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Type 941,
Don't know if the Realism Level affects the number of ships the AI tosses out, it might. The actual Passenger Liner Travel Lanes are fairly easy to find, it'll just take some time on a patrol. In BC77/78 There is a tip of shallow water sticking out, in BC77 about middle of the grid draw a line to the middle of grid BE36. Now sit back at about 512 TC and watch the radio reports come in and any ship shown heading to BE36 along that line is most likely a passenger liner if it shows a speed of FAST. Now keep refining that course line as radio reports come in later showing the same ship. You'll find out that there are 2 lanes about 30 Km apart that the passenger liners usually take. Once you have those 2 lanes identified just plot a course from BE36 to BC77 BETWEEN those 2 lanes. Or if you don't want to waste a lot of fuel if your Patrol area isn't near them just plot a course between them in BE36 and sit and wait at the western edge of BE36 or in BE35. The line runs through just about middle of BC 77 to 92, BD 49 to 64 and BE 28 to 36. I have the old grid map from AOD that shows all the grid numbers. If you drew a line from the middle of BC77 to BE36 you'ed be pretty close with just that base line I think. AT 90-100% realism it would be a lot harder to fine without the "Map Updates" but I think just the base line would get you close enough. Once you find one Passenger liner there will be more following that lane and course he's on and another parallel lane within 30Km NNW or SSE depending on which lane he's in. Once I found the lanes I sunk 8 Passenger liners in a week of travel down the lanes to CA38 and all were sunk before BC77, I actually STOPPED shooting or I'ed been out of torps before I got to my Patrol Area of CA38. Lots of luck. |
The tonnages here show that even at 100% realism, the game still leans towards the Uboat (obviously since it is a game).
Total Decorations Awarded to Uboat force for duration of war. Diamonds Winners (2) Swords Winners (5) Oak Leaves Winners (29) Knights Cross Winners (144) An ace was anyone with over 50,000 tons of kills and very few ever got past 200,000 for their entire careers so single patrols for 180,000+ were somewhat unlikely. :) Early in the war you can pretty much sink ships with impunity since there aren't any escorts to speak of and you can just sit around on the convoy lines to pick off C2s and 3s and rack up some huge totals especially if you are selective and refuse to engage small ships (pretty sure that was a no-no for real captains ). :) I think a better question to ask is with what mods since clearly operating under RuB and IC to eliminate all the fat single unguarded merchants changes the ability to sink large numbers a lot more than just difficulty since a lone C3 on 1% difficulty is just as easy to sink at 100%. |
152k
still got 3 fish left and miles from port realism 33% |
113,000, 50%, almost all Liberty and T-3s, All between Cuba and Dominica, early '42. :smug:
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Since I started playing 100% realism with man targetting (but w/stabilized scope), NYGM TW, I've maxed at 58k in VIIB. That was from hunting lone cargos in the channel. I've yet to get out to the open atlantic where the real convoys are, and I expect to push a bit higher when i hit the liners/T3s. Dud torpedoes really cut your winnings. Not to mention the NYGM flotation scheme. Most of my other patrols were in the 20s.
Kb |
"since a lone C3 on 1% difficulty is just as easy to sink at 100%."
