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It is to my understanding the uboats worked together (packs) and independently. This we know, correct? However, when working together the boats were often miles and miles apart working the convoy's projected course. Evey once and a while several boats were close enough to see the others torpedo work and become part of a closer pack visually. The fleetboats did as well. Can we say the more often than not the close in pack was much less than the spread out pack working miles of ocean in the convoy's projected path? If that is the case, does the AI submarine interaction really need to be heavy? For the most part you do not see your pack mates. Although most want the packs is it really an integral part of YOUR simulation?
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Yes, more or less so from what I have readed, but it also varied during the war. In the first wolfpacks in 1940, a few U-Boats converged into a convoy and got to even see each other (F.e. Prien and Schepke) during or after the attack. Convoys were badly escorted and the wolfpack broke havoc in it easily. However, BdU never directed them as you would do in a god-eye strategy game, i.e. BdU didn't choose f.e. which side of the convoy each u-boat would attack and such. What it basically did was centralize the reports and assign a shadower to follow the convoys, and decide which uboats were close enough to make the attack worth it. He also decided sometimes when the attack should begin, as coordination on attacking from several sides at the same time is guaranteed to make the escort have more trouble. The wolfpack method of attack offered several advantages to the uboats, first of all the escorts had to leave their position sometimes and open a gap which another uboat could benefit from, and second the escorts were forced to return to the convoy soon after chasing down an uboat to keep the protection. This has saved more than one uboat from destruction, as I have noted reading Suhren's memories recently. Later in the war, the huter killers managed to kill many more uboats not because they had much improved technic (sonar) but also because they were able to stay indefinately with the uboat, until it run out of battery or air.
From 1942 onwards the larger escort size, occasional air cover, radar and higher number of available uboats made the wolfpacks be more spreaded and more similar to individual attacks. Since the "safe" area around a convoy was now bigger, the uboats couldn't lurk so closeby and hence the attacks were more spaced than in 1940, as each wolf had to work hard to enter the shooting gap.