My most successful attacks have been very different. I approach the convoy from the side with a Dick O'Kane attack, hull awash. I set up about 3,000 yards away with stern to the convoy and wait to take to shots at the largest target in the center of the convoy. I shoot two, surface and jet out of there at ahead emergency. When the torpedoes hit I'm already away at 21 knots. The escorts then swarm to where I was and begin depth charging the fishies.
But I'm doing an end around to the unguarded side of the convoy where I can attack at leisure, get super close and take out the two of my choice. If radar indicates the one I hit on the first pass is still afloat I'll mark him on my chart for later cleanup. Same deal, shoot, run end around because all the escorts are going to my new attack site.
You have over an hour to attack an unguarded side of the convoy every time. Your goal is to have all the untouched escorts just disperse when they have no merchants to protect.
Of course you do this in the early night time because the procedure is an all night party. In the daytime I don't believe that jetting out of there, even from a 3,000 yard shot would get you enough distance from the escorts to avoid annihilation. But that was with TMO. With other mods the procedure would be easier to pull off. I don't believe an initial reconnaissance would be helpful because my aim is to sink everything except the escorts anyway. What it is is what it is......or was.
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