Thanks for the tips guys!

I just finished sneaking into the middle of a convoy (4 warships, 11 merchants) I had 7 torpedoes left and was silent running. Made a turn so I was 90° to the east side of the convoy, the fog was so thick I couldn't see much more then 300 metres and the waters were so rough, I've never seen the sea so bad, 10 metre waves sometimes and it was raining cats and dogs. A passenger liner came into view at 285 metres and I had already set my firing as salvo and let the 4 of them go. Sunk it and then I dived to 70 metres and snuck out of there going north. I have 3 torpedoes left so I'm gonna hang around AM76 and see what happens.

:cool: I got an Convoy by suprise!

Large Convoy , Moving Slow. Heading towars my side!
I could count 2 Black Swans, 1 Flower, 1 FIJI , couple off Large and Medium Merchants and 1 small one.

I had 9 Torps left (+2 in Outer Reserves)
my basic procedure was actually meeting them a little from the side...but because of the Crappy weather I managed to get in the middle of them....not bad but not really what I hoped for....
but I got a couple of nice shots
3 Large Cargos
1 Medium.

after shooting 3 merchants (2 large, 1 Medium sank)the Blackswans pinged me and i High tailed it out of there...got a couple of DC hits nearby but not dangerous.
I got out of there by 50 KM but I stayed on the course where the Convoy was heading at.... I Loaded my last 3 torps and went back for some more...
and I nailed the last Large Merchants I could shoot at with my 3 Torps and that sinked her

leaving me unarmed and I had to let it go....sadly I couldnt take my clear shot at the Fiji..:cry: Mean Blackswans pinging me....and on Attack run...


But still an decent convoy attack :arrgh!:

Screenshots:
the Contact report:
http://f10.putfile.com/thumb/7/19620185485.jpg

The Fiji:
http://f10.putfile.com/thumb/7/19620205697.jpg

Large KAboom!
http://f10.putfile.com/thumb/7/19620282911.jpg

Great Job Hunter.:up:

I think folks that what i love about this game NOTHING is certain. sometimes you can do a beautiful intercept and shot only to have the torps bounce off the target, its a game that keeps you on your toes. and being a novice reading these threads you get some fantastic tip off the more expereance....Thanks Folks!!:rock:

I don't take chances when attacking a convoy. I do it by surprise, I strike heavy, and disappear like a phantom.


This tactic will only work if allies have no radar. However I see people having problems are still in early war so...

When a convoy is spotted by my watch crew (be it because I'm prosecuting a radio BdU contact, or because I find one by plain luck), I draw it's current heading and speed on the map- then I take their same heading and speed and keep on formation from a long range, decks awash (if weather is good enough) while I report to BdU and wait for the night to fall. Usually being at 6kms from the nearest surface contact is enough to keep them on sight and not being detected on return.

In the meantime I do the best I can with the UZO and Binoculars to find out the composition of the convoy. I'ts hard because at those distances you won't see too much, but special targets, such as the casual light cruiser or transatlantic can be identified from that distance.


As soon as the night falls I accelerate 3-4 knots over the convoy's speed and start overtaking them until they're well behind me. Then they do a 90 deg turn towards the convoy position: this sets me in a perfect situation for a perpendicular shot. I keep myself on the surface on a speed that will make my sub to be past the first column of the convoy when it reaches to me. If I see very valuable targets on the opposite side of the convoy, I increase speed. The plan is to be within the convoy, and to have the best targets for my fore tubes within a reasonable distance, for when the moment of firing comes.


As the convoy gets near, I do a proper and thorough identificacion of the ships in the convoy to find where the most important and valuable ships are: T2s and T3s are obvious choices and are present in most convoys. Passenger liners, if any. Light or auxiliary cruisers. I choose 2 of them as targets, and modify my speed accordingly to their position so I will be not farther than 3km from my targets when the moment of firing comes.

