[suitednate]

Originally Posted by UKönig

It may be that your U-boat is just too low in the water for them to see adequately. If you are too close, they can't see you, because their vision is blocked by their own hull.
Merchant ships were often outfitted with listening gear, for just this kind of emergency. Even the ocean liner "Titanic" was equipped to listen for submarines, and that was in 1912. (See "shipbuilder" magazine, 1911 edition, on the Olympic class of ocean liner, for more details).
As it was, U-20, under the command of Walter Schwieger, torpedoed and sank the cunard liner "Lusitania" on Friday, May 7th, 1915.
So it's not surprising that once you went below the waves, that's when they "found" you. If there is no moon, and/or low visibility, you may have gotten confused with wave peaks and blended in with the ships of the convoy around you. One reason I try not to get too close with surface attacks (night or day) is because I am afraid that the merchants, once they spot me, will turn to ram. And if your sub is only 700 tons and your rammer is 6000 tons, well, it's pretty easy to see who the loser will be...

Yes they will try to ram you. U just gotta keep your mouse er...head on a swivel while on deck. Also the keys for hard port, hard starboard, rudder amidships on the keyboard are always at my fingertips when doing this surface attack or when evading escorts and their charges submerged.