Enemy Convoy (GWX)
 

Alright, I finally figured out how to track and intercept a convoy :D

However, I might as well just run straight into a rock because as soon as I get close to one, destroyers find me and DC me till I'm dead!

How the H do you avoid detection?? I tried floating in running on silent about 60m deep at 2knots and still the find me!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Makr

well running on silent running only makes you harder to find the hydrophone because it stops all noisy activities
but the sonar can still find you


please correct me if im wrong

You are not wrong. :)

As to the topic - some escorts are good, some are not so much. Depends mainly on the time - the later the war progresses, the better their anti-submarine skills. But you can meet a really good ship even at the beginning of the war - just bad luck.

If it seems to me that the escorts are too good, I just leave. A few days ago I followed a convoy for a few days. I made three extremely cautious approaches (silent, slow, submerged, at night) and every time I was detected before I even rose my periscope. After this three times I just let it go... I'll find another one. I won;t find any, if I get killed. :)

The best kind of getting into a convoy submerged is from the front ...2-3 oclock (depending on where the escorts are)....closing in at peri depth and silent running. Then the possibility to pass the front escort undetected is best (depends on the time of the war)...then u are in dead point of the front escorts detection and out of range from the side one. The in the convoy when u fired the torpedoes the escorts know where u are, especially if u use steamers (cause of the torpedo wake) in daylight and calm seas.

After fired torps go as deep u can, 200m or so & silent running....and don´t make big changes of course....this would make noise and they would know again where u are. Try to get out in the back of the convoy. And try to stay as small as possible for the underater detection....what this means u can read in the GWX manual ;)

Btw 60m is way to low depth for evading...for me 120 is even to low too....I want to have at least 140 m under me to evade.

Hope this helps

The sticky near the top of this channel will help you alot.;)

atleast 140 ?
you need 200+ if you want good chances of surviving

Makr, heres what has been working for me.

First of all only attack the convoy at night, that way you can get your periscope up and have a look around when you want without taking too big of a risk of detection. Secondly when I first started playing I thought the best approach to attacking a convoy was to get right in their path and stay completly silent and submerged so that they would go right over top of me and I would end up right in the middle. The problem is that the escorts use more than just hydrophone to listen for you which I found out the hard way, the escort in front picked me up on Sonar right away and I had to escape without any kills. The key I found is to approach at an angle and keep your distance until the escorts are out of the way. Usually the convoy is moving at a slow speed so you can approach submerged and have enough speed to catch up to them pretty easily. I sit off to the side of the convoy and just wait for the first escort to go on past. After that I move ahead toward the middle of the convoy at slow speed and intercept at a nice 90 degree angle to the convoys course. If you make it this far it seems to me that you are going to get off some good shots no matter what happens. If you arent detected you send out a volley of torpedos and take your sweet time aiming them to make sure you get your kills. If you are detected send out a volley of torpedos quickly and crash dive. Worst case scenario you'll be DC'd for a while and have to do some evading, just make sure you have plenty of water under you before you attack so that you can dive deep to get away. Its always risky to attack a convoy though, the escorts will always come after you and they get harder and harder to get away from as time goes on.

I guess you could avoid convoys all together and go after less dangerous prey, but the way I look at it, war is hell, and I want those damn convoys.

Don't slink away from the destroyers. Be more aggressive!:rotfl:

A little bit off this post but last night in one of my campaigns (GWX early 1940) I was sent to the coast of England, I thought a little too close but I went anyway. Saw a convoy, took some time to get in great position, even slipped by the escorts (2), but what I saw was about 10 tramp steamers and one small merchant, the water is getting dangerously shallow and it seems to make this attack worth it I would have to sink them all:o

The best thing you can do in that kind til end of 1940...is to attack all the ecorts....one after another. I´ve done it one time, sunk all 6 Black Swans and taken out ships til i was out of gun ammo and out of torps....was a good hunt.

The 2nd time I tried it was a patrol later, managed to take out all escorts again (5) and surfaced in the middle of the convoy for deckgun and good tonnage....but already before surfacing I thought I would have forgotten something....ok in fact I have had forgotten something ....merchants deck guns *lol*.....was nice to see the hell of shells around me....Hull at 49,7%...5 Crewman (2 were mechanics) died after 20 seconds...Ok I dived again but wasn´t able to stop the flooding...and at 220m or so my patrol has ended with all hands lost :D....caused of forgotten deck guns *lol*...

bad day Herr Kaleun :D

So not every time beeing more aggressive is best *lol*

There you go:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=104377

Wow...thanks for all the feedback!

Both times I got busted, I approached the convoy head on...trying my hardest not to be noticed, but it didn't matter, they found me.
Think maybe I dove to late?
I noticed a couple people saying wait until night, I'm going to try that next time.....both my attempts were during the day :oops:

So I'm going to dive deep, run silent, and wait until night to make my attack. Patience is a big problem of mine, I want a convoy so bad I get shaky when I get close!

Take a look at page 2 of this forum and see thread on attacking convoys. I also have an article on attacking convoys on my website. Hope your luck improves :up:

Thank you sir.

I noticed a scary behavior of enemy escorts: Sometimes, one or two of 'em is standing still in the water, and (as far as I understand) listening and trying to find you! Then another one is going slowly around and tries to bomb you away way back to Berlin.