Small & Coastal Merchant Question

[Captain Coward]

I did a STF but didn't exactly find what I was looking for so...

My question is do you folks spend time (and valuable torpedoes) on small vessels like coastal merchants? I've been sinking pretty much everything and attempt to use the deck gun (weather permitting).

My thinking (I'm new so I'm most likely wrong on this) is that any vessel sunk regardless of size undermines the British resupply effort. Also the quicker I expend my arsenal the quicker I can return to base and by gaining renown attempt to upgrade my vessel.

Like I said, I'm probably waging the war incorrectly and should only attack larger vessels, I really don't know.

I welcome any comments and suggestions.

Captain Coward

[Mittelwaechter]

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/losses_year.html

You may want to note the tonnage details provided by the site.

Clicking a ship name will reveal the circumstances of the event.


I go for every merchant steamer/tanker - no matter the size.

Fishing boats/trawlers only per 8,8/3,7cm.

Under proper conditions I attack any warship larger than a trawler too.


If you are after renown you should concentrate on larger vessels - as they grant more renown.

[Sailor Steve]

I completely agree. I've been doing the daily WW1 u-boat logs for the '100 Years' thread, and while some kaleuns racked up huge scores in that war others raided fishing fleets and sank large numbers of ships for very little tonnage.

In real life you wouldn't know what tomorrow might bring, and many kaleuns never even saw an enemy ship. A couple of coasters is better than coming home with nothing at all.

One of the problems with the game is that the true coasters - less than 1,000 tons and sometimes as small as 200 tons - aren't represented at all.

[Captain Coward]

Thanks for the info and advice. That u-boat sinking chart is amazing.

I kind of wondered about just sinking large ships only. I don't see them that frequently so I can imagine motoring around for quite some time before expending all the torpedoes. Might run out of diesel first. I suppose I could just wait to attack convoys but that's another story I'll tell later. I'm still learning how to attack them properly. Quite a few threads about that here and I'll post my impressions later.

Fröhliches Jagen,
Captain Coward

[Benzin1973]

My thinking on this matter is simple:
If it floats, i sink it. :arrgh!:
And I dont hessitate to spend a torpedo on a small/coastal merchant.

The only reason i would let one of those small ships go, is if im on the way for something big & time sensitive. For example, just a couple of days ago, i received radio report of a large convoy, so i did the trig proceedure to estimate a proper interception point & course, and got going. Along the way i stumbled across a small merchant, had he been on a place proper for quick interception i would have sink it, but it required some manouvering on my part, so i let him go as stopping to sink in would have most likely make me loose my intercept of the convoy.

The only targets that dont get a torpedo from me, are those tiny ships, like the fishing boats, patrol boats, coal boats (forgot their name). Those get the deck gun.

[bstanko6]

Agreed Benzin, I need to get back to my game when I get a chance, but I am currently a part of operation drumbeat where we are ordered not to attack anything, even convoys!! At least until I reach the US coast. It's your world, do what you want. I role play so as a u-boat commander I am searching for fortune and glory. I go after bigger targets! I treat smaller boats as potential radio posts for the tommies. So I either dive to avoid, or destroy with deck gun.

[Shadowblade]

I sink all enemy ships I can if the ratio renown:risk is good :arrgh!:
I prefer to use Flak & deck gun against small ships and torpedoes against medium & larger ships.
Imho those small ships with tonnage ~ 2K tons is OK target for torpedo if you cannot use Flak / deck gun
to sink it and there are no targets with higher priority...