TDW,
Just wanted to report my experience with the latest version of IRAI. I've been away from the game for some time. Came back, loaded up the updated versions of all the mods and I think IRAI is almost perfect.
I got myself in some hot water in my last patrol. I was tracking an arctic convoy and got in too close. I was forced to fire my torps early when I DD detected my periscope (I was within their screen and pretty close to the DD). I dove (missed my target too
) and endured about 5 hours of depth charging and being hunted by about 7 destroyers. I took a few good shots from close DCs. Sustained damage but was able to continue on. I eventually lost them (but it wasn't easy) by going deep, 140m, and remaining still.
I think the balance of difficulty and playability has been found. Escorts are a threat but not impossible to escape from. Thanks for this mod.