You mean we the "we are being pinged" message? Thanks.

I have not trusted that message.

Does it mean they are "pinging us" or as changed in a mod "They are pinging for us" i.e. using active sensor to try and detect us.

Thanks for the advice! So I tried it again.

Got in again with plenty of time, snuck in behind the lead escort, and let loose my torps. Frankly, I don't know how to switch between targets fast enough to be on my way down before all my torps are gone. Attacking 4 targets (one stern) takes time! But I started down just as my first torp blew, flank speed, turning into the direction of the convoy. At 60M, ahead slow, the momentum takes me to 90M. Several hits and sinkings! Then some random/blind depth charges (no pinging). I'm guessing they guessed at my last location, although I was right in the thick of the convoy- that's pretty ballsy hunting! They sound loud, but no damage shows up on F7. I heard some valves popping at 106M, so I try to take her up to 95M. At 100M I lose the ship to pressure!? :-?

Maybe the ship was damaged in her previous surface engagement (I got in a running surface battle with a patrol ship and larger ship going through Dover at night). Maybe a single depth charge hit me before I could hear it. I don't know. I do know that I'm going to give this convoy a rest. In real life, or a serious campaign, I would have any how. I thought I'd try it this time around so that I could get practice, and in a role-playing way, keep some heat on the convoy system vs. single targets. I may try it again in the future with a deeper diving boat, an intact boat, and/or more experience vs. some friendly targets (i.e., training missions).

Clearly, some bad mojo is working against me, so I'm going to take my 30 tons, avoid the convoy, and see if I can run up another 10 before heading to port!

:lol: OK, this game has it in for me. So I ignore the convoy, turn north near the Shetland pass, and gun down a small coastal freighter. Shortly thereafter, a destroyer appears, I turn away and run on the surface. Flank. I'm not losing it! OK, I dive and prepare to turn away from it, when I see a bigger ship behind it. Hmmm. Turns out it's the HMS Hood! First a nice juicy convoy, now this? :roll: Come on, give me some time to learn!!! So I line it up, take a shot at 2500 M, and start diving immediately. I hit it 2x, don't sink it right away, but I'm well on my way down so I don't know how bad it's hit. It keeps on sailing, so it can't be too damaged. The destroyer escort charges in at me, and after 30 minutes of first dodging, then creeping, I get blown. Sigh. This game has it in for me- tempting me with great riches, then wreaking havoc with its destroyers- my kingdom for a good clean, air-to-air dogfight rather than this hide and run (crawl) stuff!

Honestly, from all I've read, I have to suggest that in GWX 2, 1939, the destroyers are a touch too effective. I was already well on my way out, at night, a few thousand metres out, 40M+ deep, and moving 1 knot silently before the torps hit. I should've been a hole in the ocean. I'm going to try a long-range surface attack next, then maybe I'll try and mod this thing so I can fire Harpoons or something! :p

Were you using time compression?

Does anyone actually have regular success with surface attacks in the early war? I always struggle with them but after reading so much about the success of the early war commanders with surface attacks then I feel like I'm not playing historically.

I have some success, but not regularly since there factors are involved, like weather and has to be night time with clouds, maybe a little fog, no moon reflecting lights on my boat. Set T1 torpedoes to medium while within 6000m, after firing torpedoes then speed up a little away from convoy before they impact, if going flank, they may see you. What's great about surface attack is you can be further away from escorts while you have better speed rather than have to be closer to targets using periscope and trying avoid escorts very slowly submerged before they ping you. But its no big deal for early years since their depth charges can't hurt you while your below 150m. After 1942, their depth charges go deeper. Also your visbility for locating targets while on surface is greater than being submerged using periscope, that helps alot.

Don't give up predavolk,

GWX has made the game realistic to life - how long would you last if it was for real?
So play the game as if it was for survival.

If you are a beginner, build up your experience, attack only when there's only 1 destroyer, deep water and rough seas. As your experience grows you can attack more difficult targets. Be patient, learn and you will reap the rewards.

If you are a beginner, and lasted 30 minutes dodging a big destroyer force, then you've done well! Even when skilled it is difficult. When you manage to escape, the destroyers spread out searching and with their surface speed, they can cover a big area.
I found that if I creep away at 1 knot all the time, eventually their active sensors will pick me up. So I have had to learn what maximum speed I can do to avoid detection, to get away as fast and far as I can. This means constantly adjusting speed as they circle closer and then speed up as they go away. Thats why I made myself the mod to do 1 knot at the touch of a button, instead of fiddling with the speed dials.

Good luck

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the continued advice.

1- I was using time compression at times. Does that hinder your evasion/help the destroyers?