...only if you can surface to use the deck gun, and you have the deck gun firing interval on the default. Put the reload time up over 30 seconds, and you'll see a lot of unfriendlies showing up before you can sink a C3 with the deck gun alone... even when there isn't already a destroyer cruising 5km away. Also, without targeting assistance, any kind of screwup can convert an easy torpedo kill to a dud or miss. Correct TDC settings, but you were rushed to get that fast 90 shot and forgot to adjust the depth or trigger setting? Oops, that was a dud/bounced off/missed close enough to notice! Now you've got one or two fewer torpedoes and a dodging C3 at 15+kts, heading away from you. Switched torps and forgot to completely update the settings for TDC? Oops, missed! Oh. I forgot to switch out of automatic mode on the TDC, and my fast 90 shot is now 11.5 degrees off. Heavy fog and stormy weather with 200m visibility? Gonna take some serious observation and plotting to hit something you can't *see* when you have to do the observation and plotting yourself. I play on 100% realism, with higher deck gun reload times from SH3Cmdr. I also end up having to reload a lot, 'cause even with the perfect setup, it's easy to miss a shot by forgetting to click one button. When I'm on, I can take two C3s and a T3 in one volley in a convoy. When I'm off, I miss the first shot on a lone C3 and then rush to take the next two and don't manage to sink anything. Reloading any time I make a really bone-headed targeting mistake, my best patrol so far is about 88,000 tons on 100% difficulty. Admittedly, for true 100% realism, I shouldn't use Google Calculator to calculate speeds based on my observations. "7.7 km / 34 minutes in knots" Try it :) |
about 66K, 7 ships including 5 tankers
92% Realism (External Cam for screenshots) No WO Assistance Spring 1943 Type VII RuB 1.45 Hollywood Damage and Crew Model Realism Rules from Uboat Commanders Handbook 1. Fan Shooting at all targets. No single torpedoes. 2. Only do soundchecks at dawn and dusk. Locate targets by patrolling on the surface. In 1/3 of my patrols I usually see no targets, and return to port empty-handed. |
I finally got my first 100K (104K) mission the other day. It's my first campaign, ~60% realism, May '42 with a type VIIC. Great mission, not too many ships sunk since I only shoot at T2s or higher, like T3s, passenger liners and big fighting ships.
Some highlights if you care; Was attacked by 12 Sunderlands at one time! Managed to shoot two of them down. I was at around 80K tonnage with one eel left and about 40 HE rounds plus star shells. Spotted lone T2, fired a single electric under the keel from abeam, good weather, day, from 450 metres. The T2 broke up and sank almost instantly! At 90K tonnage total, just 40 HE shells left (plus flak and star shells). Do I try to find a T3 or two smaller ships to make the 100K? Low on diesel. Spotted lone, unarmed small tanker, good weather, decided to attack with gun. Sunk small tanker with 22 shells left. Immediately after came across 2 C3s, both with bow guns sailing very close together. Submerge, they sailed directly over top of us, popped up 90 metres dead astern of rear C3 and opened fire with cannon. Other C3 maneuvers to fire but I'm positioned behind the rear C3 so no shells impact us. Have to use star shells to finish off the C3 while my flak gunners down allied planes diving above us. I'm positioned such that the C3 we sank didn't get a single cannon shot off. Bee-line it for home, made port safely, finally achieving the vaunted 100K tonnage on a single mission with out loss of a single man. Woohoo!!! |
CAPTAIN'S LOG
Date and Time Grid Occurrences 01 Mar 1942 2315 Patrol 1 U-124, 10th Flotilla Left at: March 1, 1942, 23:15 From: Lorient Mission Orders: Patrol grid ED98 11 Mar 1942 0144 CF 86 Ship sunk! S.S. Malayan Prince (Large Tanker), 7655 tons 0148 CF 86 Ship sunk! S.S. Pensilva (Medium Tanker), 6644 tons 0149 CF 86 Ship sunk! S.S. Tiiu (Medium Cargo), 4961 tons 0354 CF 86 Ship sunk! S.S. Anu (Medium Cargo), 4372 tons 1526 CF 88 Ship sunk! S.S. Towner (Tramp Steamer), 2589 tons 1604 CF 88 Ship sunk! S.S. Arbiter (Large Cargo), 5512 tons 09 Apr 1942 1134 DN 47 Ship sunk! S.S. Rincon Hills (Small Merchant), 3960 tons 1142 DN 47 Ship sunk! S.S. President Adams (Large Cargo), 6755 tons 1144 Patrol results Crew losses: 0 Ships sunk: 8 Aircraft destroyed: 0 Patrol tonage: 42448 tons BACK |
I looked the logs of my current careers, and this was the highest.
