Surface attacks are fun and can be quite exhilarating, bear in mind you'll only be able to carry out surface attacks till 42' when escorts start getting equipped with radar on almost each (war)ship. Eventually your attacks will have to almost excusively be done while submerged; even then you have to be carefull as the war progresses radar improves to the point it detects your periscope if its too high up.
Once pattern running torpedoes become available they are great for causing distractions and diverting the escorts attention away from your primary targets. They can be (somewhat) aimed so that you hit a target on one of your flanks at the furthest distance possible (If you're positioned outside of column 1 you can potentially hit a ship in column 5) drawing the escorts completely away from you which can give you a considerable amount of time to dive deep and get out of their detection range.
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