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Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980
Interesting. Obviously, you have done your research. Curious, because I seem to find contradictory information in various sources. Did Allies have active sonar, i.e. ASDIC during WW I? I know they had hydrophones (referred to as sonar sometimes). Did they sink any u boats via depth charge attack ? After sonar detection?
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Clay Blair says that ASDIC only reached prototype stage by 1918. Wikipedia confirms this; furthermore, my best source on WWI British destroyers only speaks of hydrophones (as you said). Thus, there will be no ASDIC in the mod. Several submarines were sunk by depth charges, so they will be there. However, not until 1916, and they won't be common until 1917. Historically, they were potentially deadly, just like WWII depth charges, but WAY WAY underproduced - in fact, some ships started out with only 2 depth charges! By the end of the war, however, some escorts had about 30 or even more, since the production problems had been resolved.
However, I plan to make submarine combat extremely deadly through a variety of means!
1) EXTREMELY deadly surface guns (this is a big one). WOTK will have no "tank submarine" like stock Silent Hunter III. Any weapon larger than about a 3pdr (47mm gun) will demolish your sub with just a few shots. The British 3-inch/12 pounder gun was what many surface escorts and merchantmen were equipped with at a minumum, and many escorts had at least 3 or 4 4-inch gun mounts. Plus pom-poms, machine guns, and crewmen with small arms. The art of successful gameplay will involve EVADING enemy gun attacks. Not ABSORBING them, like unrealistic players do.
2) More torpedo units. SH4 gives ships working torpedoes, and they will be common! WWI Royal Navy doctrine called for DD's to use torpedoes as well as depth charges to attack subs. Also, many big ships like Dreadnoughts & Armored Cruisers will have torpedoes...often mounted on the beam. This gives them a perfect shot if you are careless while coming in for a flank attack.
3) Q-Ships. As just about everyone knows they were heavily used especially after 1915. They were not always affective and did suffer heavy losses, but they did claim their share of subs. As well as inflicting severe damage on several others that barely returned to port.
4) Extensive mining. Mines were the biggest killer of U_Boats, and the Allies laid huge barrages of them in the North Sea and English Channel. In WOTK these fields will become denser and deadlier. Especially by 1917, when the British copied the German contact mine to develop a reliable mine of their own.