[REQ] Slower Convoys

[Anthony W.]

I was getting ready to attack a convoy so I went to periscope depth. After I got a bead on the lead with my periscope I checked speed... "12 knots! What the! The average convoy traveled at 2-5 knots!" So I was wondering if anyone could make a mod to slow the convoys down to historic speed... That or make a submerged boat do 15 knots, lol.

[AVGWarhawk]

Can you cite the historic speeds of the convoys? In the Atlantic there was fast and slow convoys. It is entirely plausible for the convoy to be making 12 kts especially if it is a task force.

[karamazovnew]

I'm preety sure that any convoy would be travelling at about 60% of the maximum speed of it's slowest ship. At anything below 15 knots, you still have enough time to maneuver and place yourelf in a good spot ahead of the convoy. It will take you a few hours, but that's how it was back then, sometimes it took days to perform a good attack. THe longest I've waited was almost 2 days for the weather to clear while keeping in contact with the convoy. Once I've had an Enemy Task Force going at almost less than 1 knot. But on the same patrol, I encountered a small convoy of 1 Huge Liner and 2 destroyers going at 20 knots, impossible of course to catch. But to be honest, the slow convoy seemed much more unrealistic.

[mookiemookie]

Here's an instance from Roscoe's U.S. Submarine Operations In WW2 that details the Searaven coming across a Japanese convoy doing 9-10 knots:

http://books.google.com/books?id=5lTI_dF4jocC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=japanese+convoy+speed+knots&source=bl&ots=z6QXgh0IWf&sig=FJOU_OIX0ppjrxj-c9HfwfVTMmY&hl=en&ei=ywN3StrwOcWLtgeBxNGWCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=japanese%20convoy%20speed%20knots&f=false

Atlantic convoys sailed at 7-9 knots if I remember correctly.

[AVGWarhawk]

Honestly, the Japanese never really had convoys as seen in the ATO. Small groups to be sure that would stick to the coastline later in the war.