jasondef,

Your last successful attack is very much like those I've made. Long, hard, grueling and well planned. Great work.
-Pv-

Thanks, PV. That means a lot coming from you, I'm honored sir! Took me couple tries, but well worth it. That was by far the most edge of my seat action I've had yet in SH4. Makes me almost want to just go Task Force hunting, screw the convoys! Luckily for the Axis powers, its been a rare find for me thus far.;)

Bookworm, that appears to be the mother of all task forces! I only hope I can perish in such a noble fight as taking on that bunch. Nice work, I am envious!

Let this be a thread to be recognized by all those complaining they can't find any action.

Haha I got the very same task force once I believe. There were two Takao CAs, one Mogami CA, one Maya CA, one Yamato BB, one Escort CV, six DDs (mostly Asashio and Akizuki), two Fusos, one Ise, and a Medium Old Tanker.

Plagued by unimaginably frustrating torpedoes and an almost depleted load by the time I caught up with them, I only managed to bag the Yamato and cripple a Fuso.

*sigh*...

You lucky guys!
 

I'm on cruise 15 of my career and only saw capital ships once, as they steamed by at 3000 yards. I shot six at a BB anyway and got it, but the rest just ran away at 30 knots. Even the DDs didn't bother to bug me. They were gone!:ping:

I always try to follow the standing orders of the day. I got the following from the document 'Current Doctrine Submarines. USF 25(A). Prepared by COMMANDER SUBMARINE FORCE, PACIFIC FLEET. FEBRUARY, 1944' URL is http://www.history.navy.mil/library/...b_doctrine.htm

That says:

4103. The objectives of submarine attack are enemy ships and shipping. If a choice is offered, priority is as follows: CV, BB, ACV, AO, any man of war larger than a DD, AP, AK, DD. However, no worthwhile target should be passed up in the hope of securing a better one.

So, that's the target order I go for.

Here's what the designations mean (I think, someone who knows for sure can correct me if I'm wrong):

CV- Aircraft Carrier,
BB - Battleship,
ACV - Escort Carrier,
AO - Auxillary Oiler,
AP - Non Landing Troop Ship,
AK - General Cargo Ship,
DD - Destroyer.

Unfortunately this means that I can't ignore Sampans and have to sink them.

Nisgeis.

I bounced on a huge task force last night, but I'm having problems approaching one of the big carriers. The Task Force is composed of 3 Carriers, 2 BB, 2 HC, 1 LC, Some Merchants and a perimeter with 1 DD for every 1000yds.

This is a daylight attack. Any advices on how to penetrate this screen??

Me, I gotta go for the CV's. I usually only worry about tonnage when it's just a merchant convoy. Task Force's are the bomb if you can get into a good position.

Be careful if you lock the target in your scope though. I once wasted 6 fish on a large tanker that could have been taken out with 2 or 3. Multiple fish in the same spot don't do as much damage as spreading them out.

Excellent Job!

Capn_Sinky (aka Stinky)
O.I.C.I.C.
Office In Charge of Ice Cream
USS Drum

When I radio in the sighting I always obey the directive- either sink freighters or attack convoy. Either way I move within between 9000-7000 yards of the biggest, slowest target and fire. The distance will give me enough time to get the hell out of Dodge.

I have seen three Task Forces (I mean actual ships, I have seen several contacts but they were ahead of me and I couldn't catch them and no way to "go around"):
The first I had zero fish, on my way back for a refit. So I just watched them sail by.

Second I fired all six forward torps into the Ise Battleship and it went down. If there were Aircraft carriers, I didn't see them, so I took what I could. I dove deep and evaded because I thought I knew where they were going. Lot of reports with spottings in the almost exact same place. I was wrong.

Third was "OH, shoot I just screwed up big time!!!" (I didn't really say "shoot") Manila had been captured so I was sent to a base on Jawa. On the way back from a supply mission I was sailing along the row of islands on the southern part of the Flores Sea. Got 4 contacts, engaged but they were all USA. So just before the port I saw another USA merchant and surfaced. Since I was almost into the narrow part before the port, I stayed on the surface, got multiple contacts. Lots of blue lines and lots of black lines. The last time it was only a couple of black line for the tankers, this had lots of both. Since I had just made all these USA contacts I figured it was a Allied Task Force leaving port. Boy was I wrong, I'm sailing merrily (sorry, I guess Skippers don't do merrily) right smack into the middle of the biggest Task Force I have ever seen in the game. (But I haven't been playing very long) and that's when I said "Golly gee wiz, those are Japanese flags" Well it was something like that but not rated for daytime tv. They must have just attacked the base and were leaving. So I phoned home and told them I would be late for dinner and since the destroyers were making a beeline for me, I had no choice but to go deep. Then after an hour of real time, I saved it and went to bed, so I don't know how it's going to turn out.

Told the story so other noobs don't make the same STUPID mistake I did. I won't bother to ask what you guys would have done, because I am sure you wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place. I was so careful to check out the other contacts just to make sure it wasn't the enemy, but when a million ships sail toward me, I ignored it , an idiot at work.:smug:
I also had another first for me on this mission, one of the contacts, I was getting lined up plotting it's course, and then it just stopped. Turned out it sank. I don't know if maybe planes got it, it was grey not red so I am assuming it was allied?

Peabody (Stupid noob tricks a specialty.)