Interesting! So you might as well keep it, even if its usefulness diminishes.

Well I do if I've a VII or IX....it does save on the odd eel

That's why I stopped excessive deck gunning. When small, "easy" targets not worth an eel suddenly opens fire with two cannons + flak, one torpedo is small price compared to damage it can cause.

Haven't encounterd them bastards yet. I wait wth anticipation.

Q Ships are nasty surprises. They look exactly like tramp steamers...

Thats right, so its always better to have it.:yeah:
More historical and risky.

Oh I think they're rather quaint http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima.../evillaugh.gif

In real life there was more variety. There was even one tanker converted to a Q-ship.
http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwi...#anchor1530236

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ghorn2d-08.jpg

But in WW2 the most Q Ships were sunk by german U-Boats. They didn't sunk any U-Boat but three of five Q-Ships were sunk by the U-Boats. :salute:

"Three of five"? The British commissioned nine Q-ships in 1939. Three were sunk, two in 1940 and the third in 1942 while in French service, and after the Royal Navy had abandoned the program. The US Navy commissioned five Q-ships, of which one was sunk.

Q-ships only work when the submarine policy is to board and search ships and then sink them with scuttling charges. If the policy is to torpedo them while submerged, then no, they have no real value. If you're going to make a surfaced attack against a lone merchant, then the Q-ship can be troublesome. But then so can an armed merchant, which is why Q-ships were eventually dropped.

Q Ships in WWII

American

http://www.history.navy.mil/docs/wwii/Q-ships.htm

British

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...123_in_See.jpg

What a nice picture :) U-123 under command of Reinhard Hardegen. One of the most sucessful U-Boat commanders. :salute:

As I recall it, Hardegen was a commander who often used a deck gun.

He was also an individual who was initially mistaken for an SS officer of the same name and very lucky not to be executed after the war.

And he is the oldest still living U-Boat Commander of the Kriegsmarine. :03:

http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg...08%20u123.jpeg

http://www.thelongestpatrol.com/site...-3-567x329.jpg

Btw: This is Rainhard Hardegen (on the right)
http://members.cox.net/slystrat2/k6.jpg

Good to learn he is still alive :sunny: