Patrol techniques

[dc1962]

Fellow skippers, I'm just wondering about your procedures for patroling once you get to your designated area. Do you use the search patterns from the navigator or your own method? Ive been going at slow speed back and forth along a 60-100 km patrol line but have not had great luck.:shifty:

[robj250]

I usually enter from the mostly the SE corner so far in all my patrols and I set up anywhere from 7 to 10 legs running WEW and then the last leg returning to the point I entered the patrol area. It usually works for me and In time compression I travel at least 128 or one time compression higher with my sub speed ahead standard.

[squigian]

I patrol my grid in a spiral that winds into the centre, then I wind out again (in truth, I use straight lines, of course).

[Ducimus]

Usually ill go in a diagnal zig zag. Lessens the likelyhood something crawls up my baffels.

If i feel the patrol area is unproductive, ill squat on it for the alloted 24 hours, save my fuel, and shove off elsewhere where i feel there shipping.

[CybrSlydr]

If i feel the patrol area is unproductive, ill squat on it for the alloted 24 hours, save my fuel, and shove off elsewhere where i feel there shipping.

Exactly what I do. :)

Normally I just squat in my patrol zone at PD with my engines off so I can atleast hear if something sails past, but I normally don't use my assigned area as my patrol zone.

[robj250]

If i feel the patrol area is unproductive, ill squat on it for the alloted 24 hours, save my fuel, and shove off elsewhere where i feel there shipping.
Never thought of that, good thinking guys.:up:

[Sailor Steve]

I crisscross the zone once, then cross from the middle of the outside line to the middle of the next line, and finally go around the outside; then start over again.

[Rosencrantz]

Well, usually when on a new oparea for me, I just try to do some analyze where should I found the traffic. If no idea or on the open sea (not close to the coast) I usually set up straight lines 10 nm between them. And finally, after I have found something, I took the coordinates and store them at "Intelligency" fiels + info about targets course and type.

Greetings,

-RC-

[gdogghenrikson]

I do North to South zig zags

[Keelbuster]

I like to run at 70m, ahead slow, for as much as possible - it saves fuel, promotes target detection, and is safe from all kinds of attack. When recharging I also run at ahead slow. I find that the assigned patrol grid is rarely a good place to hunt so I get my 24hrs over with and head on to business. Though, I must say that when I do encounter a convoy or TF in my patrol grid I attack it with special enthusiasm.

:arrgh!:

Kb

[deadactionman]

For the most part, my designated patrol grids are a complete waste of time... I get there, set ahead slow and zig-zag about until it's time to go hunting.

However, last night for the first time ever, a loan T3 went sailing right through the middle of my patrol grid! Perhaps BdU aren't idiots after all :hmm:

[robj250]

Out of a total of 34 patrols, there were only three times that I did not encounter an Allied ship of some sort. I guess I have been pretty lucky. However, usually I run into a convoy before getting to my patrol grid and most of the time all I have left in armament is 1 tube in the bow and my aft the same. Sometimes I have a stern external left as well, so encountering an enemy in my assigned grid could spell disaster, so when I have that situation, I get the 24 hrs over ASAP, and a couple of times I didn't even bother going to my patrol grid.

[andy_311]

I just go to around 50m let the boat hit "last way poiint reached" and hit the highest tc possible 905 of the time sod all happens then go to pd then go somewhere were this some traffic.:D

[tbarak]

Yeah renown is about the only reason I even bother with the patrol area. The patrol patterns burn too much fuel. Like the other guys I note the time when I enter it, submerge, turn everything off, and TA to 1024x for 24 hours. I then bee-line it to the convoy lanes. I try to plot a course that will take me along productive hunting ground on my way to the patrol area too.

[snyperAL]

same here not much point sitting in an empty square for too long

[Deep Six]

I get there, if it's an unproductive zone I squat on my arse for 24hrs then move of to better pastures.


Deep Six:arrgh!:

[Brauer]

I give it one criss cross at slow speed and then look to the shipping lanes. I want to try to be as realistic as possible and I dont know that uboot captains in WWII would have simply just squat and then left for better areas? I have read a couple of memoirs written by men who served on Uboots and I take it they just ran slowly through their grid in a search pattern. Anyone have any info on what real Captains would have done?

[HW3]

I use the first search pattern option from the navigator, do my 24 hours, and if no action, move on to more productive hunting areas that are close by. Sitting in the middle of the grid does not allow the hydrophone operator to hear the entire grid area, at best only half of it. I've been playing the sim since it came out and just discovered a North/South single merchant shipping lane, that is not on the convoy map, on my last patrol by doing a search pattern in my assigned grid. I wouldn't found it by just setting in the middle of the grid because, it was way over on the East side of the grid. I bagged 3 large merchants there.

[Seminole]

Usually I submerge to 40m and listen, moving at ahead slow.


Main objective is to kill as much of the required 24 hours as possible and not waste fuel.

If a contact is made I investigate and take appropriate action. If not I surface, when oxygen level is low, to finish the 24 hours at ahead slow in a random pattern, then shove off for a more productive looking grid.

