Patrol Tactics
 

What is the best method to use when patrolling, to increase your chances for a contact ? Parallel to the most logical enemy coarse or perpendicular to the most logical enemy coarse. For example : Take AM51. I would consider most traffic to be west to east and not north to south. So would it be better to patrol in a west/east pattern on cross the grid in a north/south pattern ? Or maybe say a diagonal pattern ?

I find my spot, go to 25m, rig for silent (to hopefully reduce oxygen usage, not sure if it works) and sit still to listen. Hydrophones will pick up contact much further than eyes, even with the 16k mod.

I realize WWII boats couldn't hover as they do in SH3. I treat it like the No Fatigue option. I assume my crew is making small corrections to keep station and put it out of my mind.

Another option is to lay out a spiral pattern and move at 2kts.

It is all personal preference, really.

SOMETIMES I.....
 

...dive to twenty/thirty meters (not that it makes any difference, only immersion!) then set my rudder 1 degree to port or starboard. set speed to slow 1 or 2 knots and leave alone for an hour or so.

my boat turns very slowly in a circle. i also have external h/phones, these are apparently better, but more likely to get damaged.

For quickness and ease you can also travel to your assigned patrol grid and use the pre-plotted course from your navigator.

I've been wondering how other Kaleuns patrol for sometime too, and like a previous poster said, I think it comes down to personal preference. I like to do long zig zag courses along the projected course of the merchants. Submerge every 3-4hrs for a sound check during the day and stay down all night at 2kts and I always manually check at those intervals too. I wonder how many radio contacts I miss doing this however:hmmm:

This is early war practice and I've no doubt I will be forced to alter my tactics somewhat as the war progresses but so far it's working for me.

I'll post a screenshot in this post later in the evening, it'd be interesting to compare to others.

Good question Doolar Semler:salute:

In my assigned grid, I use the Navigator's automatic course-maker to lay down my search course. And I keep doing that until I have spent 7-10 days on station.

Then, if BdU permits (in other words, if my dice roll right), I go to favorite hunting grounds. There, I track back and forth along the likely shipping routes. If I am in fairly likely range of planes, I submerge at 1 knot during the day. I also submerge at intervals to check the phones.

My method
 

Thanx UBootman, I like to ask opinion questions, to see how other players play. Ya never know what ur gonna learn. I do prefer the diagnal pattern myself, cutting across the grid at 45° or around there. I surface to recharge and ventilate the boat, at around 10kts for 4 hours then do a trim dive to 40 meters at 3kts for 8 hours. Check'n the hydrophone every 2 hours and playing the gramophone once in a while and only if everybody cleaned their plates. LOL :cool: As for length of time spent in my assigned grid, I use the SAILOR STEVE rule.

Thats just lazy, but we all use it:D

No, not me...never!!

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/6...nimationli.gif

Not quite all. I draw a series of waypoints, first around the border of the grid, then criss-crossing the corners, then criss-crossing the halves.

It's a holdover from my AOTD days (which are still occasionally going on now). :sunny:

Good days...

So no need to bring 'em to an end. :DL

I go by this reasoning:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...7&postcount=27

If I am patrolling a traffic lane, I move perpendicular to the expected target course at cruise speed (8 kts). I do a hydrophone check every 2 hours. Depending on how narrow the lane is I might do multiple checks after another, then turn around.

success SS ?

or is it mostly right place right time kind of thing ?

Yeah that second one. I figure that if I set my own waypoints, use the auto-pattern or just sit still my chances are about the same. I could be wrong of course, but as I always say for me it's more about the experience than actually sinking things.

Huh? Really? I've only seen the canal run...you can preplot to your assigned grid? GWX or another mod?