Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Nemo
You make a fair point regarding active sonar giving away a convoys location, however, the u-boat would need to be submerged to hear it and a lot of the time they were roaming around on the surface.
I can't recall specific sources where I read about active sonar being used 24/7 but to detect a submerged u-boat effectively it would surely need to be used most of the time to deter a submerged attack. This is why in the early stages of the war u-boats attacked on the surface at night where ASDIC was useless.
Nemo
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Surface attacks sidestepped the ASDIC issue. The U-Boat Commander's Handbook recommended the surface attack to avoid detection, but nothing was said about constant active ASDIC usage being the cause. Likewise, the surface attack avoids issues with rangefinding through the comparatively poor night vision of the periscopes of the day. Another issue in favor of the surface attack was having the diesels available to run down a convoy. All except the most burdened convoys could easily outrun a submerged u-boat.
However, in the context of the games, the escorts without radar are much better at spotting a u-boat than historical records would indicate. Surface attacks, historically, were much more practical and successful. In fact, they were so successful that the US fleet boats began emulating this particular German tactic with success.
In the game, the AI visual range is static and always at its peak, given weather conditions and veterancy of the specific unit. This makes submerged attacks more pragmatic in the games...at least from my experience.
I feel I am kind of stating the obvious to a member who has been around the block longer than I have, but I have no reason to believe that all active-all the time was used by the Allies with the sources I read. It is a shame you cannot remember that source you read as I really would like to compare notes on this.
EDIT: If anyone reading this knows of some good resources regarding Allied ASDIC doctrine, I would really like to see that. I found the available resources on the open net rather lacking regarding period ASW tactics. To those willing to help, please
do not give me a Wikipedia link as they are not acceptable to me regarding true academic research.