallow water.

The Cat's DC's were close enough to rock the boat, but the only damage was a couple of broken gauge faces.

All the same... the first 12 hours of my patrol have told me CLEARLY that the 'Happy Times' are very much over.

Late war gaming in GWX absolutely ROCKS... and I'm not just saying that because I'm the project manager. I usually try to stay away from saying how good GWX is because ppl get on my case about being 'arrogant' etc.

Its just that I get more of a thrill limping home all beat up with one engine running and a tired damage control team. Surviving close calls, makes me feel a little bit like I've been somewhere... and done something.:yep:

Then again... having been involved with the project for so long... I'm obviously a masochist.:rotfl:

[meduza]

Late war gaming in GWX absolutely ROCKS...
I agree. It's a completely different game than in early war, when I'm totaly obsessed with tonnage. After '43 the main concern is survival, how to come home in one peace. Strategic thinking is more important - which route to chose, when to dive and for how long, making sure not to run out of air and battery at wrong time,...etc. Every sank ship is victory for itself, especially in Med where most of them are escorted.

Then again... having been involved with the project for so long... I'm obviously a masochist.:rotfl:
Now we know why is GWX so hard. :D

[ltforce]

I agree. It's a completely different game than in early war, when I'm totaly obsessed with tonnage. After '43 the main concern is survival, how to come home in one peace. Strategic thinking is more important - which route to chose, when to dive and for how long, making sure not to run out of air and battery at wrong time,...etc. Every sank ship is victory for itself, especially in Med where most of them are escorted.


Now we know why is GWX so hard. :D


Im the same as you...finishing 41...and waiting for the onslaught of 43....I finished a campaign from start to finish in the stock sh3 before GWX came out....maybe i can do it again....we'll see, I love GWX its amazing and completely realistic!!:)

[TarJak]

Yup late war is all about survival and much less about tonnage. The special effects like air raids with sirens and searchlights just make it that much more special.

[BasilY]

My sympathies. :shifty: Been there. The hedgehog was my biggest enemy as well.

My advise to you. Use the renown you gather so far on long-range pattern-running and acoustic-homing torpedoes. Attack from a safe distance away at night. After, your renown credit s won't be worth anything after the war anyway.

[Bosje]

yeah it's hard but it's also a brilliant gaming experience

my most fun career ever saw me through the second half of 1942 and alsmost all of 1943, surviving some thrilling encounters. Eventually I died just before newyear 1944, from stupidity, when i attacked a convoy in the Med without having noticed that there was only 150 meters under the keel :damn:

hitting a few ships from a convoy and then playing hours and hours of cat and mouse with the escorts, in real time, is just the most exciting way to spend an evening, short of fornication

[TarJak]

Geez I'm glad you added that qualification at the end. You could have left yourself open to some derision.:D

[sharkbit]

I'm married with 2 kids. I can't even remember what fornication is anymore.:D