No problem. You´r welcome. It would be very nice, if someone would correct me school-english, too :D It´s a couple of years since i was in school.

Back to topic:

I always search for convoys and than i attack the escorts submerged. In the first view years that´s easy. Later it becomes harder :) But it´s no problem for a ex-submariner :yeah:

Playing SHIII with Living Silent Hunter 5.1 @ 88% realismus on Intel Core2Quad 2,83Ghz, Ati 4890, 4GB Ram, Windows Vista HP 64Bit

Sonar pettyofficer on S190, S196 and S183

http://www.lsh3.com/public/banner/lsh3_player.gif

Your school English looks pretty decent i'd say, no worries there mate :yeah:

Early in the war i usually leave the escorts alone (unless there's 1 or maybe 2) as i like the idea of sneaking in, doing damage & leave everyone wondering where i've gone to next. Late war i'll maybe try & open up a gap by taking out 2 escorts with acoustic torpedoes. That usually leaves me with some more room on my next approach :D

With my previous career i was stuck right in the middle of the convoy & the escort that nailed me was hidden from my sight & sonar behind other merchants until he came rushing at me.

Anyway after not having played SHIII for 3 or 4 years at least i can say i'm not that rusty. Plus there's some better eye candy available now too. Right now i'm loving the diesel room from the interior mod :rock:

Kapitänleutnant Siegfried Küster

U-45 Type VIIB (2 patrols)

Career tonnage: 20 664 tons

Patrol 2
U-45, U-Flotilla Wegener
Left at: November 26, 1939, 09:31
From: Kiel
Mission Orders: Patrol grid BE83

28.11.1939
12:53 Ship sighted. Large steamer on W course. AN 3478
14:03 Fired double fan from tubes I and II. G7e, range 1400m,
speed 6 kts, AoB red 90, depth 6m. Both hits. Target sunk 15 min later. AN 4375
30.11.1939
08:37 A/c, crash dive. AF 7883
09:38 A/c, crash dive. AF 7883
16:14 A/c, crash dive. AF 7821
18:21 Two destroyers sighted, heading south. AF 7813
1.12.1939
09:25 A/c, crash dive. AF 7775
10:24 A/c, crash dive. AF 7775
17:30 A/c, crash dive. AN 1121
7.12.1939
05:30 Arrived operations area. BE 8333
11:22 Steamer sighted, heading NE. BE 8323
12:09 Fired tubes III and IV. G7e, range 1400m, speed 6 and 5 kts, AoB green 80, depth 7m. Both hit despite unfavorable weather conditions. Target sunk in ten minutes.
15.12.1939
08:24 /From Bdu: Patrol grid CG13/
16.12.1939
14:40 Arrived operations area. CG1311
25.12.1939
07:30 Low on fuel. Started return trip. CG1342
26.12.1939
09:07 Warship sighted. Destroyer heading SSE. BE 6912
09:10 Multiple propeller sounds heard. Convoy coming closer.
09:22 /From: U-45 Convoy at BE 6912 heading SSE at medium speed. Request permission for immediate attack/
09:50 Perfect opportunity to conduct submerged attack against convoy's outer column.
09:52 Fired tube V. G7e, range 2200m, speed 7 kts, AoB red 90, depth 7m. Miss.
10:00 Fired tubes I through IV against three separate targets. G7a, range 2000m, speed 7 kts, AoB green 100, depth 7m. Two detonated prematurely, two missed.
11.40 Faint contact with hydrophone. Not enough fuel for high speed chase. Resumed original course. BE 6912
4.1.1940
07:45 Very low on fuel. Will be in Wilhelmshaven tommorw morning. AN 6358
5.1.1940
07:27 Docked at Wilhelmshaven.

Patrol results
Crew losses: 0
Ships sunk: 2
Aircraft destroyed: 0
Patrol tonage: 6302 tons

Ships sunk:
SS Santa Cecilia (MEDIUM CARGO), 4756 tons.
SS Empire Merchant (SMALL MERCHANT), 1546 tons.

Meagre christmas present for Küster:down:

Patrol 6
U-64 IX, 2nd Flotilla
Left at: January 31, 1940, 23:48
From: Wilhelmshaven
Mission Orders: Patrol grid BE29


Clear Weather - Caught a small Freighter alone used Deck gun

SS Crawford Ellis (Small Freighter), 2228 tons. Cargo: Coffee. Crew: 23. Crew lost: 14


Clear night A&B Class slowly patrolling channel too good of a chance to pass up, hit with one of 2 eels fired

HMS Acasta (A&B classes), 1350 tons. Crew: 146. Crew lost: 18


Clear night/full moon lone merchant both eels hit aft of main stack


SS Empire Ability (Large Merchant), 10616 tons. Cargo: Explosives. Crew: 57. Crew lost: 27

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/1374/sh3gwx.png Uploaded with ImageShack.us
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/sh3gwx.png/


Foul Weather/heavy seas/driving rain/poor visibility

Ran into convoy barely able to make out two Large merchants

for firing solution Fired 4 eels 2 at each merchant

Hit 1st ship

SS Clan Urquhart (Large Merchant), 10618 tons. Cargo: Explosives. Crew: 63. Crew lost: 22
Completely missed 2nd merchant - both eels hit ship coming out of heavy rain.

