I'm stuffed...
 

Last night I started my third Med patrol from Salamis in my trusty VIIC. After leaving Greek waters I was cruising gingerly at 10knots heading 270 west towards my patrol grid just outside La Valletta. In my mind I'm running again and again over possible convoy routes the British may be using to resupply that pesky pain in the ass of an island.

Dawn has just come up and I feel it's time for a hydrophone check.

We settle at 20m depth and I the next thing I remember is the cold nervous stare from my hydrophone man. I grab the headphones to hear at my 170 the unmistakable sharp hissing of multiple high-pressure steam turbines. There's too many of them - I'M BEING JUMPED BY A BRITISH TASKFORCE!

I quickly order a 145 degree turn to settle on a course slightly offset to their heading to get into an observation position. I figure I have about 30 minutes to get this right, I order the boat to surface and flank speed to reach a set up point.

After 10 minutes I dive again and settle at periscope depth. I hear them now loud and clear - there's not that many of them, two high-speed turbines (light cruisers, Dido class maybe) and a destroyer neatly lined up and another fast destroyer sweeping behind them. Very tempting situation - I wait for a few minutes to read their heading - it seems that' I'm almost in the right spot, about three-four km south of their path, they're coming about 10km west of me and they haven't seen me yet.

I press ahead silent running at two knots to get a bit closer. After three minutes I say enough is enough, I order all stop for a visual check. The scope is going up right on the 82 degrees bearing from the sound check ready for a quick look....

VERDAMMT! VERDAMMT!

They changed course! I can just see now the bow of front Dido cruiser at 4200m obscuring all the others behind it - the're heading right at me! Scheise! In 4 minutes I'm going to be run over by the British Navy several times over! I can't bear to think of the names they'll call me in the officer's mess when we get back.... If we get back... All this calculations to get stuffed at the end!

What can I do? I can't start the engines at this distance - they'll hear me and I'll blow my cover. Silent running back will barely get my boat out of their way - no chance of a shot at the cruisers and the sweeping destroyer will make mince meat of me. Silent running forward might get me in a distance for a measly shot from the stern tube, but even for that my scope will show up far too close for comfort... What can I do?

Just thought you may have some ideas...

Start you engines
2kts
Go deep if you can
At least 150m and let them pass

Better to live to fight another day than take a risky shot

Indeed, you still have several km's between you and them.

Most definitely.....silent running, set depth beyond 100 metres and perpendicular to them in order to gain as much distance as possible :arrgh!:

I guess I just have to give up... I'm already perpendicular to them, but even if I start sinking on silent running ahead and I'll only be less than 500m away and barely 40m deep. If they don't find me they must be sleeping.

I also wondered if it makes sense to let loose two magnetics along the path of the cruisers (with a 90 degree turn angle), I may get lucky...

Otherwise sinking ahead flank to 220m depth got me out of a few bad situations before...

Okay then....an alternative.....ahead flank at PD....fire a magnetic at the lead ship when he's coming after you....then crash dive and set your depth at 220metres going to silent running when (hopefully) your magnetic eel explodes. :arrgh!:

Do you have decoys?

Actually, yes, I just got this new device called Bold that someone back in the docks claimed it makes a fool of those british destroyers.... I'm serh skeptisch of this, ja... ;)

Deploy Bold, silent running and when the DD dropped their DCs and they explode that is the time to go ahead flank and deep. They cant hear you 'cos the explosions are far louder than and electric engine on their hydraphones...

IIRC the depth charges dont make a blind bit of difference to the DD's hearing in SHIII. Its not modelled to my knowledge so you will just end up giving away your position.

thats what i have heard too, which if recordings from hydrophones i have recently found on the net are any indication Depth charges created a rumbling echo on hydrophone equipment that lasted for up to something like 20 or 30 seconds.

I dont think it would have any effect on ASDIC, but it would be very hard for them to hear your prop beats so ahead flank would be safe as long as DCs are blowing up...

... but sadly this is not modeled in SH3

if only there were a way to shut off all destroyer's sensors for like XX seconds after launching a DC attack :hmm:

Damn now I know why......

The GWX manual says that the effects of DC's have been modeled somewhat.

Page 41 'Though the enemy baffles in SH3 are imperfectly modeled, GWX models the baffles to also represent the acoustic 'dead-zone' created when depth charges detonate'

I hope this is true or I've been a very lucky kaleun charging around at flank speeds

That's an excellent suggestion, then wait for the DG attacks, deploy Bold... and pray :yep:

for bold. If they know you are there what you do is right before they are over you deploy and go flank to desired depth. Once out of the enemy's baffles rig for silent running, and change course. They enemy will make a circle and pick up your decoy. It works perfectly for me before '44.