92 % Type VIIC October -41 91974 tons Heh, hull integrity was 80 % after that patrol. |
patrol 12, 1940 october 6
Uboat VIIB 70620 tonnes on a 3 week patrol ran into a convoy and only went after C3s and Tankers. also ran into 2 tankers and C3 in pairs and sunk those along with several small merchants and coastal merchants. deck guns when able. had to limp home after running into several destroyers on teh way home. 96% realism (no dud torpedoes - its annoying enough to calculate all that and then watch it not explode). |
41,255 tons. Running RUb with some other realism tweaks via SH3Cmdr.
I'm at 77% realism because I let the other officers do their jobs! I average about 20,000 tons per patrol. Still yields too high a career tonnage for my liking (last two careers resulted in over 300k sunk after 16 patrols). |
Patrol 21
U-103, 2nd Flotilla September 13, 1941, 18:46 Lorient EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 16|Coastal Merchant, 2042 tons EntryTitle=September 15, 1941, 06:31 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 37|T2 Tanker, 10871 tons EntryTitle=September 18, 1941, 05:43 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AN 16|Fiji Light Cruiser, 10725 tons EntryTitle=September 20, 1941, 08:34 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 39|C3 Cargo, 7909 tons EntryTitle=September 22, 1941, 14:19 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 52|T2 Tanker, 10872 tons EntryTitle=September 23, 1941, 07:22 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 52|C2 Cargo, 6450 tons EntryTitle=September 23, 1941, 15:45 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 52|C2 Cargo, 6451 tons EntryTitle=September 23, 1941, 17:43 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 93|T2 Tanker, 10871 tons EntryTitle=September 28, 1941, 11:19 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 93|T2 Tanker, 10872 tons EntryTitle=September 28, 1941, 11:27 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 93|Armed Trawler, 530 tons EntryTitle=September 28, 1941, 13:02 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 94|Small Merchant, 2342 tons EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 07:30 EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid AM 94|HurricaneMkII Fighter Bomber EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 07:37 EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid AM 94|HurricaneMkII Fighter Bomber EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 07:38 EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid AM 94|HurricaneMkII Fighter Bomber EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 07:40 EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid AM 94|HurricaneMkII Fighter Bomber EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 07:40 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 94|Clemson Destroyer, 1190 tons EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 08:43 EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid AM 95|HurricaneMkII Fighter Bomber EntryTitle=September 29, 1941, 11:18 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 99|T2 Tanker, 10873 tons EntryTitle=September 30, 1941, 13:58 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 99|C2 Cargo, 6447 tons EntryTitle=September 30, 1941, 16:49 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AM 99|Armed Trawler, 530 tons EntryTitle=September 30, 1941, 19:23 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BE 68|Nelson Battleship, 36000 tons EntryTitle=October 10, 1941, 05:02 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BE 68|Revenge Battleship, 28000 tons EntryTitle=October 10, 1941, 05:03 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BE 68|Revenge Battleship, 28000 tons EntryTitle=October 10, 1941, 05:05 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 25|C2 Cargo, 6400 tons EntryTitle=October 12, 1941, 11:24 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 23|C2 Cargo, 6448 tons EntryTitle=October 12, 1941, 23:37 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AN 79|C2 Cargo, 6398 tons EntryTitle=October 15, 1941, 04:22 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AN 79|T2 Tanker, 10875 tons EntryTitle=October 15, 1941, 04:32 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AN 79|J Class Destroyer, 1690 tons EntryTitle=October 15, 1941, 04:59 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid AN 79|V&W Destroyer, 1188 tons EntryTitle=October 15, 1941, 04:59 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 26|C2 Cargo, 6450 tons EntryTitle=October 17, 1941, 22:17 EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 25|Tribal Destroyer, 1850 tons EntryTitle=October 20, 1941, 22:36 Total tonnage: 232,274 Realism 63% Boat: IXC This was my lucky day, I met this task force consisting of 3 BB's (Nelson+2*Revenge) and 8 DD's, and luckily I survived! The Fiji CL was anchored in Scapa Flow. |
In one patrol without the RUB mod - 137000 tons
With the RUB mod - 42000 tons |
I don't know how you guys get tonnages >100k. I've done I think 19 patrols, highest being 104K with lots in the high 80's. In the 100k mission I was totally out of ammo, and had to finish off the last C3 with star shells. I'm trying to imagine doubling that but I can't see how. I never shoot at anything lighter than a T2 (just that one time since I was so close to 100k, good weather and a small tanker appeared just begging to be shot at). But the duds, the random damage (some T3 taking 3 eels), the relatively small loadout of 14 eels that the VIIC has, and the never ending bad weather seem to make scores >100K pretty darn hard to reach.
