It has been said before, and I will say it again:
Stay out of shallow water!
Your only chance of surviving the war is to:
1) Keep your sub at 100% hull integrity so that you can
2) Immediately dive to 200m after engaging anything that has destroyers nearby.
Depth is the only thing that will save you in this game.
As was noted, sitting on the sea floor ala "Das Boot" won't save you. They can "see" you just as easily as if you were free floating.
If you are absolutely trapped, about your only hope is to come to periscope depth and try and shoot your attacker. Destroyers sometimes come in in a straight line or, even if they zig-zag, they will come in straight at about 400 meters range. If you can identify your pursuer and thus find his hull draft you can slide a magnetic under him and one shot will usually destroy a destroyer. However this can be tricky because you need 200m or so for the torpedo to arm. Wait too long and the torp will pass under them harmlessly. Electrics are better for this attempt as they will try to evade steamers, though steamers set on "fast" will usually get them at 400m even if they try to evade.
Sometimes, if you are good, you can nail an escort that is circling in front of you, but you have to be good at determining lead on the target. Electrics are almost a necessity for this as they will speed up or slow down to avoid steamers.
In very shallow waters if you have bagged a ship it will sit on the bottom. You can use your scope to navigate your boat next to the sunken wreck. The escorts will not come close enough to harm you for fear of striking the wreck. This can give you time to reload torpedoes for trying for a shot.
But they won't just give up. They will circle you and circle you and circle you until you run out of air.
Best bet - stay out of shallow water. Period. Don't risk it. I don't take my boat anywhere that it is less than 1000m depth unless I am ordered to a patrol grid that is shallower, and then I stay just for my 24 hours and get the hell out.
I'm trying to make it to the end of the war. I've never done it yet in years of playing. I will not engage a convoy if the depth or the condition of my boat won't let me go down to 200m depth.
Even at that, I dread the invention of the hedgehog. Depth will save you from depth charges, but not hedgehogs.
Steve
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