Reinhard Dietz
03-24-10, 09:31 PM
So I'm headed to BF 19 in trusty ol' U-48 when a convoy is sighted by someone else, but she's close, less than a day's sailing even at non-flank speed. Yee haw.
It's an inbound convoy at 6 knots, so I plot that out on the map and start doing the math. If I ran at flank speed throughout the rest of the night and the morning, I'd intercept the thing in time to see the sun rise. Given pre-war U-boat doctrine, that's not going to happen. So, I need to find them after nightfall on the second day, and I adjust my plotting accordingly. I race off to the planned intercept point and begin the wait.
As luck would have it, my sonar man (who's really going to get a medal for this) hears them at 0914 on the second day with upgraded hydrophones. If another very recent post is right, that means they're 20-30 kilometers away; if they're still making 6 knots, they'll be here in 3-5 hours, i.e. midday. That ain't good. My math was right so my estimated original position must have been off.
My plan of attack is simple: Once I find the new intercept point, i.e. where the convoy will be after dark, I'll go for that escort first (along with any friends) and then wreak havoc with deck gun (assuming the weather's constant; the seas are smooth as glass at the moment) and torpedoes while surfaced, per doctrine. Whether the moon's out or not is going to be irrelevant; it's the first convoy I've seen near me in this career and I figure that my Escorts Die First policy ("Honestly, herr Admiral, the escort swerved into the path of my torpedo!") will get the job done and U-48's second patrol will match or exceed her first of 27,000 GRT.
Here's my question: Assuming that they're still at six knots, should I just run on the surface at five or six knots in the same direction (checking with hydrophones every so often) and then pull to a stop so that they close the distance after nightfall and then surface to attack? If not, what should I be doing here?
I'm very rusty on engaging anything other than single targets, and my recent time in SHIV doesn't necessarily translate, I don't think. In other words, presume I don't know much.
NB: I'm GMT+1 as I understand it, and the date is 19 NOV 1939, so keep that in mind; didn't write down where I was. I've got to figure out when nightfall in this area is, too. Anyone got an idea? I'm running stock SHIII, for what it's worth.
It's an inbound convoy at 6 knots, so I plot that out on the map and start doing the math. If I ran at flank speed throughout the rest of the night and the morning, I'd intercept the thing in time to see the sun rise. Given pre-war U-boat doctrine, that's not going to happen. So, I need to find them after nightfall on the second day, and I adjust my plotting accordingly. I race off to the planned intercept point and begin the wait.
As luck would have it, my sonar man (who's really going to get a medal for this) hears them at 0914 on the second day with upgraded hydrophones. If another very recent post is right, that means they're 20-30 kilometers away; if they're still making 6 knots, they'll be here in 3-5 hours, i.e. midday. That ain't good. My math was right so my estimated original position must have been off.
My plan of attack is simple: Once I find the new intercept point, i.e. where the convoy will be after dark, I'll go for that escort first (along with any friends) and then wreak havoc with deck gun (assuming the weather's constant; the seas are smooth as glass at the moment) and torpedoes while surfaced, per doctrine. Whether the moon's out or not is going to be irrelevant; it's the first convoy I've seen near me in this career and I figure that my Escorts Die First policy ("Honestly, herr Admiral, the escort swerved into the path of my torpedo!") will get the job done and U-48's second patrol will match or exceed her first of 27,000 GRT.
Here's my question: Assuming that they're still at six knots, should I just run on the surface at five or six knots in the same direction (checking with hydrophones every so often) and then pull to a stop so that they close the distance after nightfall and then surface to attack? If not, what should I be doing here?
I'm very rusty on engaging anything other than single targets, and my recent time in SHIV doesn't necessarily translate, I don't think. In other words, presume I don't know much.
NB: I'm GMT+1 as I understand it, and the date is 19 NOV 1939, so keep that in mind; didn't write down where I was. I've got to figure out when nightfall in this area is, too. Anyone got an idea? I'm running stock SHIII, for what it's worth.