Heh, I didn't have more eels, otherwise I would indeed have taken my time and made sure :D

also it was that skipper's 2nd patrol, so I had to be extra careful about not getting killed :-? Nearly died right at the end too, with the new st. Nazaire I didn't check where the minefield is supposed to be, got lucky .

I am now on the third patrol, with 2 successful attacks on a convoy in grid BE, have sunk 3 cargos 1 tanker and a DD that came poking around while I was finishing off a straggler.

I see for sure a tanker in the lead and what appears to be Nelson behind and stbd to the tanker, and then a bunch of freighters which Im lousy at identifying. As a U-Boat skipper early in the war I would have left Nelson alone for these reasons: It is against policy to shoot warships in the presence of merchants, and even with 5 eels you have no guarantee of a sinking and with Nelson being so far interior its likely the fish will be spotted and Nelson will avoid anyway.
So I choose the tanker for two shots, another larger freighter for 2 shots and a small one for 1 shot. All shots are aimed to at least disable the vessels so that if I dont get a sinking I can go to guns after taking my medicine and the DD's leave.

I would have aimed all four bow fish at the Nelson, dove to 160 M, and gone away on silent running. That stern torp would have to wait.

Cool scenario...I probably would have done 2 or 3 at Nelson, and another 1 or 2 at a choice tanker and take her deep to evade and listen for effect with hydrophones. I'd save the rear tube for whichever didn't sink properly (or quickly enough.) That way, as mentioned earlier by others, you'd at least slow them down enough to separate them from the convoy. You could take your pick of which deserved a torp (definitely Nelson, if both survive initial attack) and gun the tanker later if needed.

That's me...maybe not a "proper" approach but if I saw a battlewagon I couldn't just let it go. We see merchants on the seas all the time. They're officially a priority, granted, but the rarity of battleships makes them interesting targets.

Call me crazy but in that situation I certainly would get in front of that convoy and shut everything down, running silent so your within say 700metres (just keep your scope down and follow with sonar, you wont be detected with all the other noise around you), set your solution from the map first with a good spread so your hitting the front of the vessel and then aiming for the munitions in the rear third of the ship. Then pop your parascope up when the Nelson is @ 353-355 degrees and fire when shes around 358 (i seem to get better contact detonations like this). Those two torpedoes should take her to the locker... Next (this is where I deviate from most of the other Calhouns here) I surface the boat and hit full flank with 3 men on the deck gun and one watch officer so I can get accurate ranging information. Id your escorts and try to keep the other larger merchants between you and them. Remember your accelerating quickly and take this into account as well. Pummel them with the deck gun and save your torpedoes while running out ahead of the convoy... after you've sank the escorts, you can as they say behave like a "wolf in a chicken coup". :arrgh!:

Well, just saw this from the subsim meet :O:

Popcorn, I'm sorry mate, but at my realism options don't allow for munitions locker/magazine shots easily. but as stated, I know how to sink her with one fish.

but no deckgunning, that would be silly, I'd like to keep it historically plausible, just my style y'know :|\\

I play mostly @ 94% ... sometimes I turn on the external cam so I can get some screen shots. I understand that munition and boiler shots are rough, that's why I suggested making the first hole in the front of the ship. I agree one shot could take her down, but I used two on this one (even though I took this pic when I was thinking of shooting all four at her and getting the hell out of there). I felt like the margin of error could be too large to overlook the need for the second torpedo.
The deck gun though, thats just my style with just about everything... let me go in with guns blazin'
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4.../hmsnelson.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4.../goinunder.jpg

Having said that, here is a pic of me sinking the Nelson with a munitions shot... it was broad daylight out and I surfaced to fight the escort's. My deck crew ended up wasted after a lucky shot so I had to dive. Good luck with that brother.:rotfl2:

Thinking realisticly, and considering that english capital ships had radar in 1940 (That's how HMS Dorsetshire (SP?) shadowed KM Bismarck and KM Prinz Eugen without being detected), I would lean toward a submerged attack. All 4 bow tubes at HMS Nelson. Oh, 14 inch guns don't make holes in uboats. They make holes in the ocean where a uboat used to be.
IJN = 18 inch. USN = 16 inch. KM = 15 inch. RN = 14 inch. Keep in mind that a battleship also carries a secondary battery of many, many 5 inch guns. Thats more than enough to handle light targets, like us. With radar tied into the fire control system - Think dead.