Usually the approach towards the intended firing point will put one or two colums of the convoy behind me for the time I open fire. So I choose a target between the ships in those columns (usually is a C2 or C3) for my aft tube/tubes.


At that point, if I'm able to reach my intended firing point at 3 knots or less before the moment I have to open fire, I submerge.

If not, I keep on surface, decks awash, moving at 9 knots , until I see I'm able to reach that intended point at 3 knots or less. If that will take too much time, I raise speed to 11 knots. I won't go higher than this, high speeds make you more visible and can attract escort attention and make the convoy start zig-zagging.


When the time of inmersion comes, order silent running and periscope depth. Take a quick look through periscope each 2 minutes, then lower it. at this speed and with silent running, and with a convoy nearby ,noone will hear you. by having the periscope raised the least time you can, you won't be spotted. You have forward motion, so you will keep your depth ok.

At this point is important, if the seas are rough, to keep depth. Order 14 meters instead of PD. That way you'll sit lower in the water and your conning tower will never be exposed in the steep waves. You pay it in worse periscope visibility but it pays off. There is no real reason to see anything through periscope at the moment other than periodically check the convoy advances: you should have already a proper solution (if you work with manual TDC) and be perfectly aware of where the escorts are.


now is time to plan your torpedo settings. You will be shooting torpedoes in pairs, in single tube fire mode. Select a proper running depth for each pair of eels depending on the target you've selected. If winds are 6 knots or less (relatively calm waters) you can trust on magnetic pistols and under-the-keel hits at a depth of (ship draft+1meter). If waters are rough, go with contact pistols at a depth of 3-4 meters.

Use your fore T-I torpedoes on fast setting for the farther target. Use your remainging 2 torpedoes (T-IIs or T-Is on slow setting) for the nearer target.

If you're in a type IX, Put both aft torpedoes on same speed setting (usually I have a T-I and T-II aft, so both go at 30 knots) and plan the choice of running depth and contact/magnetic pistol accordingly to the situation.


Ok, you're set up. Go to conning tower, open up all your torpedo tubes and wait for the moment to fire.

Keep track of the farthest target ahead. When gyro shows a 000 deg shot, loose the 2 torpedoes you had destined to it. Aim one towards the middle of the ship (machinery spaces and fuel bunkers). The second goes some metres behind that place. The aim is to cause machinery damage with the first impact, and massive flooding with the first and second. You want a confirmed kill, or at the very least to leave the ship dead or moving very slow on the water so you can kill it later.

After you've lost the 2 first eels, estimate the time it will take for the 2 remaining torpedoes you're about to fire to find the mark on the nearer target with your slower running torpedoes. You don't need to be perfectly timed. A simultaneous hit on all targets will be great but 10 second delays won't make you miss your targets. When you estimate that the moment to fire for a more or less timed impact has come, loss the 2 remaining torpedoes at the nearer target in a similar pattern as before. Engines-aft.


Now turn your periscope aft, lock on the target for your aft torpedo/torpedoes. If you have one, aim for the machinery. If you have two, aim in the same pattern as before. Loss torpedoes immediately.


You're job is done. Don't wait for the impacts to happen, you'll hear them while you're on your way down. There's no need to see how your targets blow up. You want to survive, not to see eye candy.

Order 1/3 ahead and a change to deep water. 100 m minimum. When you reach 50m, change to ahead slow for the remainder of the way down.

Order a course that will point your bow towards the aft of the convoy. Escorts won't be able to come for you from the sides of the convoy because of the ships...their probable incoming ways will be from ahead or astern of the convoy itself. By turning this way you give the smaller profile possible. As you already are in silent running, you'll radiate almost no sound (if you want to be completely sure, change speed to 2 knots after reaching 100m), and ASDIC will have little chances to find you because of your very small profile.


