1943 isnt a very good year

[Chris1999]

I've survived to June of 1943. And i think it's now mostly luck.

The occasional search plane incident seen in 1942 has been replaced by B-24 Liberators harassing me on such a constant basis, I can never have a full charge on my batteries. I'm crash diving to avoid groups of bombers 3-4 times a day.

German high command sends me on suicide missions off the coast of England.

I feel much more like the hunted than the hunter.

My favorite day is when the weather report is heavy fog, heavy precipitation. Then I can actually surface for extended periods of time and go sink some ships.

Twice I've had to return to port less than 3 days from my mission start date because my bridge was totally wasted by surprise Hurricane attacks. One mission I completed on a single engine and no flak guns, radar detector, antenna, radar, or deck gun and 5 crew dead.

Oh Luftwaffe, where arte thou? At least I sunk a destroyer last night.

[Capt. Morgan]

Congratulations on making it as far as '43 is all I can say.

If you get tired of always being the mouse, you could try transferring to the 2nd Flotilla, getting a type IX boat, and taking your patrols off to the South Atlantic. That's what I'll try if I ever survive past '41.

[flag4]

I've survived to June of 1943. And i think it's now mostly luck.

The occasional search plane incident seen in 1942 has been replaced by B-24 Liberators harassing me on such a constant basis, I can never have a full charge on my batteries. I'm crash diving to avoid groups of bombers 3-4 times a day.

German high command sends me on suicide missions off the coast of England.

I feel much more like the hunted than the hunter.

My favorite day is when the weather report is heavy fog, heavy precipitation. Then I can actually surface for extended periods of time and go sink some ships.

Twice I've had to return to port less than 3 days from my mission start date because my bridge was totally wasted by surprise Hurricane attacks. One mission I completed on a single engine and no flak guns, radar detector, antenna, radar, or deck gun and 5 crew dead.

Oh Luftwaffe, where arte thou? At least I sunk a destroyer last night.

great report. sounds very exciting too. hope u survive - good luck:salute:

[Puster Bill]

Surviving past 1942 is always a bit of a gamble. Get a schnorkel as soon as you can. Travel submerged @ 3 knots or so on batteries, and only schnorkel to recharge your batteries. Until then, keep a sharp lookout and dive immediately. And pray you don't get heard by a destroyer while snorting. And that you don't run into a mine. And that a B-24 won't get a radar reflection off of your schnorkel.

Even if you do everything "right", you still might not make to the end.

[VONHARRIS]

Congratulations on making it as far as '43 is all I can say.

If you get tired of always being the mouse, you could try transferring to the 2nd Flotilla, getting a type IX boat, and taking your patrols off to the South Atlantic. That's what I'll try if I ever survive past '41.

This is exactly what I do. My last patrol was at Grid CA54 , US east coast with U-126 IXC type.
It lasted 39 days and returned home with some 110.000 grt.
I found a juicy convoy of unarmed tankers escorted by a single DD and I sunk them all.
Of course , after mid 1943 things are tough. Sometimes I am not able to reach my assinged patol area due to damage my air attacks.

[K-61]

My Kaleun is in patrol 6 in Nov. 43. Transiting the Bay of Biscay results in having to dive several times, though for some strange reason I was not jumped once on my return voyage and I use max 256 TC for the trip. The most important upgrade you can make in my opinion is the radar detector and then the schnorkel, although it has not been offered to me yet. I generally stay under for at least half an hour before surfacing again, but usually an hour or more. To maximize my ability to remain under I always upgrade to the latest batteries and only proceed at slow ahead. It's air that limits my time underwarter most of the time. The escorts are now both more numerous and skilled. The last convoy I attacked had nine escorts, but I still managed to sink two large merchants from it. After that I broke off contact as the weather was filthy and I did not wish to risk another surfaced approach, knowing they had radar. And, oddly, I have not yet encountered a Hedgehog, but I'm sure my time will come.

Patience and discretion are the words of the day. Overaggression will get you killed in no time. Keep a fresh and competent bridge watch at all times and a qualified sonarman in hydrophone room.

[reignofdeath]

My Kaleun is in patrol 6 in Nov. 43. Transiting the Bay of Biscay results in having to dive several times, though for some strange reason I was not jumped once on my return voyage and I use max 256 TC for the trip. The most important upgrade you can make in my opinion is the radar detector and then the schnorkel, although it has not been offered to me yet. I generally stay under for at least half an hour before surfacing again, but usually an hour or more. To maximize my ability to remain under I always upgrade to the latest batteries and only proceed at slow ahead. It's air that limits my time underwarter most of the time. The escorts are now both more numerous and skilled. The last convoy I attacked had nine escorts, but I still managed to sink two large merchants from it. After that I broke off contact as the weather was filthy and I did not wish to risk another surfaced approach, knowing they had radar. And, oddly, I have not yet encountered a Hedgehog, but I'm sure my time will come.

