Hi!

It all depends on the situation. Destroyers as targets are pretty lean on tonnage and renown, but if there are only one or two guarding a convoy, I'll go for the escort(s) first and then slowly pick the convoy to pieces over the next couple of days.

I won't pursue a patrolling destroyer, but I will attack if they give me a good shot.

In a well-defended convoy, I'll use the forward tubes on merchants and save the stern tubes in the event a destroyer is chasing me and getting too close.

Best exploit: torpedo a destroyer patrolling near a port or in an area with a bunch of islands or peninsulas. Every patrolling destroyer for miles will come running in a straight line, and often run themselves aground doing so. Then you can torpedo the folks who have run aground or you can try to go for the now-undefended port (watch out for the minefields and nets, though).

Pablo

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day"

Go deep and silent 98% of the time. I have been known to try and fight it out at periscope depth on occasion.

i always go low, and stay very quiet! i guess it depends on the realism settings people play on.

The orders I receive are "sink enemy shipping"

Seems pretty clear to me


Wir Fahren Gegen Engelland

There is a fine line between valor and recklessness, between a strong fighting spirit and a feckless lust for action. A good captain walks that tightrope with every enemy encounter, and must treat each one uniquely as presented to him at the time.

That said, I'm just really glad that I have the safety net of merely being a virtual captain, not a real one :D (I clearly have crappy balance some days :damn: or someone's been greasing the tightrope).

I dont waste my torps for bloody escorts.....

get out the way, stay down, no heroics - i've done the 'stand and fight' and always got lamped.

thinking as though i had a real crew always makes me pull back and breathe, plot and wait...

I place faith that somehow, someway I am able to turn an advantage in the conflict between a Destroyer and myself. If I can't then more than likely I will dive. Often they make mistakes and I capitlize on it with an eel or two, but never have I done a toe to toe number against one with a deck gun and fowl language :arrgh!:

I throw caution to the wind and torps at my enemies... Koon will vouch for me on that remark.

It gets me in trouble half the time though... :nope:

Deep and quiet mostly.....unless the bugger can't be shook off before batteries or air runs out. Then it's PD and have a go with an eel :x

you never did mention if you tried that "Leading Reversal"
tactic of a few months back?

depends on the boat I have

With a IX I kill the pesky escort
with my VII i sneak in hit hard and evade

"Mean - green and unseen" :smug:

A torpedo for an escort just doesn't seem a fair trade. ;) I almost always avoid engaging escorts. I tend to slip away and look to re-engage the convoy at a place of my choosing. I try to remember that this business is all about racking up as much tonnage as possible. So I always try to maximise my tonnage to torp ratio. :yep:

However having said all that it was only the other day that I took on an escort at periscope depth with a Type VIIb and won. The situation was a little unique in that the convoy had comprised of about 15-18 merchant vessels along with a single escort at the front and one large capital ship at the center, which I can't remember what it was called, possibly a Nelson. Anyway I made my first approach on the convoy and targeted the capital ship with three eels along with a fourth eel at a merchant tanker. My initial attack was a success sending both ships to the bottom. Happy days. I then withdrew by going deep and silent while above the lone escort got angry but to little effect.

About five hours later and it was dawn and I had managed to position myself infront of the convoy for a second attack. This time however I decided to take on the lone escort because firstly it was the only offensive ship left in the convoy and the weather was perfect for the deck gun to be used on the rest of the convoy in combination with my remaining torpedoes. I lined myself up and tought I had a decent solution on the lone escort. I set my torp to magnetic and fired from a range of around 750 yards. I missed. :damn: The escort responded by doing a sweeping turn and heading straight towards me. At this stage the distance apart was around 1000 yards so rather than dive as fast as I could I just pointed my bow directly atthe steaming escort who was heading right for me. I quickly set the settings of another torpedo to magnetic to detonate below it. By the time I launched the distance between us was only 550-600 yards. Surely I wouldn't be cursed with two magnetic pistol failures in a row. Thankfully there was no torpedo malfuction as I viewed the escort heave out of the water from the force of the torpedo explosion. :arrgh!:

And after that rare engagement of an escort I happily surfaced my boat smack bang in the middle of a wounded convoy and began pounding it with my 88 deck gun and torps for the entire day until I sadly ran out of ammo and had to return back to base. The early days really were happy days. :sunny: Can't say I'm looking forward to a convoy full of armed merchant vessels. :down:

Edit: Having returned home from work I checked my Captain's log in SHIII Commander and can confirm that it was the HMS Nelson and all 36,000 tons of her that I sunk. :smug: It was on my third patrol December 3rd 1939. Total return for that patrol was 16 ships sunk for total tonnage of 89289. Happy days. :up:

To start with I am useing GWX2.0 at 100% realism.

I am currently reading the bio of Wolfgang Luth an agressive and competent u-boat Ace for the third time and am trying to copy his career as best as SH-3 and GWX2 will allow.

He knew when to Holdem and knew when to Foldem. :D

You got me there mate :hmm:

Pray tell, remind this tired old brain :lol:

A true wolf in sheeps clothing http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...psclothing.gif

ALVAYS ATTACK!!!

(a theme from the U-boat Commander's Handbook)

Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 – 13 May 1945) was the second most successful German U-boat ace of World War II. He also was the youngest German ever appointed captain, and the youngest to ever command the Naval Academy Mürwik. Lüth was one of the only two German Navy officers, both U-boat captains, who received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds

Sometimes by chance you find your boat in a particular situation that unveils a convoy attack method to be very (tonnageable). :yep:
With at least 4 escorts around, if I can aproach, attack, & escape at PD going deep is an after thought or last resort. Of course not all goes by the book, and in calm seas going deep is a safe bet.

Leading the approach of the escort with an aft 2/3rds
inside sharp curve and breaking contact with an all
ahead short straight run followed with a shallow inside curve.
lead em in and leave em behind.
( the tricky bit is making the timing so you still
make it outside the pattern diameter)


admittedly its been a while.