Patrol guidance: I feel like I'm doing it wrong
 

I'm just curious about the tactics people use while not setting up shots, but just searching around for things to kill. I've tried everything from just cruising around, using the programmed search patterns, or even coming up with my own zig-zag patterns, but nothing really seems to stand out as being more effective for detecting enemy ships. What I have noticed is that some cover a lot more ground than others, but much less thoroughly, so I'm not sure which is the better way to go... less ground but more thorough, or more ground but less thorough, or something in between, maybe even something different altogether?

Thanks

I'm not sure what mods your using, but in stock you can go after contact reports. I'm using TMO and the bloody planes never stop. I find some good ol' hunting grounds and rack up the tonnage there.

If you have to patrol a certain area and their are no contacts after your patrol time, then go look where ever you want.

I use a elongated Z pattern and cover as much ground as I can but try to cover it some what more or less thoroughly. If that makes any seance?

Where you are looking makes the difference, check the shipping map to get good locations.

Magic

I'm using TMO + RSRDC I've been following the shipping map, but not made many contacts. Even going back as far as SHIII though, I've always wondered what the best way to hunt was, since I've never felt like I've been able to really catch anything all that well.

I had no luck at all with RSRD 13 patrols and nothing but single ships, maybe two convoys and no TF at all. Got so boring I started shooting from 4,000 yards with vector analysis just to put some excitement in it.
Running just TMO now.

RSRD is great for the major battles, etc. but a little lacking if you are just going to go on mission orders. Perhaps it's a little too real.

Magic

It's August in 1942. The USS Guardfish are on course to the East China Sea to patrol those waters for enemy shipping.

The boat is installed with RFB2.0 and RSRDC, so we do not see much shipping on the route, BUT.....

When we passed the Tokyo-Truk shipping lane we took the time to lay still for 24 hours and that paid off. Two nice freighters on the route from Tokyo to Truk with supply's came steaming south loaded with goods.

Later when we were calibrating the SJ-Radar at Sofu Gan we ran into two other freighters, one of them a 10.000 ton oil tanker running towards Japan. That was a great catch. Sofu Gan seems like a good place to hunt near, many uses it as a navigational fix. That SJ-kit is a great asset. It picked up the oiler from 30nm's!!

Now (with almost no torpedoes left) we are steaming for Tokara Gunto just north of Amami-O Shima in the Nansai Shoto's, where we will make our passage through into the East China Sea.

......Commander of the USS Guardfish...
......Kaptain M. Vinther

How far of Truk are you and what day is it.....cos on the 17th just west off Truk there is a bloomin great big Task Force. Spotted it once just sitting there but had no torps left. There also seems to be a large force of warships steaming towards them coming from the west also

I prefer pure TMO. Challenging, but a lot of stuff:salute:

Destroyers and escorts keep you on your toes too! :o

I think a lot of how you search depends on what tools your boat has.

If you only have sonar best to stick close to the coast within sonar range and find single merchants trying to avoid you.

If you have radar run the convoy lanes in a pattern so you don't overlap your radar coverage. If you are in wide open water I perfer a higher speed to cover more ground, in tighter spots or near chock points I really slow down.

If you have radar and are near land draw lines out from the land that equal your radar range and connect your way-points to the end of the lines and follow this pattern. This will guarantee that no ship is missed on your land side.

Aren't most of the better targets (TF and Convoys) found further out to sea? I haven't done any coastal hunting in SH4, but what I remember of SH3 was that it was all small stuff that wasn't worth a torp...

I was just giving suggestions on how to find traffic. If you are using RSRD you might have to take what is available since the big convoys and TF are dependant on whether they were real per the jap wartime records.

It's august the 18th 1942, but I'm far off Truk as I'm almost next to Sofu Gan. In a day or two I'll be in the Tokara Gunto (Strait in the Nanso Shoto island chain north of Okinawa)

Position yourself near choke points, depending on your area of patrol. For example for my current career I'm based at Fremantle, so my assignments are in the South China Sea & Celebes Sea. I find that the narrow waterway between Borneo & the Celebes is a good place to hunt.
I also dive to PD & manually check the sonar myself. I rotate 360 deg & see if I can pick up anything. I've found quite a number of targets this way. It's especially effective early in the war as sometimes I pick up a merchant or warship on sonar that radar doesn't.

Treblesome81, I just wanted to show you what I sometimes do if I'm having no luck finding any ships at sea. In this case I'm trying a less busy area because I got sick of the zillions of planes where my "Favorite" hunting ground was.

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/4...chpatern01.png
Every time I get a contact, whether on hydrophones, or radar, I check the range that it's being detected at. In this case, I'm usually getting radar contacts just outside of 10nm. So I make two circles and conect a line on both ends for an area I want to cover. Then more circles all connected to make a "corridor". Finally, I put the way-points of my course in the center of each circle.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3...chpatern02.png
I was just doing this in my game now and I remembered you asking about patrolling. Oh, that curved line on the left is the edge of my 4 day, 108nm patrol zone. I just wanted to see if there was anything down at those three little ports :03:

I could make a better one when I'm heading back out to sea. One that covers more area without overlapping much. I'll post it then.

I hope this helps:cool:

How often should one dive for a manual sonar check? I've been trying different time frames, but I keep finding myself behind targets, almost as if I should be constantly listening...