[dcb]

I enter the patrol area, zigzag north-south on the surface at low speed to save fuel, find nothing (as usual), then leave after 24 hours and go to the western approaches usually. btw, I never understood how the game assigns the patrol areas, which usually have no traffic. it should send me to places with lots of traffic, instead of just empty boxes. I guess another hardcoded flaw.

[Umfuld]

I sit on the surface, silent for 24 hours then go where I want.

I <3 renown!

[Mr.Werner]

I zig zag from left to right then zag from right to left. Then I go up down then down to up. Then I loop clockwise and re-loop counter-clockwise keeping the left-right North to south counter-clockwise patern at a set time.
Hope that helps.

[robj250]

I never have any torpedoes left, except for an aft reserve + external when I reach my patrol area because I always come across a convoy before I get there and sink everything I can :D , so I have to hope I never come across anything in the patrol area; just go there to get my renown for it.

[Alyebard]

I use the navigator´s patern, at very low speed, waiting 24 hours, and then i move to more interesting areas like westhern aproaches, caribbian area or newfoundland area.

[robj250]

I just made contact with a convoy which was guarded by 5 warships during the middle of the night that kept pestering me. I had fired all my torpedoes and only sunk 3 Coastal Merchants and crippled a C2. Some torpedoes missed. :damn: I usually don't have that kind of night. :hmm: Now I have to go to my patrol area with 1 bow and 1 stern torpedo.

[robj250]

Well, I've just finished my 36th patrol in Dec, 1942. I have a fully upgraded VIIB. My next patrol will be in 1943 January. Should I keep my VIIB or get a new sub. If I keep my VIIB, should I change torpedoes from G7a to something else?

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I normally plot a zig-zag course across the grid square, expanding it each time so I start to run over into other ones

[Badger Finn]

Having read the previous posts im assuming or it sounds as if u dont get position updates from other u-boats ?

Im just sussing SH3 out...

(no worries id just switch to a IX boat and operate independant)

[andy_311]

Having read the previous posts im assuming or it sounds as if u dont get position updates from other u-boats ?

Im just sussing SH3 out...

(no worries id just switch to a IX boat and operate independant)

Well you do in GW but I never go I think that the"radio messages" from other boats is just for fun.and it does get annoying after a while your attacking a large convoy line up to hit a T3 and then get "radio message recieved" sunk merchant 2000tons at grid ???.I tend to remove my radioman now when attacking convoys.

[Badger Finn]

Well you do in GW but I never go I think that the"radio messages" from other boats is just for fun.and it does get annoying after a while your attacking a large convoy line up to hit a T3 and then get "radio message recieved" sunk merchant 2000tons at grid ???.I tend to remove my radioman now when attacking convoys.

ok...so its just ear candy...ah well better than nothing...

[robj250]

...to my patrol grid. I just got finished attacking a convoy and only have two torpedoes left, 1 bow and 1 stern, or should I just return to base now. Who know what I'll run into heading toward the patrol grid or what I'll find when I get there.

[Engel der Vernichtung]

...to my patrol grid. I just got finished attacking a convoy and only have two torpedoes left, 1 bow and 1 stern, or should I just return to base now. Who know what I'll run into heading toward the patrol grid or what I'll find when I get there.

I would. You get renown for reaching it, and for staying there 24 hrs, so it's like free money, I think.

[robj250]

While playing my career to grid AK37 yesterday, I turned up the time compression which I hardly ever do and I almost missed an important radio message from BdU. I just happened to press 'm' to have a look at the messages and saw some that I had missed. It was regarding a convoy. If I had not presses 'm', I would never had known that just above me, out of sight, as I was playing on a scale of 125 km was a convoy I could plan to intercept. I know that running at a time compression of 128 is usually boring, but I know at that time compression, I do not miss important BdU messages. I was able to plan an intercept that would get me to the convoy in the early morning hours and I was able to take out 4 ships and get away before the 4 warships (2 V&W, 1 Clemson and an Armed Trawler) were able to locate me. I was lucky, no DCs dropped on me.

[Hartmann]

I usually sit in the grid at periscope depth waiting for a contacts but i leave the zone as soon the time reach 24 h

The grid system idea was that if you assing the subs correctly you have a net that filter every convoyin the zone , when a sub detect a convoy, the other subs boored in the other grids joins to the chase while the first shadows the convoy and send repports (wolfpack system)

[Highbury]

Well you do in GW but I never go I think that the"radio messages" from other boats is just for fun.and it does get annoying after a while your attacking a large convoy line up to hit a T3 and then get "radio message recieved" sunk merchant 2000tons at grid ???.I tend to remove my radioman now when attacking convoys.

ok...so its just ear candy...ah well better than nothing...

Not necessarily. Alot of mods have added ear and eye candy radio messages but the stock game does supply some real ones. Usually for a Warship, Task Force or Convoy. You will know the difference immediately because the 'real' ones will say something about the Warship, TF etc in your hud, the 'fun' ones will just say "Radio Message Recieved"

On Topic... like most others I just hit my patrol grid for renown. Spend as little time and fuel there as possible.