Home Ports
 

Just curious: will our home ports being only those in the Far East, or will we be able to start from the French ports and try to dodge the ASW patrols as we make our way east? The reverse would be interesting as well, with trying to get back to Europe in late 44-45.

Historically only 4 out of the 14 or so boats that were sent made it there. They waited out the war in the Indian Ocean, doing a few different patrols. When Germany surrendered they were seized by the Japanese; one of them was put into service as the I-19.

I'm guessing the first mission would be to go from Kiel or a port in the Bay of Biscay, to Singapore. Then you would do patrols in the Indian/Pacific Oceans till the war ended. There might be a bonus mission at the end of the campaign to make it back to Germany.

I think this will be restricted to the Far East bases - for the simple reason that starting in the Atlantic would entail having to do an Atlantic campaign and all the objects and stuff involved in that. And if the devs could do an Atlantic campaign - well, why would the add-on be about the Far East, really? It wouldn't be that much more complicated to do a full-blown Atlantic game.

So I'm quite sure that all the ops in the game will be in the Indian Ocean and Pacific.

Not so at all

39 uboats sailed to the IO - not all made it though
1 was given to the Japanese - U-511 - in exchange for rubber renamed RO 500
6 were taken over by the Japanese when Germany surrendered
U-181 became I 501
U-862 became I 502
UIT-24 became I 503 ( UIT-24 was the former Italain sub CAPPELLINI later renamed the "AQUILA III" - taken over by the Germans after the Italian armastice )
UIT-25 became I 504 ( UIT-25 was the former Italian sub TORELLI later renamed "AQUILA VI"- taken over by the Germans after the Italian armastice )
U-219 became I 505
U-195 became I 506

U-1224 was also given to the Japanese in Kiel 15\2\44 and named RO 501

and many made it back home - U178\188\510\516\532 and 861 to number a few

The I 19 was a B1 type Japanese sub

http://www.combinedfleet.com/sensuikan.htm
http://uboat.net/ops/monsun3.htm

So if you add the new IXD2 cfg to the Japanese roster you can sail as a Japanese boat from May 45 onwards