That's all. Keep your ears tuned for the possible escort who runs near you, and try to offer the smaller profile to them by turning the boat accordingly. At this moment they're clueless about where you are so their search patterns will be wildly innacurate and probably very far away from you. Only if you get VERY unlucky they'll find you, but if they do you'll be deep and ready to pull evasion tactics easily.


When you're totally sure that the escorts have gone away, bring your boat slowly to PD. Take a look for the results of the attacks. Usually the 2 torpedo pattern I launch do a kick work of anything I shoot at. However if you only have one aft torpedo (you are in a Type VII) the target you fired at with your aft torpedo may still be alive but lagging behind the convoy. There's also the casual T-3 that survives the 2 initial torpedoes, or maybe one of them was a dud and the other hit...well, you get my drift.

In any case it's time to sink the surviving ships (if any). Revoke silent running and start reloading. Finish whatever stragglers are left behind the convoy with the torpedoes as they come on-line...or if you're feeling really lucky and the escorts are really long gone, surface and do the rest of the job with the deck gun. But as soon as you've ended the job, you'd better get the hell out from there at top speed because if you do this, the escorts WILL be back.



I play with GW supermod, and this works like a charm. For late 1940, at least.


hope this tips help.

Thats very true Nightfighter. Take for example my situation yesterday. I had 7 torpedoes left from a previous encounter with a convoy and it was so foggy that I was unable to see much beyond 300 meters, the sea was really rough with 10 ft waves as my conning tower would show above water, raining down cats and dogs. I had a convoy coming right towards me. I'm sitting all stop facing east, silent running. Sonar had picked up 4 warships and 11 merchants. I waited until I was in the middle of the convoy, asked sonar to find the nearest merchant, I got the bearing, raised the periscope and there she was, a passenger liner, 285 meters away just passing me. I set salvo for all 4 tubes, fast and magnetic, because of the rolling of the ships in the water. Impact 1 2 3 4 and I broke her back, she split in two. Secured from silent running so that my remaining 3 torpedoes would load. As soon as all three were loaded I raised the periscope again and there was a C2 Cargo, which had just past me and was at 235 meters and moving away, but the angle of the shot, the torpedoes would have bounced off, so I lowered the scope, rig for silent running, dove to 70 meters and snuck out if the convoy on a bearing of 0°. Oh, yea, it was 8 AM in the morning. So I'm sitting in the convoy lane waiting for another, so I can use the remaining three torpedoes and head home.

Nightfighter:

At what depth do you consider is "decks awash" for a VIIB/2?

6 meters for a VII, I think. 8 meters for an IX. You need about 2 meters over (under :D) it's fully surfaced depth. The only time this really helps out any is in calm seas. In heavy seas, you're going to already be "covered" by the waves (i.e. decks awash).

Thanks Tyco

Taking out the escorts
 

I have my own technique to take out the escorts from one side and the rear. Then I don't get interupted when taking out the cargos.

What I do is to attract an escort by allowing my self to be detected. Then take evasive manouvers, after it has done an attacking pass. I then study the sonar and make sure he is about 30 degress of my stern. I then go to PD put up the attack scope and slow down and wait for the escort to turn around. as he is turn to face me I then upto flank speed (nice and noisy) and keep adjusting my bearing to keep the escort exactly 180 behind me using the scope. (before doing this I manually set the torps to magnetic / 1 metre lower than hull and dead straight gyro angle.):know:

The escort usually begin to chase me ... As then get to about 600-500 metres I let the fish go, then hard right ... wait for the bang ... hopefully. and dive.

This works most of the time. Its quite exciting :o especially since I play DiD

Do this a couple more times and it can leave a juicy convey exposed for carnage.:arrgh!:

when weather is good and early in the war try sinking destroyers first with torpedoes.after you can surface and sink the defenceless merchants with the deck gun.i had great tonnage sum using this strategy.

That only really works with the stock deck gun settings. The GW and NYGM mods make the deck gun do more realistic damage meaning that you might use up all your ammo on a few ships.

yea in NYGM deck guns only have HE.