TexanInSoFL
10-26-09, 09:33 AM
I spent the better part of my Saturday experimenting with various ways to attack a large convoy in shallow water. I died...oh...20 times before figuring out something that worked (see below), but I'm not happy with it. So, I'd very much like to get your thoughts on better strategy here.
The overview...so I'm attacking a convoy with 8 merchants, a light cruiser and something like 8-10 escorts (destroyers, sub chasers and minesweepers). The escorts are in a circle, and the merchants and cruiser are tightly packed in the center of the circle. The water is very shallow...only like 10 feet below the keel when at periscope depth. It's at night, and visibility is relatively poor.
I started a variety of my attempts by going silent, very slow and no periscope while waiting for the convoy to approach my firing position, but I wasn't able to go deep because of the depth. Whenever the escort line got close to me, the escorts would go nuts...lights, active sonor, depth charging, etc.
In the end, I was able to get off a constant bearing attack while the escorts were pounding me, firing at two ships in quick succession. Then I slammed the engines to flank and ran around firing torpedoes at the rest of the merchants at 600 yards or so. I felt like one of those people who jumps the wall at a baseball game and runs around dodging the security that's chasing him. While I was ultimately successful, it seemed completely unrealistic. No one would put their crew and boat at risk like that.
So, what do you guys recommend instead? A few questions:
1. Is this just a bad setup? Should I just chalk this up to "too hard" and look for easier targets? I thought about trying to plot the convoy's long-term path and pick a different, deeper spot. But the convoy was in the Java Sea...no deep water anywhere close.
2. Would people just sit outside the escort ring and take pot shots from long range? This document seems to recommend long-range "browning shots": http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/onipubno23.htm I don't have a lot of success sinking multiple ships from 3,000 or so yards, though.
3. Is there something else I can do to better avoid the escorts while still getting a few more good shots in? With other convoys in looser formation, I can typically get off at least two rounds of constant bearing attacks (2 ships at a time).
Thanks in advance for the advice.
The overview...so I'm attacking a convoy with 8 merchants, a light cruiser and something like 8-10 escorts (destroyers, sub chasers and minesweepers). The escorts are in a circle, and the merchants and cruiser are tightly packed in the center of the circle. The water is very shallow...only like 10 feet below the keel when at periscope depth. It's at night, and visibility is relatively poor.
I started a variety of my attempts by going silent, very slow and no periscope while waiting for the convoy to approach my firing position, but I wasn't able to go deep because of the depth. Whenever the escort line got close to me, the escorts would go nuts...lights, active sonor, depth charging, etc.
In the end, I was able to get off a constant bearing attack while the escorts were pounding me, firing at two ships in quick succession. Then I slammed the engines to flank and ran around firing torpedoes at the rest of the merchants at 600 yards or so. I felt like one of those people who jumps the wall at a baseball game and runs around dodging the security that's chasing him. While I was ultimately successful, it seemed completely unrealistic. No one would put their crew and boat at risk like that.
So, what do you guys recommend instead? A few questions:
1. Is this just a bad setup? Should I just chalk this up to "too hard" and look for easier targets? I thought about trying to plot the convoy's long-term path and pick a different, deeper spot. But the convoy was in the Java Sea...no deep water anywhere close.
2. Would people just sit outside the escort ring and take pot shots from long range? This document seems to recommend long-range "browning shots": http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/onipubno23.htm I don't have a lot of success sinking multiple ships from 3,000 or so yards, though.
3. Is there something else I can do to better avoid the escorts while still getting a few more good shots in? With other convoys in looser formation, I can typically get off at least two rounds of constant bearing attacks (2 ships at a time).
Thanks in advance for the advice.