[Keelbuster]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

I was wondering if joining the 1M club (im sure it already exists) is possible in an VII, but i went back and reread.

Sounds possible, although i have to wonder if your using manual targeting and spending much time in port between patrols.

Anyway the more i think about this, the more fun it sounds as a challenge.

- time will be important. Just as time is money, time is tonnage. From the word go your racing the clock.

- that means that you have to be effiient in your search for shipping. Patrol grids are not effiecent, so i think patrol grid assigments are to be ignored.

- Torpedo expenditure youd have to micromanage. For example is sinking two 3000 tons tramp steamers with a single torpedo each going to yeild more tonnage then a mediem cargo which might require a 3rd torpedo?

- Going to have to be very very aggressive. You'll want to use your deck gun alot to conserve torpedos when you'd normally shoot another fish, or go in (shallow) areas in pursuit of ships that you'd normally avoid.

- If you go drumbeating, your going to have to milk that cow for all its worth. That transtlantic trip is basically a month.. thats lost tonnage you have to make up for.

- Early war night surface attacks on convoys wil be crucial to obtaining alot of tonnage while you can still do these attacks. Espeicaly in the case of an IXB, you can make 3 or 4 attacks in a night against the same convoy easily.

Your above calculations are correct. As I said before, I man target, duds, no WO, etc. And yea I spend a month in port between patrols, and they take about 1 month themselves. On the other hand, in early war, out of the atlantic bases, you can intercept a convoy in BE and get your fill in 1 week - over and over again. I'm at the beginning of 43, and with another 280 I'll be somewhere near your 1120k by 44. You are also right about the selection of ships. Tramp steamers are worthless (2k) and they often take more than one torpedo. I will settle for a small merchant (3.5k) but usually don't. If I'm goiing to take anything 'small' it will be a small tanker (5k). I don't go after C2 (4.5k). and prefer liberty to C3 (7.5 vs. 6.5k). I don't bother with medium tankers because they are difficult to sink and are only 5.5k. I hit T3s most (8k), passenger liners (10k), Fiji and Southhampton class cruisers (10k), and TROOP TRANSPORTS (12k last time). Even with these modded values (NYGM TW) making 1m is no problem. You will be disappointed by how easy it is. If i had more luck with TFs I would have hit 1mil already.

I conserve torpedoes, I use all of them in every attack, 2 per big target, and I try to cripple ships in order to DG them down. The Gnat is great for that because it often takes out a ship's propeller leaving it for deck gun bait.

For me the biggest challenge is still surviving the war. It seems like you made it with your last boat...congrats! I've never made it through DiD, 100% realism with NYGM TW. That's my goal. I chose VIIB because I thought it stood the best chance of achieving this goal.

Edit: maybe try for 1.5 mil?

Kb