[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Dizoak

depending on what year it is, that convoy mightve taken an air attack (could explain the burning merchies upon your arrival)

as for what a historical captain would have done, it again, depends on the date.
if its early in the war, he probably would have risked surfacing for the attack, knowing that the escorts would have had a bad chance spotting you in the weather.
if its after 1940-41 they would have stayed done and tried shadowing it for a while, hoping the weather would clear a little for a better chance at getting good shots in.
if its after '42 they might have just taken what shots they could take at the time, and then tried slipping away lickity-split like.
i might be wrong about this, but if it were me, what with the drastic technological advances happening at the time, i would have tried being as bold as possible without getting myself killed. (which sometimes means just letting them go)

I'm reading "Iron Coffins" at the moment and from what I've read so far I'd say that Dizoak is spot on here.I was amazed at how many surface attacks they made in the early part of the war. Sometimes if the weather was really bad they'd even outrun the escorts on the surface as well.