Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Riley
Thanks for the replies.
What I was really after though is ideas on good solid patrolling methods,as in specific patrol lines/patterns,and their distance etc,and how long they should realistically be carried out for before you realise that nothing is going to come that way.But what I would REALLY like is a link to any such material on the web,authentic material written by the captains themselves,how they patrolled and what patterns if any they employed.Its possible that the following book 'the uboat commander's handbook' may contain such info,but it appears quite a rare book and is hard to get hold of in the UK.I believe most of it was compiled by Doenitz himself from his early actions in WWI through to the modern tactics in WWII.I would really like to get into this book.I DO have Iron Coffins which I really enjoyed,but the other book is very specific about tactics and technical data.
Cheers.
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Much of the most effective patrolling methods were employed by wolfpacks. Unfortunately, the game just doesn't model these (perhaps the biggest failing of SH3).
The best advice I can give you comes from the in-game capablities of the sub. To maximize the number of contacts found, submerge, stop, listen on the hydrophones, surface, sprint at highest speed for about 20km, repeat. Probably most effective in lines perpendicular to expected route of convoy.
This is not necessarily what you should do, because it is not the safest behaviour, nor does it necessarly replicate what u-boats actually did. Also, it will result in more contacts than occurred historically.
I think that the game is (im-?)balanced in such a way as to encourage greater reliance on the hydrophone rather than the eyeball for making contacts. I have the impression that IRL the reverse was true.
I don't think there is any reason to think, after waiting a certain amount of time at a spot , that not having seen anythign yet indicates you won't see anything in the future, if you are near a convoy route. OTOH, if you are in some remote backwater, and nothing shows up after a while, it is probably safe to assume that nothing has been scripted to appear in that area.