Quote:
Originally Posted by psykopatsak
O.O IX death trap?
i find the extra tonnage from the torps friggin awesome! survived 22 patrols, with the only deaths by sheer idiocity. maybe one time have i been properly sunk - otherwise no problem. i am assuming you mean the slow dive time the largest problem? I found that staying on surface, gun the engine and turning somewhat towards the attacking plane makes them miss nine times out of ten. then with the radar warning reciever, its a no brainer to get away.
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Yeah, it's the slow dive times. If you are correct that you can avoid the bombs nine times out of ten on the surface, odds are you will not last a week after mid 1942. You will average more than one air attack per day before you even get to your patrol area, and the chance of surviving 7 straight attacks that each have a 10% chance of killing you is less than 50%. All those extra torpedoes won't do you any good when you're a wreck 1,000m down. My own observation is that about one air attack in 25 will kill you, in a IX boat. That's still too many for you to survive very long. Despite the extra torpedos, my VIIBs got more tonnage per patrol than my IXBs, and my VIICs got more tonnage per patrol than my IXCs.
What years are you running your patrols in? Before mid '42, survivability doesn't matter nearly as much. Then the extra torpedoes are worth it. After the air coverage is extended, the IX is usually a liability. I ran about 20 patrols in IXs before late '42. I lost one boat. I ran about 30 patrols in IXs from late '42 on. I lost 9 boats.