1941 Convoy escorts

[Pegasus2]

Hey everyone

Played SH2 what seems like ages ago. Anyway, felt like playing U-boats again not too long ago, perhaps after watching Das Boot again haha. Anyway, I found an unused copy of SH3 in my games draw and searched for any mods.

Installed GWX 3.0

As I type this, it's 05:32 and i'm doing 15 knots away from a convoy after two failed surface attacks during the night. It's January 1941, moonless night and rough sea, with 15m/s wind speed (gale force?).

Both attacks I approached ahead of the convoy on the surface at ~90 degrees keeping:

Minimal aspect
Minimal engine speed (ahead slow, with some ahead 1/3)
Once in position i'd drift at all stop and wait for the merchants to hopefully come into view.

Both times the escorts have latched on to me, either in their hydrophone search pattern or actually found me through their hydrophone search pattern before my crew even manged to sight the convoy. (The sort of zig zag closing sweep search)

The first time was the left right search pattern untill he bee lined me from about 3km out. I could just bearly see the merchants but couldn't fire at them (UZO 3 sec unlock feature) and the second was the same search pattern from 3.5km away except I was trying to get close enough after the flank escort had gone past.

This time I ran and he didn't find me but the convoy started zig zagging and some flares went up so I retreated.

Being detected so readily is kind of annoying. They don't have radar yet (end of 1942 right?) and I attacked from different sides of the convoy in very rough seas. Yet they STILL suspect my approach (flares) and are already closing on my position before I can even see the merchants, what gives?!

It's not as if I haven't sucessfully attacked convoys before but these guys seem to have 6th sense or somthing :ping:. It is a large convoy and through the binocs I can only JUST see the outlines of large fat funnels against the horizon (absolute max player view range).

U boats were able to enter convoys in 1941, presumably on diesels and not be detected.

I should add I never make radio transmissions.

I'm going to shadow for 24h and try again.

Any advice on tactics would be cool :cool:

Thanks, Peg

[Pisces]

Well, you may have gotten unlucky in getting dealt with veteran crew aboard the escorts. They do indeed have better detection capabilities. Which might seem like a 6th sense.

I'm not clear on if you waited submerged or on the surface. Also you say you were pointed 90 degrees to the convoy's track at about 3km distance, and that you showed minimal aspect of your boat. But if you have a flanking escort approach you from your side he has a good perpendicular aspect on your hull, giving a nice active sonar echo. Can you clarify the situation more clearly?

[bstanko6]

Remember, this is 1941. The British have been though a trial by fire. As the old man says in Das Boot, the British stop making mistakes. When attacking a convoy you need to remember few things:

1. You have to attack at night.
2. You want choppy waves, they help against ASDIC, but can make your conn tower pop out of the water!
3. Get ahead of the convoy, very much ahead!
4. Instead of a 90 degree angle, set up a 45 degree angle into the convoy (keeping your bow towards the lead escort). This keeps a low profile on the way in.
5. Dive! Once your 45 degree intercept course is set, get deep and listen to that lead escort. I go about 150 meters.
6. Silence! Silent running, and an RPM around 50. You have to manually change this in the telegraph.
7. When the escort has passed, set a 90 degree intercept course, come up to periscope depth and make preparations.
8. If detected (I don't run from convoys!), flank speed and prep a spread shot. You know what to do!

[Pegasus2]

I was on the surface thrughout


I've just had a run in with a DD in storm, rain and fog, appeared about 100 meters away and managed to ram, more like scrape the stern.

Was time accelerating somthing like 128 just got the 'we're taking damage warning and paused to find out what was happening. Hadn't even got ship spotted....Guess that was my first mistake TXing in fog.

I dove to 90 meters and repaired everything (which was all light damage :/) then went silent but he reaquired me, I went a bit deeper and got we're taking damage so started to come back up but got crushed :/

How are they doing this, it's Feb 1941. I don't recall them having radar untill at least the end of 41.

Even with radar, in that kind of storm you'de be hard pushed to detect a submarine. Must have been a chance encounter.

Was playing dead is dead but since I got owned whilst under time compression I might reload.


Should have probably blown ballast and made a run for it on the surface but I din't know how badly damaged I was.

[Aktungbby]

Pegasus2! After a six year silent run!:Kaleun_Salute:

[Lokisaga]

Hello. The RN started equipping their escorts with the Type 271 10cm radar in March of '41, so by January of '42 one should assume that all escorts have radar. Surfaced convoy attacks become increasingly risky through '41 as more and more escorts are outfitted with the Type 271 radar. It's possible you encountered a veteran destroyer crew in February of '41. They were already getting quite experienced at that point in the war. Finally, I remember reading somewhere that a few RN destroyers were equipped with crude 1.5 or 1.7 meter wavelength radars in '40 and '41, but I can't find the source for that information right now. It's possible that you encountered a destroyer equipped with one of these early radar sets.

[Pegasus2]

Hey thanks Lokisaga

I did some reasearch and did indeed find some ships had very basic radar at the beginning of 1941.

I was tracked by a corvette both times and I doubt they would be equipped with radar, destroyers yes but corvettes?

I suppose it's possible the lead frigate detected me and sent the corvette.

[Sailor Steve]

Actually the very first Type 271 set was installed on HMS Orchis, a Flower class corvette.

[UKönig]

And corvettes were supposed to be the premiere U-boat killers, par excellence...

Fun fact, the car "corvette" was so named because it was hoped that the name would remind buyers of ships they may have served on when they were teen-agers themselves. Sneaky marketing ploy.

[bstanko6]

Love that pic Blitz!

[UKönig]

Who said that?

Btw:
http://abload.de/thumb/flowerdl06lls9.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=flowerdl06lls9.jpg)

I can't remember exactly, I saw it on a documentary about Chevy cars/trucks and although I always suspected that that was the reference, it was nice that they came right out and said so.

[Sailor Steve]

Who said that?

This guy, for one.
http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2011/08/origin-of-corvette-name.html