Quote:
Originally Posted by Boarspear2061
I noticed that as of October of '39, U-boots are all ordered by BdU to sink ships only with torpedoes, and not to engage with guns. Does anyone know when that order gets countermanded?
Also, we have been thinking about trying a Type IX for the first time, and maybe doing long range patrols against the USA or something like that later in the war. Is there a particular flotilla we should be in for that to be realistic?
Finally, does anyone know where I can find a rundown of U-boat stats? Such as dive time, top speed, range, torp. capacity, etc?
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1. I think you have taken the order too literally. Think about the order first. WHY was the order given? What is the disadvantage in sinking a ship with a deck gun versus a torpedo? It takes more time than a torpedo. And what does a merchant do when it is being bombarded? It radioes in help. And when does the call actually help? In home waters. There are more destroyers around, there might be an RAF aircraft close by. The order is meant to protect the U-boats from counterattacks. It basically says: "sink those enemy ships but do it as fast as possible if there is a risk of being attacked yourselves". If I were you I would just break the order if I was confident my U-boat is out of range of aircraft and I would have checked the area for enemy warships with a hydrophone before starting to sink the ship with a deck gun.
The military doctrine in Germany was not as dictatorial as is commonly supposed. An order usually gave the primary objective and a rudimentary order on how to achieve it but it was up to the officers in the field to discover what the actual situation was and there was freedom to choose different means if the situation so dictated. Hitler's insistence on following orders literally was foreign to the German military tradition on the officer level and caused a lot of dismissals of higher officers who had disobeyed their orders as the conditions on the field turned out to be different than what the order had anticipated.
2.
www.uboatnet.net has some info but I haven't found detailed info about type ix's anywhere. Hope you find some
3. I think if you have a type IX by 1942 feel free to join operation Drumbeat no matter what Flottilla you are in. There was a shortage of type IX's and every type IX that could be directed to the operation was ordered to take part.
If you already don't use JFO (Just follow orders) mod, do have a look at it. You might like that mod and some of your answers might be answered there. Welcome back to the game