SS Bradfyne (Granville-type Freighter), 4707 tons. Cargo: General Cargo. Crew: 89. Crew lost: 63
Turn a 180 and fired rear tubes at 2nd merchant both missed and hit another ship - Dove deep and lost DD's in squall

SS Talthybius (Ore Carrier), 8083 tons. Cargo: Phosphates. Crew: 60. Crew lost: 58


Able to find convoy again fired all bow tubes at two targets and dove deep,

SS Menelaus (Large Merchant), 10617 tons. Cargo: Machinery. Crew: 95. Crew lost: 47
SS Empire Housman (Empire-type Freighter), 6780 tons. Cargo: Mail/Packages. Crew: 35. Crew lost: 35

Patrol results
Crew losses: 0
Ships sunk: 8
Aircraft destroyed: 0
Patrol tonnage: 54999 tons

Kapitänleutnant Siegfried Küster

U-45 Type VIIB (3 patrols)

Career tonnage: 20 664 tons

Patrol 3
U-45, 7th Flotilla
Left at: February 2, 1940, 16:45
From: Wilhelmshaven
Mission Orders: Patrol grid AM32

6.2.1940
09:20 A/c, crash dive. AF 7466
11:20 Surprised by a/c. Strafed and depth charged. Minor damage. AF 7468
17:24 A/c, crashdive. Strafed and depth charged. Severe damage. Reduced diving capability, starboard diesel and torpedo tube V out action. Cannot be repaired at sea. Will return to Kiel. AF 7491
18:25 A/c, crash dive. AF 7467
11.2.1940
14:14 Docked at Kiel

Patrol results
Crew losses: 0
Ships sunk: 0
Aircraft destroyed: 0
Patrol tonage: 0 tons

:nope: Agressive those nygm planes.

POW report crew of U-97
 

U-97 was sunk by gunfire from SS Empire Sun(large tanker) 17JUL41.

Oblt. Ernst Walzer(knights cross) and 14 crew members rescued from sinking u-boat.

In seven patrols U-97 sank 21 ships for 106,016 tons.

Ernst Walzer was sent to a POW camp in Scotland where he spent the rest of the war. Walzer became a successful businessman in Hamburg. He died on 28 September 1996.

patrol 6 of U-53 patrol tonage: 103587 tons
 

U - 53 Type 7B with 43 crew
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3622/...2012231122.jpg

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/905...2220122311.jpg

SH3 Commander just gave me this message:

Apparently, I did well enough to get put out to pasture.

18 Patrols, 252 Sea Days. 27,726 Tons. 67 Merchants, 4 warships.

"After his duty at the front, Schwartzritter was a training officer in the 22nd and 27th flotillas. Schwartzritter joined the Bundesmarine in 1955, retiring in 1967. He died on 26 February 1990."

Well, I think it's my 8th patrol, started from the beginning of the war, I'm in the spring of 1940 now. Up to now no close calls, just dive to 170+ meters and no depth charges reach you. About 200,000 tons at the moment. Mostly individual ships but some from convoys. Sunk HMS Nelson in a convoy with two other ships. 100 % realism GWX 3. Made me wonder at some point is there a bug in the game, since in real life my tonnage should be a fraction of what it is now... :06:

The last two patrols have been short and weird ones. West of Gibraltar, in the middle of grids CG94/CG97 there are numerous French ships cruising without escorts. Or a small convoy of three fat freighters with an armed trawler that you can blow out of the water with your deckgun. Just resupply at Thalia, and the hunting continues. 20-50,000 tons quite easily. Is this a bug or are the French just goofing around? :hmmm:

Really, there's no challenge in there "battles". I'd prefer a good thrilling convoy battle. I guess I'm heading to SW of England... :shifty:

There are far too many ships, sorry I mean targets, floating around the SH3 world compared to what it was like in the real war. All you have to do is look up random u-boats on the uboat.net page to see that most didn't even sink a ship. If the game was that 'realistic' it would bore even the hardcore of subsimmers here.

Personally, I try and keep my tonnage within limits by the following-

1) Ignore single ship contact reports. Only attack single ships my own watch sees or my soundman hears.

2) At anything larger than 3000 tns gets two torpedoes even when I know I could get away with only one. Makes me go through my torpedoes faster, therefore less tonnage.

3) Spend patrol in general area I am assigned even if it is a slow grid. No galavanting thousands of miles to known rich areas or harbor raids.

4) Run my diesels at slightly higher speed than ideal fuel economy speed so that having to return to base low on fuel becomes a real concern.

Most of the time if I have a successful patrol that means 3-6 ships sunk for 15m-30m tons unless I sink a large warship. This is still higher than most historical numbers, but gives me a nice balance between what feels right and arcade numbers.

Very good, Kapt Z. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who stays in his assigned grid. I stay there for a week and then roll a 6-sided die. On a 1 I move to an adjacent grid. Anything else and I wait another week and then move on a 2. I had one patrol where I patrolled around an empty grid for three weeks and then reassigned myself to one (also randomly rolled) that was even worse.

I got tired of gaming years ago. These days it's all about the history and the machinery.

Thanks guys. Yep, I think I'll ignore the indications of individual ships and pick them up only if I sight them on my regular route. But I gotta tell you: no way I'm gonna stay in one grid for more than a week. Makes me nuts! :dead:

February 12th 1940
U-123 as just finished patrol 5, sinking a Auxiliary cruiser and 3 merchants for 26.000 tons.

19th September 1939

Oberleutnant z. See Heinrich Schmidt finished his first patrol in U-14, a Type II boat. One British Merchant (Quadrant AN 48 - 9022 BRT) sunk, also had a night encounter with a battle group of 3 destroyers. A salvo of three torpedoes on the leading ship missed and U-14 was able to slink away unnoticed.

Calapine :arrgh!: