My suggestions:

1) Restart career in Kiel (Sure its a bit longer travel, but you get the VIIB from the start. More speed, more torpedoes, Deckgun and more fuel)

2) In patrols, head for the assigned patrol grid and do the 24hr.
If you encounter enemies on the way - sink em!

3) After completing the assigned 24hrs, go to convoy routes.
My favorite is AM54. I allways find convoys here with nice juicy tankers and C3s

My favourite hunting ground is BF 13 & BF 15, a good place to take on the convoys and singles that wander through. If you want some adventure, transit by the Engish Channel. :sunny: You get more entertainment and enjoyment that way.

Have Fun!! :D

I still seem to be having the same issue with ending my patrol, however.

Current status:

All torpedos expended.
90 minutes since last combat action.
90 Minutes since last hostile contact.
Surfaced and radio manned (also tried periscope depth and radio manned).

-No option to send any reports in the case of either ship sinking, and no messages at all from Bdu.

Guess I will have to start over. :(

But at least I am getting the hang of hunting and sinking...even if it is just small merchant ships. :D Thanks for your help all!

You don't HAVE to radio Bdu to end your patrol. You can just press escape, and you should be able to end it that way (lower right hand corner). If you are outside a certain distance, you will lose a little reknown, but you will still be able to end your patrol.

Surface first.

Make sure there are no destroyers nearby first.

Thanks folks, did it the old fashioned way...motored on back to the pens and docked! :D

Heh it's great to have so many helpful folks here though. Thank you for tolerating the endless newbie questions!

Errr, I don't get it... I can send reports any time I'm surfaced. (whether or not I see another ship). I can also return to base FROM my base without ever setting out, and of course can do so at any time in the mission. are the constraints listed (i.e. all torpedoes expended, etc...) specific to the RUB mod?

EDIT: Actually, can't see how it would be since I'm using IUB and that contains RUB... Fascinating...

SECOND EDIT: BTW, I've heard of a "free" camera that aparently lets you wander inside the allowed sections of your boat. Is this correct and if so, how does one go about engaging it?
Thanks!

S

Shift F2, I believe..

Ah! Grazie!!!
:up:

See that is the weird part. On my first patrol, I did. On my 2nd, I sunk a small merchant, went to the messages screen (M) and the Send Report and Send Contact Reports tabs were both grayed out, with no option to click on em to send anything. Ditto after the 2nd merchant sinking, and after 90 minutes of gametime at the end of the patrol. Also, I did not receive a single radio message the entire patrol. Not evem the standard "Commence hostilities against the British" message. And I quadruple checked to make sure I had a radioman on station at all times.

Odd. :)

From all the stuff I've read in the past that is a one in a million shot! No matter how you are plotting the firing solution. WTG! By up the arse do you mean the ship was also moving away from you and you got'em in the tail pipe?!?!?!

I just sank a C3 on patrol the other day at night, in about 7m seas from just under 500m and I was just doing it out of frustration because about three other had got away due to the high seas over the past few days of the patrol. No one was more suprised as I was when I saw the explosions of my two fish hitting the damn boat. Admittedly I used manual targeting followed by corrections from the WO. Hey! I'm still green (and I dont mean seasick).

Baby steps... :)

Click the radioman icon lower left (which opens that station's sub commands) and then click [send contact] or [patrol status].

Bdu will reply, sometimes, with the same thing everytime: "keep up the good work", as far as I know.

Exactly! That's how I do it too.
:yep:

S