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Based on his experience, he calculated that his tactic would work. Since he probably knows better than I do, I assume that it would have worked, had he gotten the targeting computer on board with the plan.
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Yeah, but banyru is really right, in reality you'd never pull the tail of a tiger like I do.
But, as I've said elsewhere, I have learned how to "game the game". I operate within the limits of the game, but I do operate fully to the limits of the game. It's hard enough to beat (I have not made it to the end of the war on 100% realism yet) so I'm ok with that.
I have found that the escorts in ST3 are predictable enough that I can, about 90% of the time, take them out at will.
If you allow them to detect you, they will charge you. They sill either come straight in, which makes life easy, or, more usually, they will make a zig-zag approach. But they will almost always start pinging you and drive straight in when they reach 400 meters. Your torpedoes need 200-300 meters to arm. If you have IDd the escort and know its draft, and set a mag torpedo, you can usually nail them on their attack run. Even with a steamer set at fast speed they cannot evade.
But, you need your stern (or bow) pointed directly at them on firing. And in heavy seas sometimes the ship will dip low and cause a dud impact on the nose. And if you miss, watch out.
Generally, if you are running
away from them, and thus using your stern tubes, if you miss you can generally, at flank speed, avoid a collision, and if you are lucky you will be close alongside them in their turn so that neither their aft-dropped nor side-launched depth charges can touch you.
If you are
backing away from them, with your nose pointed at them, it's a lot harder to avoid a collision if you miss.
Of course later in the war when hedgehogs appear this tactic no longer works. But by then you should have homing torpedoes.
Most of the time I make a "traditional" attack, in that I slip inside the convoy and fire from within, reloading and attacking until the escorts figure out the deal and then I dive and evade.
But if I am detected on approach, I go on the offensive and draw off the escorts and kill them one at a time as they leave the convoy and come after me.
The only downside here (aside from missing
) is that on occasion you wound the escort but don't sink it. The AI makes them immediately give up pursuit and they return to their picket position in the convoy. Which makes night surface attacks harder afterwards as they are sitting their with all their nice radar and guns when you reload and resume your attack on the convoy.
Once I get homing torpedoes, though, all bets are off. I use the bug where you can switch from the torpedo load screen to any other screen and back so that I can load as many of any kind of torpedo I want. Then I intentionally draw off the escorts and nail them with homing torpedoes. It's still a bit tricky as sometimes the darn things chase off after someone you are not hoping to hit but generally they work out fine.
With a Type XXI and a belly full of homing torpedoes you can wipe out convoys.
Steve
Steve