[Wulfmann]

It is certainly too early to judge by one patrol on my first camapign with this RND.mis file.

But I would rate this one of the five best patrols I have ever done.

What I did was edit every escort both in convoys and hunter groups to 2 crew rating from veteran 3 in the RND. I then added 3-5 more escorts for each convoy meaning a 1944 (The year I started) has 9-12 escorts.
I left all the SCR and single patrol ships 3 as well as the lead DD in each hunter group (plus one more in every other hunter group).

I sank a C3 loner on the way out before intercepting a convoy.
Because ithe convoy kept turning I was not able to make contact until nearly midnight. There were so many escorts in the screen all I could do was fire a long range fan. So long the 2 FATIIs did not reach it and turned away before the merchants.
But, I scored one hit and disabled a tanker.
I took out one escort with a T5 and tried to zig zag my way to get at the tanker.
I fired 2 T3s at a DE to sink it and sank another DD with the reloaded T5 before I put my last fish into the tanker, thankfully. With 3 escorts sunk that still meant plenty for revenge and I felt like a magnet with hordes of DDs acting like junk metal.
I dove to 260meters.
Since these were 2 rated I hoped they would be a bit easier on me but not too much. They were hardly any less potent than a 3 rated but they were just enough. After 3 real hours 3 had returned to the convoy and that left one that hounded me. Then a lone DD joined so this was likely a 3 rated and those two worked me over for over 2 more real hours..
My batteries were low and I went to one knot for the last half hour but it might be they simply ran out of cans to drop but after 5 1/2 hours of depth charging I limped away badly damaged but I made it home with 18,400 tons (I lowered the T2 to 7K tons)

The idea is that this was a realistic patrol for Feb 1944 in that I was hammered did some but little real damage to the allied war effort and survived but barely. I would like to think this is typical but it might just be a fluke.
I am pretty good with 2 attackers as my sonar man can track one and I the other so will stay that one step ahead. But, I do not believe I made one serious mistake and believe I could have easily been sunk,
Will this take the edge of the vet escorts while the larger numbers off set that to make convoy attacks in late war more real?
I can't say but I will say this was at least as much as I could have hoped for and if it pans out will be the best reality I have tasted.
But, it is way too soon.
5 1/2 hours is the longest I have ever survived a depth charging.
All in all the DDs seemed deadly but not so much that I felt helpless (I actually thought they would get me, though)

Wulfmann