I'm struggling through late 43-early 44 at the moment. Gave up on DiD because this is just such a challenge that I really don't want to start from scratch!
I'm finding real-world tactics to be the best method of survival. I rarely, if ever, get within visual range of a convoy whilst surfaced. As soon as my lookouts get a visual I'm either speeding away or submerging, depending on my position vis-a-vis the convoy.
Once I'm underwater my total focus is on remaining silent and on evading the leading escorts. The old adage is true; if you don't stay edge-on to the escorts, you WILL be detected. If you get within 400m of an escort, odds are they WILL detect you, unless you're behind them. Correct positioning is key and you mustn't be afraid to raise the scope and manoeuvre accordingly. I tend to come in at one of the corners of the convoy. Stay away from the lead sweeper - they are too unpredictable to evade. Come in between two of the steady escorts instead.
As soon as you're inside the escort screen, start preparing your attack. The one good thing about late war convoys is that you typically have a large number of hi-tonnage targets to shoot at, so the rewards are greater. However, you MUST position yourself in line with the fattest columns before you come too close to the convoy. Once you're within about 3km of the escort screen it just isn't worth risking hard/fast manoeuvres.
The moment you've fired all your forward tubes (and only one of your stern tubes if you're in a Type IX - stern defence is essential), dive. Come to Kleine Fahrt - you want at least 60m of water over your head before the first eels hit. Go to at least 160m. 200m+ is safest. When your torpedoes start exploding you have about a minute, at most, before you should go to silent speed. Dive through the convoy so as to confuse any pursuing escorts. A diagonal course is best.
When picking your course away from the convoy, pay attention to the escort screen. The last thing you want to do is go directly underneath an escort - this is a sure way to get yourself located and sunk. Have a look around before you dive and note where the escorts are, then plan to go between them.
If you are detected at any point, abandon all hope of attacking the convoy. Your immediate priority is saving boat and crew. Dive deep and dive fast. If you have Bold, it works best at depths above 100m or so, but be aware that active sonar is your greatest enemy. I keep a Zaunkoenig in tube V for emergencies, although late war escorts are canny enough to weave until they're within 300m. Really your only hope of escape is blind luck - I'm not very good at escaping from angry escorts!
These notes are by no means perfect, but they've worked three or four times for me now. On each occasion I scored 40k tons without detection.
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