It's like you guys are playing a different game! The only time I've caught an escort is when he was stopped and listening for me. Once an escort detects me, and in these @!$#$! RSRD 4 merchie, 5 escort convoys, they almost always do, three of them peel off on a coordinated attack. I set up one for a down the throat shot (not paring down the number of excorts means no shot at the merchies and dive. One pins me down, the other two zip back to the convoy.
In my present attack I missed the down the throat. Two zipped back to the convoy and after a few runs, the DD assigned to be my personal guide to hell stopped to listen. I went to periscope depth, found him optically and sent a friendly Mark 18 in his direction 1400 yards away. After a lifetime and a half of that stealthy but slow torpedo creeping his way, he woke the DD up with a mighty explosion! The DD merely started engines and resumed the hunt, calling in his other two buddies again. This still left one and possibly two escorts guarding the convoy, which had altered course to avoid me.
So I'm back to square 1, me and three dancing partners until two peel off back the convoy and I again plot the demise of my remaining foe. Then I will repeat the approach to the convoy itself from a different angle than perviously. This will go on all night game time (I know the pattern well now) until I get some clean shots at the merchies.
TM 1.7.1, RSRD, Natural Sinking Mechanics. Great game play. No pushover escorts, just in your face competence. Go figure.
