A Tactic

[banjo]

Normally, when attacking a convoy, I stay at periscope depth the whole time letting the destroyers come to me and sinking them when they get close (500 - 600 yds). I deal with sub chasers and mine sweepers the same way. However, yesterday I had a minesweeper I couldn't touch. With torps set at minimum depth they just kept going under him. A glitch I guess. So, eventually I tried diving, released decoys, silent running, manuvering, changing depth, et al. I even went to 550 ft one time. He would get me every time. I replayed this scenario over and over. Finally I tried a desperation move. When the game resurrected me I emergency surfaced. Was already at battle stations so the gun crew manned the deck gun, but I immediately manned the 40 mm and started blasting the Minesweeper who was 200 feet away. Before he or my worthless gun crew got off a shot I sunk him!

This tactic worked because: a) all the other destroyers were sunk, b) minesweepers a easy to sink, and c) I was out of gun range of the convoy.

Just an FYI for you.

[Sailor Steve]

That works on the easy levels. Players pretending they are real sub skippers find it is not a good tactic at 100%.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

That works on the easy levels. Players pretending they are real sub skippers find it is not a good tactic at 100%.

You can say that again. A down the throat shot on alert DD or other anti-sub vessel results in a wasted torpedo as they do-si-do around your futile shot and drop their love packages all over your sorry self. Say hi to St Peter for me.

I'll say OK to staying at periscope depth, but John Wayne stuff is just foolhardy. You choose your blows carefully, with the attitude 75% defensive, 25% offensive. Quick peeks with the scope, careful attention to boat positioning and readiness to drop it all and head for the deep as a result of honest appraisal of circumstances. Pride is the prime characteristic of dead submariners.

If the opportunity rises to hit one escort, sometimes momentary confusion and dread among the other escorts lets you hit the merchies, which are the real targets here.

Rambo and wiping out all the escorts tactics happen in movies and arcade games, not submarine simulations.

[-Pv-]

I agree with the above. Unless there's nothing else to hit with your one last torpedo, wasting ammo on escorts keeps you from the big ton prizes and increases the risk greatly for little gain.
-Pv-

[Fincuan]

Down the throat shots work very well even with TMaru+RSRDC+NSM 100% difficulty, since the enemy doesn't react to torpedoes in any way. Flank speed, scope up and keep it there. The enemy will home on it and usually zigzag a bit, but the shot is still fairly easy if you wait until about 500 meters before firing. Although you might not sink or even considerably damage the enemy, he will usually break off his attack run. A hit on one of them also seems to discourage the others, and sometimes they just turn away. Note that I only excercise this as a defensive measure when caught on the surface or at periscope depth, and will go deep immediately after the first escort has made his run. I do not mess with ASW ships if I can avoid them, but I also do not reject a target just because it's well defended.

[banjo]

I do not play on easy level.

My post, as stated, was an emergency tactic if you run into the glitch I did. Kinda sorry I brought it up.

[-Pv-]

Sub Chasers are deliberatly designed to have exceptionally shallow draft so they can go head-to-head with subs. It's not a glitch to have torps run under them. Magnetic exploder helps, but they are also small enough to not always trigger it (add to that the mag exploder problems.) I consider the sub chasers one of the more difficult enemy and I work extra hard to avoid them.
-Pv-

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by banjo

I do not play on easy level.

My post, as stated, was an emergency tactic if you run into the glitch I did. Kinda sorry I brought it up.

I use the same tactic once in awhile when I'm bored after a long transit.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by banjo

I do not play on easy level.

My post, as stated, was an emergency tactic if you run into the glitch I did. Kinda sorry I brought it up.

But you said that was what you normally did. You wouldn't believe the Chuck Norrises that visit and brag that their normal attack strategy is to wipe out all the escorts, usually complete with outgunning DDs on the surface, and then sinking the entire 16 ship convoy later at their leisure since it is not defenseless. Never mind that you don't have enough torpedoes for that or enough rounds for your deck gun.

So you were caught by circumstances. Didn't mean to offend.

[Sailor Steve]

I'm with Rockin Robbins. I wasn't criticizing the part about attacking the minesweeper (though going gun-to-gun with anything seems like a bad idea to me. It was this part that I thought was arcade-like:

Originally Posted by banjo

Normally, when attacking a convoy, I stay at periscope depth the whole time letting the destroyers come to me and sinking them when they get close (500 - 600 yds).

That's a sure-fire invitation to a fish-nap in a real sub.

[odjig292]

I'm with RockinRobbins. Get out of Dodge when the small ships show up. I wasted torpedoes and careers trying to sink them. Life becomes very short. Save your torpedoes for another day, if you can. As Edward Beach recommends "Go Silent, Go Deep". Very deep!

[Reaves]

Killing escorts is fun, but you'll get more tonnage saving your fish for another day. I'm happy knocking the largest taget in a convoy and slipping away until I find another group.

My crew also likes that I keep them alive and unharmed.


Plus it's more fun sneaking away while the DD's are thowing cans at me, it's the scenario that makes me love subs.

If your getting spotted at PD depth, keep the scope down. I think it's a bug but in SH4 you get spotted very easily if you keep perving on the enemy.

[Captain Vlad]

Remember that great scene from Run Silent Run Deep when they make the night surface attack on the convoy? There's this one point when they sink a destroyer...it's headed right for them, but a merchant passes in front, forcing it to veer away, giving the sub a brief shot at the DD's broadside.

Happened to me almost exactly the same way a week or so ago. Found myself in the middle of a convoy cursing some dud torpedos...Fubuki comes tearing down at me, and I foolishly have the scope up to try for ONE MORE shot at a merchie before I have to dive or die.

Merchant I'm lining up on passes between me and the Fubuki...Fubuki turns to go 'round...I shoot at 600 yards without locking onto the target...boom.

Felt nice.