what am I doing wrong?
 

I have just been reading the thread asking how advanced folk are in their career, and wonder why it is that some of the folk who have posted have obtained such achievements in the same time frame travelling far afield in whizzy subs with awesome tonnage to their credit, all by early 1940, whereas I am still stuck with my IID Rotbile ( Rusty Old Tub But I Luv 'Er) by April 1940, and can only accrue modest amounts because all I get each patrol is five fish, one of which is certainly going to be a dud. As two torps are required for a decent sized merchant, that doesn't return me much renown, if both targets go down - which they don't always - before I have to trudge back to base for another patrol and my next miserable five fish.

I did have one patrol where I sunk five ships, but they were all small warships or coastal, so, although I got a medal for it, not much tonnage.

At present my renown is about 1300, and the next sub up requires 2500, so I am still looking at several more patrols before I can upgrade, yet other folks have achieved far greater results in less patrols and are off the coast of USA, have killed battleships and all sorts....... I know I am a rubbish kaleun, but WHAT is it that I am not doing that clearly others are?? :hmm:

beats me too!
 

she wolf, bitte kommen!

i was wondering myself how amazing some captains are doing compared to my meager results so far. but it's an incentive to do better since it is obviously possible.

ende

subdude

I use this way to get renown early in the war... it's a bit risky but it pays off well. RAID PORTS! The Type II-C is even more better than the VII-C for raiding ports due to it's small size. Target some nice juicy merchants at the ports for easy renown so you can get a better sub quickly.

I know some folk love their ducks, but it seems to me that progression is far easier if you can start in a decent sized boat with more range and more munitions. Which reminds me I must get back to my Type IX off America some day...

Correct.

She-Wolf you'll find it a lot harder starting at the bottom and working yourself up. But I think its more satisfying having gone the whole hog.

subdude - so I am not the only one then:D

Tachy - hmm, sounds exciting.... I have sorta nosed around the odd port, but Halifax was patrolled, somewhere else had subnets, bloomin Elcos buzzing around in pairs don't help, and the water gets so shallow it makes I nervous - but I will give it a go next patrol. Ta :)

Vacillator, you are rubbing it in a bit here old chap, not to say smug, but a decided little smirk methinks. Pshaw!:rotfl:

badwolf - That's IT - that's the fun, that's the challenge - to work yourself up.

I thought everyone started from the same place and wondered how it could be I am lagging so far behind. However, from cabin boy to cap'n the hard way is fine by me if that is what the game requires.:up:

She-Wolf,
If you pick the correct flotilla in September 1939, you can start out with a Type VII. IIRC, it is 2nd Flotilla out of Wilhelmshaven.

That's true..but personally I find it more realistic to start out in a Type II. It also gives you the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get that VII C after piling up renown.

von Zelda, thanks for that. I am in April 1940 now so my course is determined, and really, I hold the same view as Tachyon and badwolf, that to start right at the bottom and work up gives the greatest sense of achievement - no shortcuts or hop-ups.

I did not realise that there were other options and so wondered how so many folk were doing so well so quickly. I thought maybe I was missing some element that everybody but me knew about - like restocking at another port duirng the patrol perhaps, but it seems that is not so, all down to bravery and daring I guess.

Hi She-Wolf :sunny: Glad to see ya postin. :yep:

Get out of that Canoe and get a VIIB and get some tonnage.

The Big Boys of tonnage in WWII used nothing less'

You've done your training in Lil" Toot , Now it's time to let go and get a real U-boot.

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE !!! :D Firewall ;) :up:

I always start with a VIIB. Try Type II once, but hates the fact that it doesn't have a deck gun. With a VIIB, the range can get you into shipping lanes with juicier targets. Otherwise, you can try patrolling west of Scapa, you may get lucky and catch an old battleships or/and AMCs early in the war travelling from Hebrides back to base.

Let me also add, for a type II captain, sinking five ships per patrols is a result to be justifiably proud of.

No smugness intended She-Wolf, I admire your perseverance ;).

Of course I didn't make the point quite as eloquently as Firewall :up:

You did fine. :up: I start in 39 training in a II boot till the war starts.

Then change base to Wilhelm and get VIIB boot.

Vacillator - only teasing :D

BasilY - really? I dun good potting five? ( bosom swells with pride!):sunny:

Firewall - my, I'm going to be so proud when I am up there with you big boys - but for now I think I will stick with Rotbile and try and bump up my renown with sneaky harbor attacks like Tachy suggests, and hope for that bit of luck Mikhayl mentioned - too much excitement in one patrol and I will be all of a dither....:rotfl::rotfl:

Real badasses like She-Wolf use IID

Real hardcore Kaleuns use the cheapest, rustiest, and smallest sub. And use it to sink a frigging fleets of ships, which just adds more badassery, and sneaks away from like zillion DD's

Screw the VIIC, IID for the epic badassery!

:rotfl: :rock:

I'm the weird one. I run several concurrent careers, one from each available base. My guy in the Type II never has a lot of luck, but I make it a point not to do unrealistic things like harbor raids. That said, I also stay in my assigned grid, and don't expect to get more tonnage than the real kaleuns did.

Of course I also never have music on the gramophone that they couldn't listen to, and enjoy the sights while leaving and entering my home port, and complain about the fact that the ports aren't laid out the way they really were, so...

Have you considered that some people play it to win the game, and some play it to imagine what it was like to be there. Which do you want to be?

Since I play at 100% in more ways than one, iirc when the war started II boots were relegated to training and close-in patrol.

@ She-Wolf :) While I commend your perseverance, the natural and realism course is to transfer if the war has started, to get a VII boot to get more tonnage\renoun.

Other than that... Play it the way you see fit and have fun. :) :up:

Regards, Firewall :sunny:

WOW. Kipparikalle.... my Hero...:smug:

SS, I do believe I have seen a piccy of you, and yes, you look the sort of chap that would cheerfully have a dozen pots boiling at once. How ever do you keep track of 'em all I wonder;)
To answer your question, I have to confess, I use time compression rather a lot, whereas the realists probably don't, and it takes 'em a week to get where ever they want to go, so I guess I am not a die-hard player. I play for the same reason I first played one of SH3's forebears on the Amiga - cos I just luv the bit where it is You against Them, whoever they may be, and you can hear the ship passing overhead, and you hear the depth charges, and you wonder if this is IT. Being able to outwit the hunters and sneak away after you have sunk a ship - that's why I play. It IS just a game, but it can be exciting ( or does that make me sound a bit 'sad'?)

Firewall, Sir, when I think I can actually handle a bigger tub, the way the real guys might have done it ( and Naval Academy tells me I got a loooong way to go) then I will feel ready and deserving. Until then, its me, Bernard and Rotbile dabbling about in the Kanal :)

They were used for quite a while in the North Sea and later in the Black Sea so I suppose it's fine to be in one for a while in the early war years. Looking for a reference on service of IIs I found this (in a hurry so I expect there's a better one elsewhere):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._II_submarines

One which caught my eye was U-138, sunk off Spain on 18 June 1941!

Of course a lot of Kaleuns went straight out in the bigger boats without fighting in a II...

Edit: Read later that U-138 was on a mission to raid Gibraltar harbour looking for Renown and others. Never made it but at least all the crew were rescued.