Single Merchant Hunting
 

If been play SH3 for over 5 years know and I still have not gotten down how to hunt conveys with that said I have alot of success in the early war hunting single merchant ship. My question then is dose anyone have tips for hunting conveys and would it be a problem in the late war to strictly stick to hunting single merchant shipping?

In Aces of Deep; shII; and shV; I generally employ the silent Otto Kretschmer tactic of infiltrating the convoy

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Originally Posted by 2 sources He demonstrated a cool approach to combat: his mantra “one torpedo for one ship” proved that the best way for his boat to succeed against a convoy was to remain surfaced as much as possible, penetrating the convoy and using the boat’s high speed and small silhouette to avoid retaliation. each individual commander was free to use any tactics he chose. Some fired at long range, outside the perimeter of the escorts, usually with a spread of several torpedoes. Some, particularly Otto Kretschmer, headed straight into the center of the convoy, and fired at point blank range, picking off ship by ship as they sailed passed. Whichever tactics employed, the general strategy was to attack by night, and withdraw by day, with continuous attacks lasting several days, as more boats arrived on the scene. This had devastating effects and attacking in groups easily overwhelmed the escorts. When an escort pursued one U-boat, another would attack at a different location, creating total confusion and chaos. Kretschmer later wrote in his war diary describing the attack on a convoy, “The destroyers are at their wit’s end. Shooting off star shells the whole time to comfort themselves and each other.”

decks-awash and then submerge to periscope depth to avoid escort shell fire.(the games tend to be accurate) Once inside the convoy and mindful of the 'eel's arming distance (practically point blank range) I shoot as many vessels as possible then dive deep to avoid escorts pursuing into the convoy and resurface later to safely deck-gun any cripples after the convoy/escorts have moved on. In SHV inside the convoy I particularly like to get dead astern of any large tanker and at 300 meters firing directly at (scope on 0) its stern slowing or stopping it until it can be sunk later with cannon fire, thus maintaining one ship/one torpedo mantra:arrgh!: Do not shoot escorts no matter how tempting; commercial tonnage is the goal.:yep: Steam eels are preferred for their greater speed and if done properly, five hits on five separate ships should be the result. Later, when fully reloaded, recharged and all cripples accounted for, U may stage follow-on attacks or seek another unaware convoy.

Thanks for the advice. My biggest issue with conveys is just getting close enough to shoot at anything I'm usually picked up by escorts long before I get near enough to hit anything

Late war convoys were death traps. Passed 1943, Allied ASW technology and doctrine for convoys were so advanced that odds are, if they did not destroy outright after spotting you, escorts would find you, wait around until the lack of oxygen force you to surface, and then finish you up.

Late war U-boat crews were able to survive usually by avoiding convoys, instead patrolling further away around secondary shipping routes near South America and the African coast, because there were still lone merchantmen in these areas.

Attacking a convoy from the side is not the optimal approach: a) It would be viable only on nighttime - or if the weather allows you to approach on the surface close enough before firing. b) Most escorts are usually placed on the sides of the convoy because of wider frontage on the ships' sides.

Ideally, after spotting a convoy, you want to place yourself in front of the convoy path, submerged and rigged for silent running. You let escorts and merchants pass over you, then you periscope and rip open whatever juicy tonnage you may find. Even better if you pull it off during a moonless night, because a few ballsy Kaleuns would surface in the middle of the convoy, fire the torpedoes, and continue the attack with your deck gun while everyone is confused on what the heck is happening.

RISING TO THE OCCASION
 

AAH I FORGOT THAT PROBLEM. TRY GENERALLY GETTING WELL TO THE FRONT OF THE CONVOY. SUBMERGE DEEPLY 180 METERS ON SILENT RUN STEERING TOWARD THE CONVOY AND WAIT TILL LEAD ESCORTS AND CONVOY GO OVER YOUR POSITION; IF AN ALERT ESCORT (USUALLY ONE) BEGINS HIS DEPTH CHARGE RUN AT YOU OR IS PINGING ON YOU, BE ASCENDING TO PERISCOPE DEPTH TOWARD THE CONVOY AT FULL SPEED, LEAVING THE NOSEY DESTROYER WELL IN YOUR WAKE WITH AMPLE TIME TO TARGET ARRIVING LEAD MERCHANTS; BEFOR THE ATTACKING ESCORT CAN TURN TO RECOVER HIS SONAR CAPABILITY, PROCEED TO DO LEISURELY DAMAGE WITH THE EELS AND THEN SNEAK OFF TO REJUVENATE, RELOAD, AND RE-ATTACK. IN shII, HITTING BLOW BALLAST IN THIS MANEUVER REALLY BOOSTS THE ASCENDING SPEED, COMPLETELY THROWING OFF THE DROPPING DC'S, BUT MIGHT ENDANGER YOUR COMPRESSED AIR SUPPLY OR IF NOT STOPPED IN TIME AT (OR JUST BELOW) PERISCOPE DEPTH ALSO CAUSE AN ACCIDENTAL SURFACING OR BREECH WITH GRIM CONSEQUENCES.:oops: ONLY SURFACE TO DECK GUN CRIPPLES AFTER THE CONVOY AND DISGRUNTLED ESCORTS ARE WELL CLEAR. YOU NEED THE RELATIVE CALM TO BE RELOADING YOUR STORED DECK EELS BELOW DECK AS WELL FOR FOLLOWON ATTACKS.

A. What time frame of the war are you having convoy problems with ?

B. Re late war single merchant, it's your game, play it the way that lets you enjoy it.

Thanks for all the help! I rather enjoy surprising singles out near the coastal areas of the Britain Isles and France in the early war around '39 and '40. That said I think this would be a valid tactic for a more caution commander but might still try convey attacks if the conditions are in my favor.

Juiciest merchants and tankers are usually found in convoys. At first voluntary, they quickly became mandatory for bigger tonnages.

In early war the big, lone merchant ships are often neutral, flying either American or Norwegian flags. The enemy merchants are usually tramp steamers or coastal freighters, although a few Grandvilles may try to cross the North Atlantic alone.