Strategies to escape destroyers after detection?

[Graafenstein]

In october 1943 I sank 3 tankers and crippled 1 in a convoy protected by 5 detroyers.
All my torpedoes were exhausted,
so I had to surface before I could reload from the external storage.
I hid under the crippled tanker, but 1 destroyer knew
exactly where I was, and circled around me for 8 hours!

I was running low on oxygen, so I was forced to try to escape him.
After evading his depth charges, changing depth, deploying decoys,
running silent and so on for over 1 hour, I rammed the bastard from beneath.
It only hurt him a little, but finally he went away!

This was 1943. I could only imagine how it would be in 1945.
I'm not complaining, though. SH3 is by far the best game I ever played.

But does any one have any good strategies to escape destroyers after detection?

[Hammar]

haha, you'r in deep ****! :rotfl:
I'm far to noobish to anser on that so.. :hmm: :-j

[Letum]

Just my personal tactics......prolly not the best....

1. Dive as deep as you feel you can at flank speed. Make at least one turn in the dive.
If there is a convoy neer by try to get into the middle of it.
2. hit silent running and set speed to 2-3knts (even if you under a convoy beacause you cant hide there for ever!)
3. As soon as your pinged release some bold and turn so the destroyer is at your 90* or 270*
4. Find out id the destroyer is heading for you or for the bold. If its heading for you its bearing wont change much (you must account for zig-zaging!)
5. If its not heading for you that keep quiet and keep your course. If it is heading for you then wait until its motors hit full speed and then go to flank speed. If the destroyer is at your 180* or 0* then make a 90* turn.
6. wait until the attack rn is over and then reduce your speed to standard. Reduce it again to 2-3knts shortly after.

[Graafenstein]

So I should go to flank speed just after the destroyer has dropped the charges and starts accelerating.
That makes sense, of course. Didn't think of that.

The 90 + 270 degrees moves are, I guess,
to have a better position to move away from the depth charges.

About decoys:
Is it of any use to release more than one at the same time?
How many Bolds do I have?

Nice to get som pointers. Thanks, Letum.

[Crop-Duster]

Before you do anything go 'Silent Running"

[Letum]

things to remember:

*The deeper you are the harder it is to aim DCs
*If you are turning when the DC are falling than you are a easyer, slower target for the DD.
*DDs can't hear you if you are behind them (so run full speed!)
*DDs find it hard to hear you when they are going fast or when there are explosions in the water.
*If you are 90*/275* from the DDs course than you will move out of the DC area faster and if you are still in the DC area then less are going to hit you BUT by being 90*/275* from the destroyers course you are more easily picked up on the Active Sonar 'ping'
*If a DD drops DCs that are not very neer your boat than he may have lost you so keep quiet
*If your hydrophones report that the DDs bearing is not changeing he is comeing straight at (or away from) you.
*If the DD is comeing straight at you and not zig-zaging then he is going to start an attack run.
*BOLD is only useful if you can move away from it quietly before the DCs are dropped. So deploy BOLD as soon as you think they ahve a active sonar lock on you
*When the DD has dropped accurate DCs then your tactics havent worked so change them!

[GT182]

Always keep your stern to the enemy. Less of a, and the smallest, profile for them to pickup on. Or bow, if that's unavoidable.

[Ducimus]

>>*DDs can't hear you if you are behind them (so run full speed!)


Not always a good idea when you have escorts forming a ring around you. Ones always listening when the others cant.

[Takeda Shingen]

In addition to what is said above, try to jump to the hydrophone to determine which direction the escort is turning after his run and try to turn in the same direction at least sixty degrees. This utilizes the escort's own turn radius against him, as it places you much closer to him than would be the case if you turned the other way. This will force the enemy to turn it's stern towards you a second time in order to properly set up for a run, which doubles your chance for escape, as he will lose you twice, rather than once.

[Ducimus]

Since my boat is rather large as compared to a VII, ill use a different approach since an IX boat isnt exactly nimble on the turn.

Ill vary my depth. On initial detection ill head to about 150 meters. Just before the red zone, and crawl along at 2 kts. Once he is right on top of me and drops his first attack, ill speed up, pop a bold, and drop the boat to 200 meters and go back to 2 kt. He does it again, as soon as DC's are in the water, ill pop a bold, speed up, drop the boat to 220 meters.

Once i hit my depth limit ill bring the boat back to 150 to 200 meters. Sooner or later ill drop the boat to its absolute limit and hang there on a thread, speeding the boat up as neccessary to avoid the DC. THe deeper you are, the longer the travel time the DC has to reach you, the more time you have to get out from under it.

[Letum]

Since my boat is rather large as compared to a VII, ill use a different approach since an IX boat isnt exactly nimble on the turn.

Ill vary my depth. On initial detection ill head to about 150 meters. Just before the red zone, and crawl along at 2 kts. Once he is right on top of me and drops his first attack, ill speed up, pop a bold, and drop the boat to 200 meters and go back to 2 kt. He does it again, as soon as DC's are in the water, ill pop a bold, speed up, drop the boat to 220 meters.

Once i hit my depth limit ill bring the boat back to 150 to 200 meters. Sooner or later ill drop the boat to its absolute limit and hang there on a thread, speeding the boat up as neccessary to avoid the DC. THe deeper you are, the longer the travel time the DC has to reach you, the more time you have to get out from under it.

The main problem useing depth to exscape the DCs is that it does not help make the destroyer lose you unlike a more 2d approach

[Ducimus]

Have you tried keeping your bow or stern pointed at a fast moving escort in an IX boat? Its an excersise in futility, espeically when theres more then one escort. This isnt to say i dont do any turning, i do, but its more of a deliberate thing. I dislike turning though because it takes longer to change depth, and you lose speed when you turn. At least once i have acutaly turned the bow of the boat into a DC. *ouch*

On top of that an IX boat has poor depth keeping as compared to an VII. More then a couple of times ive pushed the boat deep on the edge of crushing, and have found that i have to increase speed in order to maintain depth more then in an VII. I try to keep speed as low as possible, and often find myself in a happy spot and at 2-3 kts am amble to maintain depth. But ill be on a a 30 degree incline! stern pointing downward! its like the boat is dogpadding to keep afloat. In that situation, turning is out of the question. A turn bleeds depth, which cannot be recovered without going to flank speed, ordering to surface, or blowing ballast, and alerts the escorts.

These are my findings though, may not be the same for everyone.

[THE_MASK]

1943 Gulp!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry:

[Graafenstein]

Thanx, people, for all the feedback!
I'm certain I will become a real silent hunter from now on.
:up:

[Einzelganger]

I've finished 1 campaign from 1939 to 1945 and have had some situations in which i'm attacked by 1 DD while others near me seem to keep tracking me. Some are even lying still while i am being pinged

It sure gets difficult then as they seem to work together (Not sure if it is written into the game, but it seems like it ) and keep tracking me for hours on end.

[Sailor Steve]

Using the FreeCam I've seen lone escorts stop and listen, hoping to catch a hint of sound from your propellors; I've seen escorts roll right over me and then drop depth charges half a kilometer away, because apparently their sonarman wasn't that good; I've seen them use actual hunter-killer tactics, in which one would follow me and guide the others in; and I've seen one stop and listen while his buddy depth-charged me-as soon as I heard the depth charges I would go to flank speed, and as soon as I did he would hear it and come after me.

Seems pretty real to me (except for the part where I was spying on them, of course).

[Ducimus]

Seems pretty real to me (except for the part where I was spying on them, of course).

Hard to resist isn't it? I dunno about others, but i just have this morbid facination with watching escorts unload everything and the kitchin sink on or near my position.