I hate airplanes

[ShadowWulf]

hey i just started a career in 1939 and im heading toward AM19, and as soon as i start rounding the area toward scapa flow and lock ewe im bombarded by airplanes practicaly ever 10 minutes. It was fun at first but not im getting low on ammo and im still constantly getting attacked. Is there some trick to avioiding airplanes or areas where they are more concentrated? Am i doing something wrong, or is there just always tons of planes up toward enemy ports? Any help is appriciated.

[CCIP]

There's a carrier in Scapa flow. That's where these guys came from :hmm:

[urseus]

Wasnt no carrier when i sunk in there on my frist 39 patrol.

Then i freaked out OMG IM IN SCAPA FLOW!!! RUN!

[CCIP]

He's there at the time. Not in september I think, but later on. Just trust me on that one.

There was this one time, with the first version of AirPower which didn't tweak the carrier air groups properly...

...well all his 24 swordfish came out at dawn to greet me :dead:

[ShadowWulf]

hehe is it possible to find and sink the carrier to get rid of the problem. I'm guessing its in or near an enemy port with other battleships, and nets and mines if your using some of the mods, (also the fact its a huge ship with airplanes all over it) but if you feel like taking some chances can you actualy find it and sink it, and if so will the airplanes be less frequent.

[CCIP]

In a word, yes. Although there's shore-based planes in northern Scotland anyway, you WILL get rid of those pesky Swordfish if you sink the mothership. The carrier works just like you would expect it (wait til 1943, and you'll suddenly be surprised in all kinds of funny places by naval aircraft, only to bump into the HK group that launched it a couple of days later. I've had that happen!)

[andy_311]

There's also a carrier group in Loch Ewe late 42-44,2 carriers to be precise Illustrious class and an Escort carrier unless you intercept her in late 42 in Am52 but like it been said there's also land based aircraft. and they are complete Bas****s

[ShadowWulf]

you guys know if there is a range at which land based planes cannot reach due to fuel or patrol areas? Is there a safe point at which airplanes generaly wont go out past in range from their base?

[urseus]

Check your map that came with the game.

It has aircraft range on it.


How many torpedoes does it take to kill a carrier? 3 or 4 impact? How many magnetic?

[Gammel]

In pre- radar times dive in daylight and surface only at night.

When they get radar on their planes your change of survival goes strait downwards.
Use the opposite tactic. Dive at night, and surface the day. So you have a chance to spot the planes visual and dive away. At night you´re lost on the surface.
Better is not to surface at all, but thats hard.

You´ll welcome every storm in the late war days.

Have you installed Real Uboat Mod or the airpower mod?

I´m happy to be in 1940 in my career, some time ago i did start a career just for fun in may 1943.
2 of 4 times i did not make it out of the biscaya bay, one time they bombed me just at the point where my escort turns away. Even did not made it to my diving point. :(

You´re not the hunter any more, you´re the hunted.
But their is a little change of survival even those hard times.
It happend in real too. Anyone read "Iron Coffins"? He did make it even without a snorkel equipped to his boat.

[Detritus]

you guys know if there is a range at which land based planes cannot reach due to fuel or patrol areas? Is there a safe point at which airplanes generaly wont go out past in range from their base?
The map gives you an OK guestimate where it's safe. Alternatively, you can check out the each planes' range from SH3\data\Air and try to figure it out from there. Personally, I used parts of Airpower 1.4b mod to cut down the number of planes to more manageable level and then edited each planes maxrange a little, increasing some, decreasing others. The point with this is to not to get rid off them but at least have a chance. Staying under surface and only fighting when absolutely no other choises available is still the key.

[ShadowWulf]

Alright. Thanks for all the help, and no im not using the airpower or real uboat. I figured i would get used to the game going normal for the most part before i start using real uboat.

[Detritus]

That's a good way to do play, learning the whole thing well enough before getting serious with it (if that's what you want, that is).
You don't actually have to use all the parts of Airpower, i.e the ones that make your less efficient and the planes tougher. I just used the Land and Sea files to cut down the number of planes. It's still tough enough even with those applied. Watch out if you ever get to the coast of South America/ Caribbean. Planes galore and they do mean business :down:

[svenks]

Dive at night, and surface the day. So you have a chance to spot the planes visual and dive away. At night you´re lost on the surface

Hey, that's good thinking! Now why didn't I think of that yesterday (See http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=42338

That might have saved my A**. Another lesson learned :up:

BRGDS
Sven

[FAdmiral]

Now that Brest is a German port, I'm getting German JU-88's
going after my merchant targets to the northwest of there.
I had to surface to get them to stop bombing my juicy C3 so
I can get the credit. It worked !! Once they saw me after the
merchant, the bombing stopped. That northwestern BF grid
seems to be crawling with merchant targets and I want them
all. The German planes can bomb the DD's all they want,
and I hope they will.....


JIM

[Kpt. Lehmann]

My U-Boat was almost destroyed just west of Brest.

Immediately after linking up with U-Flak... both of us came under attack by TEN B24's... The U-Flak was sunk by first load of wabos before it could even open fire (it tried to...too late due to short range RUb anti-aircraft modifications)

The water was only 50 meters deep... and is what saved me... boat sunk to bottom. Before I had everything under control... I lost 4 crewmen. I took many hits and had to limp back home.

That was the single most terrifying air attack I have dealt with in SH3.

The U-Flak possibly saved me though by soaking up some firepower that would have been spent on me. The DC's came so continuously at one point they sounded like machinegun fire.

AHHHHHH!!!! :damn: ... It was my shortest patrol ever... only lasted about 12 hours.

[FAdmiral]

I am still in the later 1940's so all I see in the way of enemy air is the Hurricanes. My new base is Lorient so I hope my future patrols
are far enough away from those big enemy bombers when in later years.


JIM

[DirtyHarry3033]

I am still in the later 1940's so all I see in the way of enemy air is the Hurricanes. My new base is Lorient so I hope my future patrols
are far enough away from those big enemy bombers when in later years.

I wouldn't count on it, my last patrol from Brest ended in Nov 42, I transferred to Lorient to get my hands on a IXC. Left port on Dec 29, 1942 bound for AE78 and got attacked by a freakin' Catalina before I was 30 miles out to sea :( If that's not bad enough, I got hit 4 more times by Sunderlands by the time I reached BF15.

Strange thing is, my last patrol from Oct - Nov 42 from Brest, patrolling back and forth from BF13 - BF15, I could go days without seeing a single plane! And I could usually get away with little or no damage - but now they're tearing me a new orifice if you get my meaning...

[Twelvefield]

2 of 4 times i did not make it out of the biscaya bay, one time they bombed me just at the point where my escort turns away. Even did not made it to my diving point. :(

You´re not the hunter any more, you´re the hunted.


That happened to me too, except out of St. Nazarene. I was told that Rubini's Harbor mod is quite likley responsible for this attack. It really made me mad!

[FAdmiral]

The moral of this story is: DON'T INSTALL THOSE MODS THAT
GET YOU KILLED !!! .............end of line.........


JIM

[Twelvefield]

I don't think it's so much the fault of the mods, as it is the recreation of history -- the Allies adapted to the menace of the U-boats and found many new and unfair ways of killing them.