I'm into SOS :up:
But i try be be a bit real life about it (my version:D )
I don't waste Torps on a motor vessel/sloop, I use the gun. Lucky them if the weather is rough. I will leave them alone when close to enemy aircover etc, as I figure I don't want them revealing my location for the sake of a few tons.:nope:
Any escorted shipping in shallow water is safe (maybe along range night attack if conditions allow).Therefore no harbour attacks. DDs etc. will cop it if they sail alone close across my line of site - I'm human afterall...;). Otherwise I won't risk the crew on a side issue - we're there for the merchants!
I report convoys that I find and shadow them till nightfall, then attack. I don't radio in otherwise. Though I understand that after three days of no contact, the families get advised we're overdue, so maybe I'll do progress reports. Don't want mother to worry...:-?
DID.:dead:
I have found that since I got into GWX the flavour of the game has changed my play style. Thinking about what is realistic mean so much more to my enjoyment (I've finally taken up manual targeting:huh: )
Had a long successful career recently terminated because I got impatient and broke one of the above rules.
Real life rules! (and sucks) :rotfl:

Don't know what bible this is, but that's exactly my way of thinking. The only time I don't bother is with very small ships like yachts and fishing boats in heavy weather, when I can't use the deck gun. Somehow I don't think they are worth a 40000 RM torpedo, especially since the chances for a hit are not that great in heavy weather.

The bible is the translated 1943 U-boat commanders handbook, available here

http://www.hnsa.org/doc/uboat/index.htm

There is one more thing to consider, It doesn't pay to attack small targets when enemy warships are within response range, Planes don't matter, that's what flak is for, but just as an example:

I was in AM36 tonight, spotted a large fishing trawler, that's 500 tons so definitely not torpedo material It was beautiful deckgun weather totally clear, moonless night and flat calm. so I decide to go to periscope depth because it's coming straight for me anyway, wait for it to be real close and then pop the boat up to the surface right next to them and open fire, just to scare them a bit more :D

But when I'm at PD I get a sonar report of 2 warships closing fast so I decide to go silent and see if those are interceptable. they were not, 2 Didos going 25 knots and looking to pass me about 7km out.

Now Imagine what would have happened if I didn't listen first, I'd be happily shelling a stupid 500 ton trawler and WHAM there's 2 Didos barreling down on me all guns blazing......:down::dead: I'd be one very sunk uboat.

so yes SOS is good but you gotta stay cautious, and I'd say don't go for every radio contact until you've reached your patrol area, it just wastes fuel. only go for the ones that are not too far out of the way and you have a reasonable chance of catching
Unless of course it's a convoy, always intercept convoys:arrgh!:

if i see a merchant at about 2,000 tons I use the deck gun. No sense wasting a torpedo. If the seas are rough and I cant use the gun, I let it go. On my 1st patrol of a new kaleun, becuase all my other kaluens died, I took a convoy - i saw 2 targets worth sinking. 1 fiji and 1 large merchant. one shot, one kill on both. slipped away, let the rest of the convoy go on by. the rest of the targets were less than 5 k tons. I wait 10 days for another convoy. Again, 1 large merchant, 1 fiji, then I go away. Wait 7 days, sink a small freighter with the deck gun in semi-rough weather. Another convoy. This time out, after two strikes on the convoy, I have added 6 large merchants for 60 k tons to my total. If I play this right with 190 rounds of 188mm deck gun ammo, I can get to 200,000 tons on my 1st patrol. Only thing I have is Watch Officer assistance for range and aob. Just another viewpoint to show that being frugal pays too. For example, you dont go to a dealership and take the 1st offer, you gotta haggle to get the best deal. :lol:

A mod allowing more realism should reduce the number of contact reports, IMHO. Actually there weren't many chances of receiving contact reports. if outside tthe Luftwaffe range. Now even in GWX I have a constant flow of contact reports, including multiple reports of convoys and even task forces doing 20 or more knots.

I think that halving the contact report probability in the campaign files would be fair.

Returning to the subject, I always attack enemy ships, even smaller ones, if I can. Once I sunk with the deck gun even a 110t motor vessel, but I wouldn't have used a torpedo for this one (if the deck gun was unavailable).

Maraz

I agree with you, the number of contact reports is way too high IMHO.

Concerning sinking small vessels:
Does anybody know how this subject was treated in WWII?
Did they really "waste" torpedos on small targets like jachts or junks?

I've found the best one... RealNav mod! Kicks ass and now I'm lost near Lerwick (I hope)

Yes, I know the Real Nav mod, but I am planning to try it later (I am still in my 1st career in SH3-GWX). Surely it demands much more time, because one cannot travel carelessly at 1024x anymore.

Luckily I learnt how to use the KM wheel so I don't need anymore the map to plot and calculate my firing solution, that was another reason for not trying the real nav mod...

Maraz

Could you give me some info about that KM Wheel? I've read about it but have no idea what exactly is it... it seems helpful.

PS I'm just digging through the code of RealNav to fit it with GWX. It's not GWX ready by default.

Finished a SOS patrol just now. took out 23 ships, half of those were small fry like trawlers and fishing boats, deckgunned those (I ignored schooners and sloops), also 2 DDs that just came uncomfortably close about 8 small merchants, 2 coastal tankers, a tugboat and 2 large merchants, total of 56139 GRT, had only 2 eels left by the time I got to AM53, which is convoy alley. I don't think BDU would be too happy with me, I did get to my patrol area but did not have the means to do any significant damage there. :nope: big nono they send me there for a reason...

from now on I'll use shoot on sight after I've reached my assigned area :D

Wow! 56139 GRT!:o
I never get that much, usually around 20k - 30k, if the wheather is fine.
At least one third of my eels I send into the void, I think I have to practise manual TDC a lot more.:hmm:

My last patrol ended in the vicinity of Lerwick harbour.:cry:
I was deckgunning a small merchant when suddenly I heard toooo familiar sounds of bombs dropping near by me, I guess I missed the aircraft warning message in the heat of battle!:damn:

The next stupid thing I did was that I didn't crashdive instantly but had a look around by pressing F4. The next thing I saw was a bomb going straight for me (at least too fast to pause game and take a screenshot)...:damn: :damn:
Whammmm! That was a good one!
...then everything turns red.

Good bye, Kapitän Leonard, I'll miss ya!

It's a circular slide rule, designed and optimized for calculations needed by a submarine commander (AOB, target course and speed, etc.)

Here you can download the printable wheel (made by Hitman)
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=114351

Here you find instructions about how to use it (instructions apply to the US model but the Kriegsmarine model is almost the same)
http://www.hnsa.org/doc/attackfinder/index.htm

It's quite helpful and allows you some different methods for calculating your firing solution without plotting anything on the map

Cheers
Maraz

Wooow this small piece of equipment sure was missing on my boat!!!

Big thx, I'll give it a go ASAP but first need to find any targets in that storm...

Admittedly this was in december 39 when things are still fairly easy, and the deckgun helps a lot. also this is not manual targeting,:oops: all the rest of the realism is on though. Type VIIb sub

also only using 1 eel per ship and finsihing them off with the deckgun (if needed) helps a lot :arrgh!: even for the large Merchants. those usually only need one eel