Patience and discretion are the words of the day. Overaggression will get you killed in no time. Keep a fresh and competent bridge watch at all times and a qualified sonarman in hydrophone room.

"Argh Be Less Aggressive!!":arrgh!: :p

[JokerOfFate]

The RAF don't bother me, they know that I'm drunk enough to attack'em, but sober enough to hit'em. :DL

[Jimbuna]

Believe it or not, there are some folk that have yet to survive as long as you have.

SINK EM ALL!! http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[Chris1999]

My Kaleun is in patrol 6 in Nov. 43. Transiting the Bay of Biscay results in having to dive several times,

I think it's june or july '43 in my game. I was just sent to AM14 or somesuch. It was a pleasure cruise! ;)

and I use max 256 TC for the trip.

It seems like there's no way I could use TC this high. I've noticed that it doesnt warn you as quickly as it could. for example, when I am at 16X I can see the metox going off and can sometimes be underwater before the plane is laying waste to me. with 256X it seems like i am still in the process of diving down when I am dive bombed.

The most important upgrade you can make in my opinion is the radar detector and then the schnorkel, although it has not been offered to me yet.

No snorkels for me either : /

To maximize my ability to remain under I always upgrade to the latest batteries and only proceed at slow ahead. It's air that limits my time underwarter most of the time.

This is also what I do. Air would also limit my bottom time, but I try to surface with ~50% of my battery as a reserve for whatever problems lie ahead of me while recharging. It's come in handy too.. Sometimes the bombers return with friends quickly.. or a sinkable boat arrives nearby and I need to make an attack

Patience and discretion are the words of the day. Overaggression will get you killed in no time. Keep a fresh and competent bridge watch at all times and a qualified sonarman in hydrophone room.

I always keep a full qualified watch, without that, I'd surely be dead already. Eventhough Ive had full watch crews (with a veteran 3 skill officer) die in aircraft attacks, I'll keep sending those hapless boys up there to scout for me.

[frau kaleun]

It seems like there's no way I could use TC this high. I've noticed that it doesnt warn you as quickly as it could. for example, when I am at 16X I can see the metox going off and can sometimes be underwater before the plane is laying waste to me. with 256X it seems like i am still in the process of diving down when I am dive bombed.

The general consensus seems to be that the highest "safe" TC for use in any area where you might encounter the enemy is 128. Anything above that, and too much "game time" elapses before you can react to the potential threat. Keep in mind that when you are in high TC, it's really the game that's going at "high speed" - you aren't. Your reactions still happen in "real time" but the enemy AI's don't.

I did the math once and it was kinda eye-opening. Assuming that 2 TC means 1 second of "real time" = 2 seconds in the life of your crew and u-boat, then 1024 TC would mean that 1 second of "real time" spent playing the game would = 1024 seconds on your u-boat.

1024 seconds = a little over 17 minutes.

If you are running at 1024 TC when, say, an enemy destroyer or plane is sighted by your watch, and it takes even one second of real time for the game to drop to 1 TC and alert you, you have already lost 17 minutes of reaction time in the game. By which time you may already be under attack, because the enemy AI takes its "orders" from the game, and in TC they just get them faster and react faster. Meanwhile, your crew is still at the mercy of human reaction time which simply can't compete at that level of TC.

At 256 TC, 1 second = a little over 4 minutes. That's still a pretty good chunk of time.

At 128 TC, you're down to a little over 2 minutes. I haven't played past 1940 yet, but I'm guessing that even 2 minutes can be the difference between life and death later in the war when Allied ASW tactics and technology begin reaching their peak effectiveness.

At 16 TC you're back into the realm of losing only seconds instead of minutes. That's got to make a big difference later in the war, especially when it comes to attacks from the air.

[Madox58]

:o
Now my head hurts!
:nope:

[JokerOfFate]

No where is safe, just temporarily non-hostile

[reignofdeath]

So youre telling me that when its later in war if I want to survive, my WHOLE patrol is best to be at 16 TC?? oh man :O: Although I do notice that while on the high TC I still get the watch alerts that pause the game but usually my watch crew is always competent enough to spot them far enough out that even if I lose time I still have another few thousand meters before they even begin to see me.

