Good hunting Grounds?

[Biggles]

well I gave this game a new chance, and now I love it for a reason I don't really know. Might be the latest patch.....

well anyway, I'm more used to the atlantic warfare as a jerry, so I'm not up to date with all the good spots to down some nasty buggers (aka the enemy). For me, it seems that it's just luck that I find some ships to sink.

Any ideas?

[missleman01]

Indonesia is usually target rich. Especially early in the war. I get tasked for Java Sea a lot (my recent career is with S-40 out of Freemantle).

Home Island waters are never bad. Its usually thickest near Osaka or Tokyo. You usually cant miss, although Air cover and escorted convoys are particularly viscious.

Ive not played through 1943 in the south yet, so I dont know what the Solomons have to offer, but I imagine its probably pretty nice during the Guadalcanal campaign.

[DeepSix]

I seem to be addicted to operating out of Brisbane: although I keep getting sent to the Java Sea I never seem to make it past Soerabaja....:hmm:

[missleman01]

I tend to have a similar problem. The ops people in Freemantle like Java Sea, and I always seem to find something near Soerabaja...more specifically in the Lombok Strait area....

So far two nice convoys on my first patrols, and then a huge task force with a Fuso.....

[seafarer]

early 1942 tons of task forces and such off Java, Indonesia, the Philippines...

So, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea and Java Sea are all pretty target rich areas, especially for warships. I started a new career recently (USS Saury, out of Manila in 1941), and so far (in middle of 3rd patrol in 1942) have credit for a Kongo BB, 3 Hiryu Fleet Carriers (2 separate patrols) and numerous medium to large merchants. Except for a task force encounter on our first patrol just days out of Manila (that's where we got the Kongo), they've all been in the Celebus Sea and between Malaysia and Indonesia.

My first career out of Pearl, I was always going to the Japanese Home Islands, and did well off Tokyo Bay and Penisnula area, and off Kawasaki Bay.

[DeepSix]

Originally Posted by missleman01

...So far two nice convoys on my first patrols, and then a huge task force with a Fuso.....

That sounds eerily familiar. You didn't by chance hear any distant depth-charging during that encounter, did you?

Where would the Yamato be in 1941 during the first mission? I want to sink that beast.

[fred8615]

If you're looking for tankers, there seems to a ton of them going down The Slot after the Guadalcanal invasion.

[Biggles]

Currently sailing from Pearl in September -42. This means that the battle for Guadalcanal is underway.....maybe I should pay a visit....:hmm:

btw, anything good around the Marshalls? I was sent there on my last patrol, but I didn't have any luck, mostly friendly ships! Do they send me to friendly waters too?!

[-Pv-]

As you have discovered, as soon as you get the credit for patrolling the Marshalls, zoof on outa there. Nothing.

I also confirm mid-late 42 is very good in the slot and Rabaul is particularly heavy.
Speaking of Rabaul, that location is the most difficult of the photo missions I've done so far. The harbor is very heavily patrolled by aggressive escorts which have psudo-random patrol patturns covering the access routes in over-lapping grids. The channel into there is convoluted, narrow and shallow. The worst part is the convoys that spawn and de-spawn near by. I have to time my ingress and out-bound very carefully to avoid having 4-6 escorts pop right over me.
-Pv-

[missleman01]

Originally Posted by DeepSix

That sounds eerily familiar. You didn't by chance hear any distant depth-charging during that encounter, did you?

I cant say that I remember any specific instance myself, or noted by my sonar man, but it would definetely explain why the Fuso's escorts were nowhere to be seen later in the same evening I damaged it... Perhaps they were busy...

[DeepSix]

Originally Posted by missleman01

...but it would definetely explain why the Fuso's escorts were nowhere to be seen later in the same evening I damaged it... Perhaps they were busy...

Well, just remember, "what goes around...."

[missleman01]

Originally Posted by DeepSix

Well, just remember, "what goes around...."

Oh... I havent forgotten. Ive had my fair share of DD harassment in the past....I fully expect it to get harder and harder in the Strait anyways. By now Im sure between you and I, there are plenty of bruised IJN egos in the Surabaja area...