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Originally Posted by sergbuto
Main task of escorts was a protection of a convoy, not a chase after submarines for hours and thereby leaving the convoy unprotected. An extensive hunt for subs was left for hunter-killer groups and aircrafts. Making the game harder in terms of cat-and-mouse play with chasing convoy-escorts for hours after the initial attack on the convoy does not necessarilty mean that is how it was in reality.
BTW, escorts in SH3 can not run out of fuel.
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I think you will also find many instances where one or more escorts from a convoy did stay behing for hours hunting a u-boat.
The practice of only 'keeping a u-boat down' in my opinion was probably more associated with HufDuff where they could keep a u-boat down from great distances.
In Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon, Hardegen says, "The crew were very surprised when the destroyer (American) moved off. A British destroyer would have worked over the area repeatedly for a regulation thirty six hours"
In the video interview with Jurgen Oesten he relays how in 1939 while submerged, inferring that he was just not found due to any previous action, he was detected and attacked by a lone destroyer.
He goes on to say that the destroyer was very accurate and that the destroyer knew exactly where he was. This destroyer gave his u-boat a massive work over with him eventually ending up on the bottom at 134 metres with his u-boat extensively damaged and unable to move. He also relates that the hull was buckled in from a depth charge that also knocked the port diesel engine off it mounts.
It is inferred to have been over many hours possibly in double figures. On the 3rd night they surfaced to find that a trawler had been left there to watch for the u-boat possibly surfacing!
SHIII more often than not does not have all the escorts leave the convoy so all in all I would say that I feel that the result is quite reasonable.