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Single torpedo kills help a lot. Smooth seas and not wasting deck gun ammuntion also seems to help.
I was playing at 51% realism and mostly impact hits for a while and was taking 2-3 fish to sink a ship. I switched to setting manual depth and going for magnetic trigger and am finding a lot more single fish kills. Latest patrol VIIB, October 1940 to BF15. 92K tons. Sat in the shipping lane and kept getting double and triple C3s, tankers, etc. Emptied the deck gun and all but three torpedos, two fore, one aft. On the way back to Brest, just south of Ireland, I received warning of a task force and had just seen the lead destroyer and hidden. Managed to drift into the TF, put my two forward torpedoes into a Fiji and sneak out with only superstructure damage. Most of the escorts went running off the other direction so it wasn't one of those long and interesting escapes. Then I found a lone C3 and managed to snap it in half with my remaining aft torpedo. Set it for 10 meters and hit just forward of midship. I returned to base with 40 star shells and about 800 rounds for the flak gun. My tonnages for the the first four missions in the type II were 7k-10k. Immediately jumped up to 50k for the VIIB. |
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A big problem is that is way easier to find targets by remaining submerged, relatively immobile, and listening with the hydrophones, when in fact the Uboats remained on the surface, mobile, and visually scanned the oceans. The Uboat Commanders Handbook says to do soundchecks at dawn and dusk under most conditions. Just following this rule will cut your tonnage per career by 35% to 50%. My last career was 13 Patrols for 160K. This included one patrol for 60K when I located a convoy with 5 Tankers. On 4 of the 13 patrols I saw no targets and sank no ships. So if this is the kind of realism you are looking before, try this for a couple of patrols. The beauty of this is that not only are you using uboat tactics, but it works equally we using manual or auto tdc. Your tonnage will be cut in half either way. |
My Best Tonnage was also my best patrol period.
MARCH 1943 Mediteranean 100% Realism NYGM TW various graphics mods Helms Klauth U562 Patrol 1 Even though the tonnage wasnt that high i sunk 5 ships damaged 1 other. Total Tonnage: 20,131 grt. 1 Old Transport Sunk 1 Landing Ship d. 1 Coastal Merchant 1 C3 Sunk 1 Coastal Sunk 1 Small Merchant Sunk It was the greatest patrol i ever experienced. I met up with a freindly convoy and witnessed a surface to air battle! The tommies managed to damage one of our italian coastal merchants and it sank 2 hours later. I lost my freindly convoy in fog and continued to alexandria and sunk the last unescorted coastal merchant. Then i quit while i was ahead and went back to Toulon. This patrol felt real thats why i liked it the most. It was rare when a skipper turned in 100,000 tons or more. Specially on 1 patrol, i believe this NEVER happened actually. I was playing 100% serious for the first time on this patrol, definately an excilirating experience. |
my best run was in April ´40. playing Living SH3 Mod I travelled to Harstad Harbour (Norway, near Narvik) during operation "Weserübung". There I encountered a task force. I sank 2x BB Nelson, 1x BB Revenge, 3xPassenger Liners. Total tonnage 112,000 GRT.
Realism 92% (only with external view, for the mood :up: ) |
I see some of you guys note your Kaleun's name. LOL. Mine is Warner Crickbaulm like the guy from Das Boot. Whenever faced with a tough question, I repeat like in the movie, "Well Crickbaulm, what do you think?" :hmm: Talking to yourself is something you start doing on those long SH3 patrols. :P
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