Attacking in Heavy Fog

[Deffenger]

Does anyone have any tips or tactics for attacking convoys or single ships in heavy fog? I'm an SH3 newb, having only completed ten cruises, I'm still early in the war with no radar. Can I even mount an attack if the visibility is less than 300m? The only sucess I've had in these conditions is when I came up dead astern of a Coastal Merchant, overhauled him on a parallel course, keeping him in sight, then when I was about halfway past him, turning 90 degrees and firing the stern tube just as I got beyond 300m and was losing sight of him. I've tried to attack convoys in these conditions, but the threat of collision makes it too hairy! Thanks in advance!

[slow_n_ez]

Surface attacks in fog are best ......Be prepared like having all tubes open .. think fast .. act quick .... 300 + meters for a hit of course ....

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/slow_n_ez/slient%20hunter%203/fog5.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/slow_n_ez/slient%20hunter%203/fog6.jpg

[_Seth_]

Does anyone have any tips or tactics for attacking convoys or single ships in heavy fog? I'm an SH3 newb, having only completed ten cruises, I'm still early in the war with no radar. Can I even mount an attack if the visibility is less than 300m? The only sucess I've had in these conditions is when I came up dead astern of a Coastal Merchant, overhauled him on a parallel course, keeping him in sight, then when I was about halfway past him, turning 90 degrees and firing the stern tube just as I got beyond 300m and was losing sight of him. I've tried to attack convoys in these conditions, but the threat of collision makes it too hairy! Thanks in advance!

Welcome aboard,kaleun

[C-4]

Attacking in heavy fog sure is hard, but don't worry about it. Try submerging and using SONAR. It will give a rough bearing to the target, which will help a lot. Other than that, I can't help a heck of a lot. I remember my first missions in fog, and they were frustrating.

If you started the campaign in Sept. 1939, that fall is really foggy, as I recall. Once you get to winter 1939 or Jan 1940, the fog will go away.

[zzsteven]

Attacking in heavy fog sure is hard, but don't worry about it. Try submerging and using SONAR. It will give a rough bearing to the target, which will help a lot. Other than that, I can't help a heck of a lot. I remember my first missions in fog, and they were frustrating.

If you started the campaign in Sept. 1939, that fall is really foggy, as I recall. Once you get to winter 1939 or Jan 1940, the fog will go away.

The weather has no relation to the date, the time, or reality. What you experienced during that period will probably be totaly different for another player. :)

zz

[C-4]

Are you serious? I thought it's foggy only in the fall, as it probably is in reality.

[zzsteven]

Are you serious? I thought it's foggy only in the fall, as it probably is in reality.

Yes, I am serious. The state of the weather is random. The condition of fog is a misnomer, it's really the visiblity condition. How can you have fog with a 15m/s wind? :)

zz

[Rose]

Why is a surface attack necessary? My method is to never let them know what hit 'em. Its just as easy to get a bearing with periscope and sonar as it is on the surface.

[Pants]

I stay submerged,raise scope to verify the target, then switch to TDC and attack from there..but thats just me, as you can see there are various ways to attack, you just have to find what suits your playing style :up:

[Jimbuna]

I use sonar and periscope. Even though you can't actually see the ship, in my experience you tend to see the funnel smoke first..I then add a little 'guesswork' to the plot and just hope for the best :hmm:

[Achtung Englander]

if there are destroyers out there - dive and have a cup of coffee, you will live longer :up:

[irish1958]

Actung Englander
That's true. I can't see the dd's but they can see me and the heavy seas and 15 ms winds don't appear to hamper them in the least.

[Sailor Steve]

Why is a surface attack necessary? My method is to never let them know what hit 'em. Its just as easy to get a bearing with periscope and sonar as it is on the surface.
In real life the periscope didn't let in enough light at night, unless there was a very bright moon. Surface attacks were almost the only way to do it at night, and a lot of captains preferred the night surface attack to any other. In medium weather there was a chance the submarine would broach, or accidentally surface, which made the periscope very difficult to use and staying surfaced easier. In bad weather, represented in the game by the 15 m/s winds, torpedoes were likely to porpoise and dive, or just go off course. Very bad weather usually meant no attack at all.

[_Seth_]

Why is a surface attack necessary? My method is to never let them know what hit 'em. Its just as easy to get a bearing with periscope and sonar as it is on the surface. In real life the periscope didn't let in enough light at night, unless there was a very bright moon. Surface attacks were almost the only way to do it at night, and a lot of captains preferred the night surface attack to any other. In medium weather there was a chance the submarine would broach, or accidentally surface, which made the periscope very difficult to use and staying surfaced easier. In bad weather, represented in the game by the 15 m/s winds, torpedoes were likely to porpoise and dive, or just go off course. Very bad weather usually meant no attack at all.

And the real war uboat-kaleuns didnt have a little green triangle on their reticle to tell them when to launch the eels... :D

[Rose]

And the real war uboat-kaleuns didnt have a little green triangle on their reticle to tell them when to launch the eels... :D

:oops: :oops: :oops:

[tycho102]

Why is a surface attack necessary? My method is to never let them know what hit 'em. Its just as easy to get a bearing with periscope and sonar as it is on the surface.

Absolutely. I also hate surface attacks.

