I love the IX B; it's a great boat in 1940.
Having a second aft tube is very useful; I like having a choice between torpedos. I generally prefer T1s, but sometimes the wake is simply not acceptable.
The 105mm deck gun is very good at long range, around 4-5km destroyers are very vulnerable to plunging fire; the latter often go down before they can find the range. I still don't understand the in-game mechanics of this and it's only advisable in very specific circumstances... but I find desperate situations less desperate with a type IX.
The 37mm is useful in ways I did not expect. I had hoped it would help against small fry like torpedo boats, but it's disappointing there. For finishing off crippled merchants, it performs surprsingly well though. As for its intended use, I'm not too impressed and would probably prefer another light flak.
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