Hunting in the Med?

[gord96]

hey guys,

what is the game like in the Med? Is there lots of good hunting there? I imagine that the IX boat is maybe too big for Med duty. Any input is appreciated.

Thanks :)

[Ducimus]

I've honestly havent spent much time there at all. I know you'll get convoys that go through the straights of gibralter along with task force groups, but overall i never had much luck with merchant traffic. Again, havent spent much time there. I might give it a go after GWX is released for something new.

As for an IX boat in the med, generally speaking, YES, wrong boat for that theater. The extra fuel is unncessary, and given the air cover, a faster dive time is MUCH more desierable. That said, that hasnt stopped me from bringing an IX boat into the med.. infact.. i didnt just bring one through gribralter, i brought one into the fricken black sea, just to say i did it.

http://www.ducimus.net/sh3/IX_blacksea_1.jpg
http://www.ducimus.net/sh3/IX_blacksea_2.jpg
http://www.ducimus.net/sh3/IX_blacksea_3.jpg
http://www.ducimus.net/sh3/IX_blacksea_4.jpg
Hmm, come to look at this one, i did leave a trail of sunk ships in my wake. :D

And yup, i brought the boat back out to the altantic as well. One thing ive never tried was the suez canal.

[Respenus]

Depending on the year, you should go to the Med NEVER!!!

I can't remember any way to the Med then through Gilbratar, and believe me, it brings more stress the joy. Even when you manage to enter the Med, it's gonna be hell to pay to return back.

I went on a single mission to the Med and it took me 2 h RL (many more ingame) to get inside Med. And I took the route near the coast and took every single safe was to enter, but in the end, my crew was so tired, they were bererly running the ship. PLus I never met any shipping inside the Med (or it was too far away for me to see).

Work of advice. Never go thorugh the English Channel and through Gibraltar.

[Jimbuna]

I'm in the Med at the mo for the first time...not as much traffic as the Atlantic but a change all the same...heres hoping GWX livens this theatre up a bit :hmm:

[Sir Big Jugs]

Getting in to the med is easy. Real easy. Even late-war.

Here's how to do it:
Once you are coming closer to Gibraltar, have your best watch crew on deck. Once the watch crew spots the patrolling warships, crash dive to ~180m. When there, rig for silent running and plot a course straight through the Gib straight. Set speed ~2 knots. After this, dismiss your radio & sonar operators (to stop TC from being interrupted every 10th second) and put TC to 512x. Read a book while waiting. Needless to say, when You are cleared through, get to a safe distance, wait for the night and surface, recharging batteries and letting the crew rest.
Voila!

I've done it this way many many times, and so far it has always been a succesful tactic.

[STEED]

I just finished in the Med and enjoyed the clear warm waters unlike the murky cold Atlantic.

[Warmonger]

Lots of loners there, easy hunting really. I'm on my 2nd career starting from La Spezia during 1942 and 1943. I almost always can expend my torps and even deck gun ammo, getting 25-35k GRT every patrol. Good hunting grounds are the regions north of Algeria and around Malta.

There are only a few convoys, several task groups and very few planes (I play with TGW).

[tycho102]

Getting in to the med is easy. Real easy. Even late-war.
Yeah, I know. What the heck!?!?! Das Boot totally had a tough time in comparison. I don't even bother going to 180m. I dive to maybe 130, and just cruise through. Make a few corrections to keep me away from directly-beneath escorts, but not much else.

As for traffic, I usually hit some of the small ports. There's usually a boat or two tied up.

[gord96]

is the Med deep? or does it have alot of shallow areas?

[Ducimus]

It's deep. The hardest part about getting into the med, is establshing WHEN to dive. Eaasy to figure that out, just dive anywhere and see how long you can stretch your boat's o2 and batts. Mark the start point, and end point when you surfaced, that distance is your endurance. get your compass out, draw a few lines on gibralter and you'll know when you have to dive and about where you'll be when you'll HAVE to surface.

[andy_311]

You will never get to the end of the suez whatever way you go N or South in a Ix boat air cover is very heavy even if you dive your dead meat.

[Biggles]

I always feels proud after getting through Gibraltar............a personal challange if you ask me.....

[Cpt.Thorne]

Going through the ´raltar is an experience itself...if playing with NYGM 2.2 then Med is nasty, dangerous and perilous...behind every wave there might be a surprise...:arrgh!:

[Frenssen]

Playing in the Med with NYGM 2.2 is a totally different experience than the original game which had a pretty dull Med campaign. Hunting on the shallows north of Malta is a very challenging way to play. I have also seen the occasional cruiser, but I haven`t been in torpedo range yet. I do manual TDC when under water so I need to get close.

[Finnbat]

Every kaleun has to try Big G or you not worth your boat. :rock:

[TarJak]

Once I got the hang of it getting through Gib has been no problem. You don't really even have to dive that deep if you stick to the africa coast and if you get some bad (Good for hiding) weather, you can even do it on the surface for a while ala Das Boot. Once you get outside Gib harbour itself some of the DD's come over as far as the coast but no probs just dive and run silent till they move on. I normally use about 100m in the mid channel just like SBJ.

Once in there or starting careers there I love getting drive by kills in Valetta and Gibraltar. The harbour rading can be very lucrative. (See my harbour rading tutorial http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=96843&highlight=harbour+tutorial),

Mostly there are lots of single large to meduim merchants, but the most fun is the that (in GW at least), there are lots of task forces to have a go at. Nuttin more satisfying that sinking a BB or CV and then sneaking off without even hearing a ping from the escorts.:arrgh!:

That said it's not all beer and skittles either. There are are plenty of times if had a crack at a TF and got the s@#$ blown out of me and either limped back with lots of damage or worse.

Air cover later on is loads of fun too. I once got jumped by 6 Sunderlands and whilst I managed to shhot two down still got creamed trying to crash dive.