Convoy Discussion
 

Just wanted to make a thread regarding what your expectations are when you see a convoy. I am getting better, but still don't have the hang of it. So, right now I'm in a Type VIIB and let's say I encounter a convoy of 10-12 ships. I look for the biggest and juiciest target and fire tubes 1 and 2. I will then look for smaller targets and fire tube 3 to one, and 4 on the other. If I get REAL lucky and something is behind me, tube 5 will be fired. Expectations on this are usually 1 to 2 ships. Destroyers will then keep me at bay for quite a while, so any additional shots are not happening. The convoy will be long gone before I can put my head up again, so no more attacks. So how's your luck given this scenario?

Always trying to infiltrate convoy rows, firing 2 torp to best target, 2 others to someone else, rear one to one behind and...escape.
If convoy is running medium or slow, and weather not too bad, i try to catch him again and repeat.
Always from front or 3/4 front.
Always submerged even at night (Kretschmer surface tactic is not doable in SH3, other than making all ships almost blind at night)

So, you go in the middle (or one of the rows) as opposed to on the outside?

Yes, i enter external (right or left) row by front, then turn to be almost perpendicular to ships...usually...at least until end 42.
Of course if escort don’t spot me before. Sometime, quite rarely, i have to abort because spotted.
Can fire when 300m close.

I usually summon a wolfpac. But if it is not there, then I go into battle on my own.
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/ima...n_Salute-1.gif

Attacking from front always results in a torpedo going dud. And if your trying to change depth of the torpedo to 1m below the keel of the target, then there is a high chance that the Magnetic detonators won't explode or atleast 2 out of 4 won't explode or would prematurely explode while reaching the target. So how do you manage this? I have tried going perpendicular after I am in the convoy, sometimes it works and sometimes I get very close to my target.

I always inform Bdu about the convoy but everytime it tells me to attack on my own. Is there any trick so that when I inform the Bdu about the convoy, the other uboats join with me to attack?

1 of 5

If desired, it is easy to regain contact with a convoy. Simply note the time you lost contact to the current time and then using their speed and course, plot where they should be and go there.
I.e., if it's been two hours since you lost the convoy, they're heading 270 degrees at 6 knots means they'll be approx. 22 km away. Plot a course to go after them.
Also, night surface attacks are easy to do in the game from outside the convoy, as are day submerged either inside or outside.

I should give that a try, but I usually give up and go for some single merchants unless another convoy approaches. P.S. I know that I don't know anyone here. I posted this thread on the morning of my 50th birthday. It was going to be a good birthday. I then got a call later on that I don't wish on anyone. My nephew...who was just the very best kid you could ever meet, was shot and killed. Someone who thinks they are some sort of a thug was shooting at another kid and my nephew was coming out of the grocery store. He suffered a single gunshot wound and died 45 minutes later. I don't really know why I am writing this, but I don't know how to feel. Playing this kinda helps me get my mind off the events. My whole family is broken right now. I'm sorry. I don't want to drag the thread down. I just want as many people to know what a good kid my nephew was.

Nothing to apologize for. My sincere condolences.

Very sorry for your loss, and I hope justice is served quickly.

Very sorry about that sad event... My sincere condolences for your loss. Patience, resignation and hope, Justice will be served sooner or later

RIP

Mate, that is unspeakably awful. I'm sure nobody on this thread would be able to provide much by way of comfort, but condolences. It's ok to reach out wherever you need to - much support to you and your family.

Thanks, guys. It's just been so rough. I saw my brother on Wednesday and he's like a zombie. There's no life in his eyes. He's not eating, not sleeping, and living off coffee. Unbelievably, his boss actually fired him because he said he is taking the week off. We are looking into whether that is legal or not in his state. In the meantime, SHIII has been keeping my mind occupied. I just really miss my nephew.

@drowssapmama: pure horror & good luck with it.

As for the convoy: my tip is: I first launch 2 torps against targets in a lane further away. Then directly I launch 2 torps against targets in the lane closest to me and then aft.

The result should be that all impacts happen at the same time. So the convoy does not have time to start evasive actions or start zigzagging and I will have maximum possibilty to get away and avoid being detected.

On top of it the spectacle on the surface when the detonations start....

sorry for your loss and it going to be rough for awhile and from personal experience you probbly going go though a bunch of differnt emotions it does help to keep your mind occupied far as attacking the convoy i like to shadow it for awhile get much of the info i can pick out targets which is the biggest watch the escorts see how they are behaving then make the attack plan then try to time where all the eels hits at the same time

Forgive me as I have little experience with SH 3, mostly SH 4 in the pacific. However, SH 4 is basically a clone of SH 3 from what I gather, I mean the fleet boats in SH 4 are actually just U boats with a facade lol (Thus, only two independent engines not four etc) .

I have modified SH 4 in paritcular the mod TMO where can pull off surface attacks, including moving inside columns such as Kretshmer did in the Atlantic, which US subs did on larger convoys in pacific as japanese began sailing in larger convoys.

The vessels are not blind, just use a darker nights mod (nights in SH 4 were way too light) with proper settings in sim.cfg for the light factor.

Of course Allied radar was much better than Japanese so not sure how to deal with that in the ATO. Just surprised no one has found this work around (or have they?) in SH 3.

Yes, that’s what i meant.
To infiltrate convoy at night still surfaced like kretschmer did, merchants should not see you more than 150m away! (Rows are generally 500m spaced)
So merchants should be almost blind at night...that is not the case presently in any SH3 megamod.
Only way to represent this, is to modify the Sim.cfg night settings (and probably fog factor too for different weather types) and maybe the AI sensors dat visual adjustment...not easy task to get the correct settings for all kind of weather, keeping in mind warships must keep some better visuals at night (slightly better than merchant, but still lower than actually)
To me, and according to what Kretschmer wrote in his testimony, cargo ships should not see you surfaced at 150m when dark night, and warship should not see you surfaced at 300/400m!