Totally agree. Cruising at best fuel economy is so you can crash dive, and can do an ahead emergency pursuit for several hours without worrying about fuel consumption. You're in effect putting fuel in the bank during maximum efficiency cruising to be spent liberally on the short hunts that the cruise develops.
And what you say about early in the war is correct for the game but incorrect about reality. Standard orders on the best boats were to spot the plane and consult the captain, who would give orders to dive if necessary. They would have plenty of time to watch the plane and assess whether it was necessary to dive, in spite of the fact that they didn't have radar. Fluckey spends a lot of time discussing that in "Thunder Below."
In the game your best response is to dive to periscope depth if you don't have radar. The LAST thing you want to do is man the AA gun. It's more effective to point your finger at the plane and yell "Bang! Bang!" But you better do that as you're headed down the ladder and the sub is crash diving....
|