EDIT: This is under good conditions with unlimited visibility however.

The general consensus seems to be that the highest "safe" TC for use in any area where you might encounter the enemy is 128. Anything above that, and too much "game time" elapses before you can react to the potential threat. Keep in mind that when you are in high TC, it's really the game that's going at "high speed" - you aren't. Your reactions still happen in "real time" but the enemy AI's don't.

I did the math once and it was kinda eye-opening. Assuming that 2 TC means 1 second of "real time" = 2 seconds in the life of your crew and u-boat, then 1024 TC would mean that 1 second of "real time" spent playing the game would = 1024 seconds on your u-boat.

1024 seconds = a little over 17 minutes.

If you are running at 1024 TC when, say, an enemy destroyer or plane is sighted by your watch, and it takes even one second of real time for the game to drop to 1 TC and alert you, you have already lost 17 minutes of reaction time in the game. By which time you may already be under attack, because the enemy AI takes its "orders" from the game, and in TC they just get them faster and react faster. Meanwhile, your crew is still at the mercy of human reaction time which simply can't compete at that level of TC.

At 256 TC, 1 second = a little over 4 minutes. That's still a pretty good chunk of time.

At 128 TC, you're down to a little over 2 minutes. I haven't played past 1940 yet, but I'm guessing that even 2 minutes can be the difference between life and death later in the war when Allied ASW tactics and technology begin reaching their peak effectiveness.

At 16 TC you're back into the realm of losing only seconds instead of minutes. That's got to make a big difference later in the war, especially when it comes to attacks from the air.

[Puster Bill]

The general consensus seems to be that the highest "safe" TC for use in any area where you might encounter the enemy is 128. Anything above that, and too much "game time" elapses before you can react to the potential threat. Keep in mind that when you are in high TC, it's really the game that's going at "high speed" - you aren't. Your reactions still happen in "real time" but the enemy AI's don't.

I did the math once and it was kinda eye-opening. Assuming that 2 TC means 1 second of "real time" = 2 seconds in the life of your crew and u-boat, then 1024 TC would mean that 1 second of "real time" spent playing the game would = 1024 seconds on your u-boat.

1024 seconds = a little over 17 minutes.

If you are running at 1024 TC when, say, an enemy destroyer or plane is sighted by your watch, and it takes even one second of real time for the game to drop to 1 TC and alert you, you have already lost 17 minutes of reaction time in the game. By which time you may already be under attack, because the enemy AI takes its "orders" from the game, and in TC they just get them faster and react faster. Meanwhile, your crew is still at the mercy of human reaction time which simply can't compete at that level of TC.

At 256 TC, 1 second = a little over 4 minutes. That's still a pretty good chunk of time.

At 128 TC, you're down to a little over 2 minutes. I haven't played past 1940 yet, but I'm guessing that even 2 minutes can be the difference between life and death later in the war when Allied ASW tactics and technology begin reaching their peak effectiveness.

At 16 TC you're back into the realm of losing only seconds instead of minutes. That's got to make a big difference later in the war, especially when it comes to attacks from the air.


The problem with 16 TC is that the crew fatigue (unless you have the 'no fatigue' mod). I use 64 TC when in enemy territory. That still gives you a lot of time because you only lose a minute, but actually much less because I have the game drop down to 1 TC when they spot a plane or a ship.

[papa_smurf]

1943 - forget making significant kills, just try to make it to you patrol grid and back in on piece.

[STEED]

Kills drop off big time and its down to surviving as long as you can.

[Chris1999]

Yes, it happened this way for me, too. Not anymore.

Why? Faster planes? (its B-24s and hurricanes instead of the little scout plane) more CPU processing time because its 4 planes coming at me instead of 1? i dont know, but, I am still on the surface when they make their first bombing runs. my sub has multiple scars and headstones to prove it :)

When I attacked a convoy I surfaced a few hours later to recharge my battery and was greeted by 6 B-24s who drop 4 sets of depth charges per run, each. There were so many explosions going off at once I couldnt see blue ocean, but das schwein U-802 lived!

It definitely seems like when you kick the beehive a little, they definitely come for the counterattack

Although I do notice that while on the high TC I still get the watch alerts that pause the game but usually my watch crew is always competent enough to spot them far enough out that even if I lose time I still have another few thousand meters before they even begin to see me.

EDIT: This is under good conditions with unlimited visibility however.

[Sailor Steve]

B-24s have radar.

[frau kaleun]

B-24s have radar.