Use your hydrophones and get your boat into a favorable position ("Dead Stick Approach"), then pop them using the periscope.

Now, slipping out at periscope depth, that's a topic of discussion. The escorts do have a sonar "cone" underneath their ship, and if you ain't in that cone, you ain't gonna get pinged. Slipping out (from your attack position, otherwise known as escape and evasion) at periscope depth is definately a valid consideration in heavy weather.

[Sebbe]

I once almost got sunk by a troop transport in the fog. Found it by pure luck, coming fast at my left side. It almost rammed me, but I slipped away in front of him. Then I shot a torp backwards whilst it was shooting holes in my precious hull.
I even found it back in that fog, apparantly I had hit its engines and put him to a stop. One more fish finished him off...

I also prefer staying submerged. I just can't imagine attacking a convoy at surface at night. Don't those DD's see you? Sure, it's dark, but if you can see them...:shifty:

[d@rk51d3]

The allies developed radar a bit earlier too, so you often can't see them before they see you.

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

I avoid attacking in heavy fog. You can't see the escort until they are too close. Plus have nearly been rammed by cargo ships looming up out of the nothing while my deckcrew stare blindly at the steel wall passing down the side of my sub.

[finchOU]

Keep contact via the Hydrophone and wait until improving conditions premit a better attack opportunity.....of course this takes a while with the way the weather is modelled in SH3. I find that things get bad fast when I get very close to a ship in fog....either I get detected (this should never happen as your #1 weapon is stealth....why comprise this and let the enemy sent patrols after you?)...or worst I end up ramming or getting ramed as the ship appears out of no where. For me, I try and think about how I would attack if i, no kidding, had my arsh on the line.

[panthercules]

I had pretty much sworn off trying to attack in the "fog"/mist/storm conditions, after a few too-close brushes with death from ramming and radar-equipped escorts charging at me from 400m away. Therefore, when I got a report the other night of a large convoy heading straight for me in such storm conditions at night from only about 12,000m away, I quickly turned tail and tried to run off to a safe distance to shadow the convoy until the weather broke.

However, I kept getting radar warnings from my Metox and decided that I was unlikely to be able to escape the escorts on the surface, so I decided to submerge and try my first sound-guided underwater attack instead. I was carrying my first set of brand new FAT eels, so it seemed like a good time to give them a try. I managed to maneuver to what looked like it would have been a perfect firing position, only to discover after a few very confusing minutes at the hydrophone station that the convoy had just zigged (or maybe zagged), and I had to scramble to alter my approach and still get off a decent shot, without alerting the escorts to my presence.

Because of the danger of being rammed by the larger ships while at periscope depth, I settled down to 20m, which I had heard was the maximum depth for firing torpedoes. When everything sounded right in the hydrophones, I fired each of my two FATs, and then for good measure decided to go ahead and fire my other two forward torps (regular G7e's) as well. As I headed to the depths, I was rewarded with three beautiful explosions followed quickly by wounded ship noises and shouts from the crew. Since I had nothing better to do while my sub glided slowly downward and it wasn't going to affect my tactical situation, I popped up to external view to take a look around, and saw one troop transport sinking fairly quickly by the bow (it did a real "Titanic" number, standing on its bow with its stern straight up in the air and sliding vertically under the waves in short order - looked awesome!) and a Liberty ship listing heavily with her decks already awash (she took a little longer to go down, but finally took the plunge as well).

Since I don't seem to be able to get anywhere near this convoy I've been stalking for the last couple of days now in calm weather to get in a "normal" attack (the escorts have chased me down and away at least 3 or 4 times so far), I'm beginning to wish for another storm so I can try another one of these blind luck attacks again :lol:

[P_Funk]

Why is a surface attack necessary? My method is to never let them know what hit 'em. Its just as easy to get a bearing with periscope and sonar as it is on the surface.
Absolutely. I also hate surface attacks.

Use your hydrophones and get your boat into a favorable position ("Dead Stick Approach"), then pop them using the periscope.

Now, slipping out at periscope depth, that's a topic of discussion. The escorts do have a sonar "cone" underneath their ship, and if you ain't in that cone, you ain't gonna get pinged. Slipping out (from your attack position, otherwise known as escape and evasion) at periscope depth is definately a valid consideration in heavy weather.
I used to never do surface attacks under any condition. But once I had to start doing manual observations that unsteady and blurry periscope became much less attractive. The UZO has a steadying device to counter the roll of the boat. plus it's hard to do the 3:15 rule when you're stuck moving at slow speeds underwater. It's hard to maneuver with a convoy submerged. PLus I'm playing in 1940 so submerging isn't that much of an issue.

I'm sure though that by 43 I'll be finding my way through the periscope.

[Deffenger]

Thanks everyone for the helpful input. It's heartening to learn I'm not the only one who has had problems with this aspect of the game. As to some of the suggestions; I'm still too early in the war to be able to get active sonar or radar. I've used surface attacks quite a bit, especially my first couple of patrols, before i had completely mastered the interface and could effectively attack submerged, just using the UBoat as a surface topedo boat. I believe there is historic prededent for this, especially early in the war. In heavy fog I believe this is just not practical. However, I did have an inspired notion; Might these conditions be perfect for a harbor raid!