Refit, Return in My Quest for Glory?

[misha1967]

And squeezing as much out of the campaign as possible before it ends.

Stock SH5 campaign, game itself thoroughly modded, though, but no OHII or the like.

Having just returned to the franchise and loving every minute of it (Mann o Mann does this baby ever look PRETTY?) I remember the considerations back ages ago when I was playing SH3 at all hours: Do I return to base and get a new patrol or do I refit and carry on?

What's the better way in SH5 to not end up spending most of the game time in port? How long does refueling/rearming take vs. returning to base for shore leave and full refit entirely? When is it a better choice to return to port than to just go on with a resupply (or ten)? Can I pick up a new mission without a full return to base (such as when I hit the 50,000 ton mark for the Coastal Waters. Can I request Western Approaches without returning to base completely?)

I'm asking because I just want to spend as much time as possible hunting targets before I'm involuntarily retired in '43 (after which time, historically, there wouldn't be much "hunting" left to do anyway).

Of course, this is all assuming that I even survive that long. I'm a "no resurrection" kind of simmer, so if I die I have to start over. Needless to say, that made getting to 1944 in SH3 for the first (and only) time feel like a true accomplishment