2- OK, here's a recap of my 3rd mission. I went out, and against orders, I sailed the Dover straight. Past the midway point, I very foolishly trusted my sono-tech and surfaced without checking first. BOOM! A patrol craft and a bigger ship are sitting close by and open up. A running gun battle (the patrol craft actually circles in front and around me!) ends with me plugging the patrol craft with my 20mm, backing it off, and outrunning/hiding from the further, bigger escort. Less than 12 hours later, I give the French reason to wish they were still neutral by sinking a large cargo ship. Two hours later, another joins its brother on the bottom! I then sail around the west coast of England, potting another 6 ships with torps and guns. Usually one torp, guns to finish them. Then I find the convoy, which (after several failed attempts and saves), I leave alone. Then I find the HMS Hood. It was too good to pass up, so I attack on the surface. My previous experience suggests that my damaged boat isn't good at depth, so I decide discretion is the better part of valor. New or not, I'd take them on if I had a complete boat (when I load the game, all my dials shatter from previous damage!). So I sneak around at 6000M to get my data, sneak into 5000M (20:00 HRS) and let loose a salvo of 4 of my last 5 torps (only rear tube remaining). I then turn and run at ahead 2/3. I almost give up on the long range shots (set to slow to match one electric torp) when I get a hit! 12M, slow, magnetic (to avoid the armor belt). Immediately, all hell breaks loose with the destroyers who fire star flares, hit their lights, and start madly dashing about. I circle out, and up, ahead flank, to try and catch the wounded (?) Hood. Sadly, my torp didn't slow it down enough for me to catch it, and she was all alone (strange, as it started the encounter doing 19 knots- fast when she needs to be I guess!). Oh well. Already at 38K tons, I find a coastal merchie on the way out the Hebredies. But wait, another merchants. And it's a granville! It gets a torp, and 10 of the last 40 shells. It goes down, and I've broken 40K tons! :rock: But wait, I still have ammo, so I hunt down the coastal merchie and sink it! Booyah! But wait, I still have 23 ammo and plenty of flak ammo. So I find a medium merchant, tail it close to Scotland, but it is escorted by a single patrol ship (first time I've seen that!). No joy, I turn back out into the bay by the Heb. Another coastal merchant wanders in to play, and it gets blasted with 23 rounds before sinking. Number 11, and number 47K! On the way out, I pass 3 other coastal merchants, :roll: , and a trawler. I try to take out the trawler with my flak gun, but only start a small fire. Oh well. I'll add it to the Hood as the ones that got away. All and all, a decent patrol. And the night attack went quite well. If all my torps had been impact, I bet I would've scored another hit on the Hood, but I was very worried about the armor belting (is it modelled? how deep does it go?). From an immersive point of view, I'm happy to at least wound a British capital ship. That will tie up some escort and repair resources!

So thanks again for the advice. My next patrol is in god-****ing-nowhere CG something. I'm guessing I'm going to need convoy skills if I want to make something of that mission. Is it true you can go below 150M with impunity in 1940? That might be the easy ticket here. Will destroyers continue to harass you at that depth, and for how long? Thanks!

BTW, I play 100% realism and manual targeting (90% of my shots).

I use TC all times, even attacking convoy, but not too high, only max up to 64 tc. You will learn and get better with experiences. When they detected me, I went oh well, crashed dive, evaded escorts then tried again and did better on next times.

You can go below 150m in VIIB or better with no problem, but I think it risky if you using IIA-D, but they are more stealth tho. In 1940, destroyer could still detect you at 150m in calm sea, so go deeper and silent running at 2 knot straight line, no need to zig-zag trying to avoid DCs, they will explode above you. It should be safe to go 175m in VIIB, even been at 200m sometimes. In early war years, it pretty short for DDs to lose you, probably 5-20 minutes, but it gets harder later.

Hi predavolk
It looks like your getting into it and developing your own tactics, as in reality each played to their own strength and therefore would tackle things differently.

Have a look at this post, I think it will help you.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ht=DEMYSTIFIED

ur tatix suks




:rotfl:
Sorry; with all the awful cat jokes on the GT boards I bit my tongue for as long as I could, then it all came pouring out.

I think someone said it early on: don't run toward the convoy at all; run away, do an end-around and approach submerged and very slow from the front. Usually you can slip past the escorts that way.

Try playing the 'Happy Times' single mission several times. The proper approach is what it's all about.

The british were masters at jokes until the goverment stepped in. Even the germans (no disrespect) in the war couldn't work us out. After all wasn't the great Bob Hope english. :D

Yep. Leslie Townes Hope; born in Eltham, England, May 29, 1903. Family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, USA, in 1907.

He joked: "I left England at the age of four when I found out I couldn't be king."
http://www.bobhope.com/bob.htm

Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel were also Brits (and also roommates in college, if I remember rightly); as were Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor.

Thanks steve

I never knew that Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor were roommates! (just joking)