Nemo66
03-03-15, 05:16 PM
Hi mates,
If it's dark night (in pre-RADAR-time only of course if warships are involved), and you just lay your boat stopped at ZERO SPEED in the way of a ship or even a convoy, chances of being spotted are much smaller than you might think. Just because they don't really see your boat at night, but they definitely see the whitewash it creates while moving. (As it was in real life too) This works even better with your boat half-submerged. This way you can get unimaginable close to ships, even escorts will pass you in horrifying short distances without noticing you. (I don't mention exact numbers in order to not spoil your excitement, tension and fun)
If you always show your stern or bow towards the enemy, in order to present only a small silhouette, you can get even closer. ( if it's more than one single ship keep in mind, that while the one you attack might see only your small silhouette, another ship might see your fat and ugly broadside)
If you should realize that your position is not really as good as you thougt, and you have to move as the convoy gets closer, try to go rather backwards than forward. Backwards the boat makes nearly no witewash at all, even up to medium speeds, especially when half-submerged. So my ultimate way for a night attack at surface is to lay my boat half submerged (7,8m) right on the course of the ship, and keep my bow exactly towards the enemy. As it comes closer i go backwards at slow speeds and turn my boat slowly by stern, so i always present my small silhouette towards the enemy by the bow. I give just single speed orders (not more than 2 knots necessary) for just a few moments, and then turn the engines off again. Just enough to keep the enemy at zero degree in my UZO. After a while, i am rectangular to the course of the ship, and still present only my bow, slowly reaching minimum firing distance. (this is what U-Boat men called "the dog's curve", because a dog will keep it's prey always directly in front of him while chasing it)
I find this interesting because in the pre-RADAR times of early war, most attacks were done at night at surface, and it's really nicely modelled in the game too ! (THX UBI!) This doesn't come to a player's mind easily, because the nightsight capeability of the periscope is way too good, in fact there's only very little difference to the UZO. That is maybe the reason not many players attack at surface at night, simply because they don't have to. I do this a lot because it's much more realistic and also very exciting to wait without any speed like a sitting duck and shiver wether you are spotted or not.
It really let's your hair in the neck stand up straight when an escort passes in very little distance, and you don' t know wether it will pass by peacefully, or will shell you to pieces the very next moment. :yep:
I recently found out, that there seems to be a mod that corrects Periscope nightsight down to a much lower level, so for those who installed this already, this should be the night tactics to rely on.
I strongly recommend to all subsimmers to try this tactic yourself! It's one of the best and most realistic tactical things that UBI modelled in the game, and by far the most exciting way to directly face the enemy. Also you can identify ships and read out their flags without getting spotted and your presence radioed to bloodthirsty warships waiting right behind the horizon.
If it's dark night (in pre-RADAR-time only of course if warships are involved), and you just lay your boat stopped at ZERO SPEED in the way of a ship or even a convoy, chances of being spotted are much smaller than you might think. Just because they don't really see your boat at night, but they definitely see the whitewash it creates while moving. (As it was in real life too) This works even better with your boat half-submerged. This way you can get unimaginable close to ships, even escorts will pass you in horrifying short distances without noticing you. (I don't mention exact numbers in order to not spoil your excitement, tension and fun)
If you always show your stern or bow towards the enemy, in order to present only a small silhouette, you can get even closer. ( if it's more than one single ship keep in mind, that while the one you attack might see only your small silhouette, another ship might see your fat and ugly broadside)
If you should realize that your position is not really as good as you thougt, and you have to move as the convoy gets closer, try to go rather backwards than forward. Backwards the boat makes nearly no witewash at all, even up to medium speeds, especially when half-submerged. So my ultimate way for a night attack at surface is to lay my boat half submerged (7,8m) right on the course of the ship, and keep my bow exactly towards the enemy. As it comes closer i go backwards at slow speeds and turn my boat slowly by stern, so i always present my small silhouette towards the enemy by the bow. I give just single speed orders (not more than 2 knots necessary) for just a few moments, and then turn the engines off again. Just enough to keep the enemy at zero degree in my UZO. After a while, i am rectangular to the course of the ship, and still present only my bow, slowly reaching minimum firing distance. (this is what U-Boat men called "the dog's curve", because a dog will keep it's prey always directly in front of him while chasing it)
I find this interesting because in the pre-RADAR times of early war, most attacks were done at night at surface, and it's really nicely modelled in the game too ! (THX UBI!) This doesn't come to a player's mind easily, because the nightsight capeability of the periscope is way too good, in fact there's only very little difference to the UZO. That is maybe the reason not many players attack at surface at night, simply because they don't have to. I do this a lot because it's much more realistic and also very exciting to wait without any speed like a sitting duck and shiver wether you are spotted or not.
It really let's your hair in the neck stand up straight when an escort passes in very little distance, and you don' t know wether it will pass by peacefully, or will shell you to pieces the very next moment. :yep:
I recently found out, that there seems to be a mod that corrects Periscope nightsight down to a much lower level, so for those who installed this already, this should be the night tactics to rely on.
I strongly recommend to all subsimmers to try this tactic yourself! It's one of the best and most realistic tactical things that UBI modelled in the game, and by far the most exciting way to directly face the enemy. Also you can identify ships and read out their flags without getting spotted and your presence radioed to bloodthirsty warships waiting right behind the horizon.