IX Skippers: Where does most of your tonnage come from?
 

On my way back from tanker alley in the caribean, the above mention question occured to me.

By the time I got my IX, I was finding convoys all the time. Convoys!

Halifax?

I used to patrol up round there tell i found i like the Caribean a bit more. I know one time i was going through the Halifax area and i swear a convoy spawned right next to me. One minute i was crusiing along with TC, the next minute i as beng shelled by a destroyer escort 3000 meters away and me being right smack in front of a convoy that decided to drop on my head.

Despite all that, oddly enoguh, i find im killing single ships much more often. That doesnt mean i don't, or won't engage convoys, i just dont see them very often. But when i do, i do my upmost to get inside the convoy so i can attack two columns at once.

Single ships for the most part. Drumbeating I would say :88)

Not neccesarly. Theres other places besides the US east coast or the caribean. But thats the other (and i dare say signficiant given the tanker traffic) theater.

At the time of this posting,

IX skippers:
6 say single
2 say convoy

8 votes total

VII skippers
4 say single
7 say convoy
11 votes total.

The ratio on IX skippers vs VII skippers id expect, IX boats are not as popular. The single to convoy ratio id expect on IX skippers to.

From VII skippers im surpised at the number that are getting most of their tonnage from singles.

However add it all up.

Out of 19 votes
10 say single sihp
9 say convoy.

:hmm:

of course, Stock vs Improved convoys mod makes a big diffrence. My assumption would be most are running improved convoys.

Single ships for most of the time, I am in the early stages of being back in the IXB March 41 looking forward to returning to the U.S and having a crack as those tankers again. ;)

Convoy's get Torp (escorts only), DG and FG (depending on ship type) - Task Force's get Torp - Single shipping gets DG/FG (depending on ship type) only. 100% realisim.

Convoys.

Although, on one patrol I sank 5 small coastal and coastal merchants with my deckgun south of Iceland and off the coast of Spain.

The total was defintely less than 10k GRT.

Convoys.

In my type VII i can blow off all my torpedoes on a single convoy and go home. This happens in 3 attack runs, and all can be done in a single night on a convoy that travels < 10kts. It makes the outings quick. The less time I'm out on the water, the smaller the chance that a plane will punch a hole in my beautiful boat.

KB

Intended for similar thread for VII boats?

For the first 9-10 patrols of this career (while in my Type VIIB), I was sinking mostly singles, and found very few convoys to attack for some reason. Then I got my Type IXB in January 1941, and for the 2-3 patrols since then I have been getting most of my kills in convoys which I have been finding mostly off the north-west coast of Africa.

I can generally sink 5-6 ships from the same convoy in 2 or 3 attack runs spread over a couple of days, and then usually stumble onto a loner or two on the way to or from my patrol zone and home. The weather has been too rough much of the time on the last 2-3 patrols for me to use my deck gun or get all of my externals loaded into my boat, so I've wound up having to head home with ammo left on each trip so far. Still, they've been very successful patrols and I finally vaulted over Kretschmer into first place on the Aces list after my most recent patrol :)

Re: IX Skippers: Where does most of your tonnage come from?
 

I would say, none of the above. I have perfected a fine cowardly art called harbour raiding. Being also of the japanese school of submariners I do not consider fighting / hunting DDs a waste of torpedos, but an excellent opportunity to test the Advanced Holywood Damage (BTW dead_is_not_dead). Also my 5 year old son, just loves this approach (actually it was his proposition - he insisted to go into the ports "to see what's in there")

Using only HT 1.47 and *thinking* of installing IC. I hate long journeys down to the end of the world, so in my current career I took my trusty IXB to the -ahem- blue waters of the Med. There are a lot of harbors over there not to get bored. I have yet to encounter a convoy to the Med.

In my virtual SH III world, it's September of 43 and I'm on my 23rd patrol. I'd estimate I've encountered about a dozen convoys during my career, so obviously the vast majority of my tonnage comes from single ships.

I'll admit I like the jazz associated with multiple target opportunities and escorts, but single ship hunting is a heck of a lot safer. When I come across a fat merchant, I sink it, hang around the area and wait for another. Smaller ships get a pass. Many times I am rewarded with another slow moving duck within 24 hours or so... and another... I attack convoys when I spot them but am not sad if I don't.

As for warships... I've run across solo DD's and convoy escorts, but never anything larger. Must be a treat to have a carrier or BB lined up in your scope. Maybe some day...

I must spend entirely too long at sea. I started in January 01, 1942, and its currently july, 1944.. and im about to start my10th or 11th patrol. :roll:


Almost didnt back it back last time. Attacked a convoy (which is unusual for me in this career as im rarely in an area where im likely to encounter one), and had the depth charging of a lifetime. Intresting convoy, 2 columns, lots of ships, 5 escorts. 3 would sit and listen while the other two made runs. They smashed the hell out of the boat. No intergity loss, but i had more flooding and equipment repairs then ive ever encountered in this game. A few came so close, as to knock the boat around a few meters. Damn close.

I'm also in a VII and I've only encountered one convoy so far and when I did I only had two torpedos left, both in the aft position. I didn't think it'd be worth risking it all when I'd have to situate myself ass first. In that same patrol I sunk 5 lone cargo ships before I even got close tomy patrol grid.

Granted it's October 1939...

I think it'd be a good idea to see what month and year these votes are coming from. I'd say most of the "lone ship" voters, at least VII-wise are probably earlier in the war.