Yes, once you reach the point where Allied planes can pick you up on radar... well, if they have done so, they will know where you are and be on their way in to attack before they are close enough for your watch crew to spot them.

So it's no longer a matter of a plane just happening to be in your vicinity and you getting alerted to it at around the same time or even before it sees you. It doesn't have to be close enough to see you to know you're there. And it sounds like even having radar of your own doesn't even out the odds very much.

[Sailor Steve]

And it sounds like even having radar of your own doesn't even out the odds very much.
The problem is that rather than appearing on the horizon cruising around looking for you, they appear on the horizon heading right for you at full throttle. :dead:

[frau kaleun]

The problem is that rather than appearing on the horizon cruising around looking for you, they appear on the horizon heading right for you at full throttle. :dead:

Exactly.

[K-61]

I must be very lucky, then. I usually cruise around at 256 and have always received a warning from my radar detector in time to dive. The only time I was attacked by a plane was when I was reloading an external torpedo and "pretended" I was unable to dive because of the crew and external gear rigged up to move the torpedo. It made three passes before my gunners drove it off, with no loss of crew or damage to the boat.

[VONHARRIS]

I cruise too at 256 TC but I always have plenty of time to react to an enemy plane. When my radar warning gives a signal TC drops immediately to 1 so I can crash dive with some safety.
One time though , in bad weather I was caught on the surface by a Hunt III DD and I was hit three or four times by shells , damages were severe (realism 95%) flooding critical and then we just scuttled the boat. My radar warning was silent!

[K-61]

I have just returned from patrol 6 around Dec. 12th, 1943, with 40K+ of shipping. I was lucky enough to find two convoys sailing close to each other. I attacked one, evaded and then attacked the other. I still had two externals but as it was a bit rough [I use realistic rules for reloading externals] and the air cover was problematic, I sailed home with them still in their cannisters. I now have just over 200K and the KC with Oak Leaves. I will not be surprised if Commander retires me before I start my next patrol.

[K-61]

Commander has allowed me to proceed into patrol 7. After a month in port to install new equipment and allow crew leave we have shipped out for a patrol zone near the Canary Islands. It is the middle of January 1944 and I am still in the Bay of Biscay and have had to dive half a dozen times to dodge planes. I have the latest radar detector but curiously received the message "sonar destroyed" upon loading my new patrol. I assume this is a known bug?

[Jimbuna]

Commander has allowed me to proceed into patrol 7. After a month in port to install new equipment and allow crew leave we have shipped out for a patrol zone near the Canary Islands. It is the middle of January 1944 and I am still in the Bay of Biscay and have had to dive half a dozen times to dodge planes. I have the latest radar detector but curiously received the message "sonar destroyed" upon loading my new patrol. I assume this is a known bug?


If it is GWX your using ensure you have the Late War Sensors mod enabled.

[Sailor Steve]

Commander has allowed me to proceed into patrol 7.
The 'Realistic Retirement' function is based on time at sea, not just number of patrols completed. This lets a Type II and a Type IX be roughly comparable as far as wear-and-tear on the captain is concerned.

[K-61]

Thanks for the info, Jimbuna and Steve. I'll swap my mod set when I get back to port. When should I enable late war sensors? I guess the answer will be in the readme file.

[Jimbuna]

Thanks for the info, Jimbuna and Steve. I'll swap my mod set when I get back to port. When should I enable late war sensors? I guess the answer will be in the readme file.

I posted this on another thread just a few minutes ago:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1501503&postcount=23

[LGN1]

...
To maximize my ability to remain under I always upgrade to the latest batteries and only proceed at slow ahead. It's air that limits my time underwarter most of the time...


The time you can stay submerged in-game is too short compared to real life. I hope soon this will be fixed thanks to h.sie. Look here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=174225&page=15

Should be important for entering the Med and for late war patrols.

Cheers, LGN1

[K-61]

Jimbuna, thanks for the info. I'll try it next time I start an early war career.

LGN1, that sounds an interesting idea. I find the limited air as in game reduces the amount of time I can stay submerged in bad weather while listening on the hydrophones. A fix for this would enable longer submerged running.

[Tessa]

While all the French bases have constant air cover pests, the farther south you go the less frequently it will happen, and generally won't happen immediately after exiting port. Brest and Lorient are great early in the war but murder once you hit mid 1942, even if you're still in a type VII you're safter to transfer to St. Nazaire or Bordeaux for safer sorties into the Atlantic.

Personally from late 41-43 I prefer Salamis or La Spezia, med is a target rich zone for merchants and warships; aircraft are a problem but not a show stopped like they are in the Bay of Biscay.