First Wolfpack

[Tupolev]

Just had a wonderful experience h.sie's & Stiebler's wolfpack mod!

On my 8th patrol (5 on IIA U-63 and 3rd on VIIC U-554) and finally BdU finally requests hourly reports on a convoy!

First visual contact was smoke on the horizon (ahh the nostalgia!) my north, around CG-57. Spotted an escort on the starboard side of a north bound convoy and trail him to the convoy proper. Through the light haze (moderate vis, wind 0 m/s), I finally spot the outer-most merchant and begin my plotting for course and speed. As it is late morning in June (1941) I settle down for the long hours of shadowing.

About 5 hours before sunset, the wind picks up and blows the haze clear. I'm now in perfect visual range of the escorts. Turning to give the smallest silhouette, I'm never-the-less spotted by the lead and starboard side escorts at about 9000 meters. After a short chase at flank speed (Alles was drin ist, LI!) I crash drive when rounds splash off my port side about 50 meters away.

Neither escort spends much time attempting to locate me underwater, and I surface an hour later. Now hard pressed to get position reports to BdU before sundown, I attempt to regain contact on the convoy as quick as possible.

Just as dusk approaches, I find the convoy about 20 km west of where I expect them to be. They had changed course!

I'm able to send off 3 more reports to BdU while overhauling the convoy, receiving only "Full freedom of maneuver granted" in response. Drats!

Just before midnight, I begin my run in on the convoy. With high seas (13 m/s) and clear skies I'm easily able to avoid the escorts. I fire a fan at a Large merchant and single shots at 3 smaller freighters. On my exit run, I see 2 detonations on the large merchant, all the rest miss apparently. Then I start to see more detonations. A small tanker goes down in fiery fashion. A coastal freighter down by the bow. Ships I hadn't even shot at! Apparently I got the pack close enough!

Now that the escorts have their hands full, I run ahead of the convoy at full speed, then dive to reload my torpedoes. While the crew reloads, I give the hydrophone a listen. What carnage! Detonations, explosions, depth charges. Its unbelievable to hear.

Tubes reloaded, I surface an hour later and turn back to the convoy. I notice several more ships missing from the formation and the corvette guarding the starboard flank is gone. Thank you wolf pack!!

With this side wide open, I make another run in. I fire 5 more torpedoes, sinking a large tanker and an ore carrier.

All in all, I get 3 ships for 28,000+ tons. By my count, the pack sunk a corvette and probably 6 or 7 ships.

The sights and sounds of the battle were just awesome to behold. Its definitely a tribute to the guys who've worked so hard to give us these experiences.

[Sailor Steve]

That really is great. I keep hoping to finally get a computer that will run all those mods. Until then I'll enjoy it vicariously through reports like yours.

[Kelly621]

Thanks for the report, I just started using the Wolfpack mod with my new career. I am really looking forward to having an experience like yours. h.sie's and Stiebler's patches are indeed amazing.

Kelly621

[raymond6751]

Aren't modders wonderful?

[Cybermat47]

Wow! That sounds awesome! The first time I got a wolfpack in SH5, the silly boats just came right up to me then went away, ignoring the undefended convoy only 10 kilometres away

[Mittelwaechter]

June 1941 - BE65 - U-30/VIIB - KLt. Johannes Blessin - only two torpedos left
Convoy sighted - outbound course SW - sent contact report to BdU and received order to shadow convoy
Easy job - 4 meters wind and visibility to the horizon - no escorts at the convoys starboard side
Convoy doesn't change course or speed untill nightfall - sent regularly updates to BdU
4 o'clock in the morning - weather and visibilty still fine - received OK from BdU - wolfpack in position to attack
While proceeding to best position for an attack nothing happens - diving to periscope depth - ready tubes for launch
Suddenly explosions - immediately our little type F12 drone gets airborne - small freighter has been hit - secondary explosions visible
Next impact - large freighter in second column hit into the starboard bow section
Gunfire of the leading destroyer - a Hunt type - in our general direction - can't see what he's firing at - can't be us, our periscope is down
The following destroyer - A&B type I guess - speeding to the convoys starboard side - guns ablaze
Another explosion is audible - turning the drone to the right - the Hunt destroyer has been split into two parts
WOW - these wolf pack boats are amazing!
Turning back to the other destroyer - still in full speed - he's burning in the middle section - obviously been hit by gunfire
He's turning around and heads back to his standard position behind the convoy - damaged but still shooting like mad at a position somewhere port to our U-Boot
Hovering to this position the drone dips into the dark water and finds a commrade U-Boot at periscope depth - sitting there stopped
His periscope seems to be down, but the destroyer still shoots at his position - funny - he opens and closes his stern tube repetitively
Can't find an other pack member
Doing our own job, one of our torpedos hits a coastal frighter - it sinks - the other one is a dud - arrrgh

A thousand thanks for this outstanding mod guys - for your time and effort to let us have a total new and exiting experience with this old SH lady.
The older she gets the more beautiful she grows due to your magic touch.

Kudos!

[Jimbuna]

Sounds like two stunning experiences...the mod has a welcome habit of providing that

[Cybermat47]

It's good to hear that you SHIII players can enjoy wolfpacks as well

[sharkbit]

Sorry...I don't frequent the SH5 forum often except to drool over the stunning screen shots, but does SH5 incorporate wolfpacks?

My current computer can't even think about running SH5 so it will be awhile before I can play it. One day though.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

It's good to hear that you SHIII players can enjoy wolfpacks as well

Good grief old timer, some of us have been playing both since the sands of time introduced us.

Where were you?

[GoldenRivet]

Do you mean to tell me that AI Uboats joiend the hunt, fired torpedoes and evaded the enemy?

[MantiBrutalis]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

Do you mean to tell me that AI Uboats joiend the hunt, fired torpedoes and evaded the enemy?

That's also my reason I never really tried hard to lead a wolfpack in. I just didn't want to see them fail miserably... I was always convinced they would, so I never got to see a wolfpack in action...

[Mittelwaechter]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

Do you mean to tell me that AI Uboats joiend the hunt, fired torpedoes and evaded the enemy?

Sorry - I can't tell exactly what happened and how it worked.

It all starts with a contact report to BdU. He may order to shadow the convoy and send hourly reports of course and speed (to be altered at the TDC screen for actual/correct reports). After an endless few reports he may give you clearance for an attack, as the wolfpack has been sucessfully guided into striking range.

I can confirm the presence of a second U-Boot at periscope depth rather close to my port side. I even took a screenshot of its stern tube door flapping.
There may have been at least one other U-Boot on the scene, as the Hunt destroyer was shooting at some "invisible" target too.
The pack sunk two freighters and the Hunt destroyer. I didn't! For sure!
They obviously used some kind of torpedos as I observed the impact on the large freighter, and it looked as if one of my own torpedos had hit it.
Don't know if they would have evaded depth charge attacks, they sunk and crippled the only two guard dogs.
It was my first wolfpack operation with this mod and it gave me the perfect illusion of an orchestrated wolfpack attack.

I tried a second one the other day, but was not able to stay in contact with the convoy. The weather turned bad - heavy fog and 15 meters wind speed.
My WO couldn't call out three contacts to enable a contact report any longer.
Tried to close in, but was discovered by an armed freighter.
Hydrophone, Sonar and Attack Scope destroyed within a few seconds.
Managed to survive but didn't try to reestablish contact.

As I sad - I don't know how this all works, but it seems to be pure magic.

I created a wolfpack mission myself - while waiting for patch 1.2 or 1.3 in 2005.
The illusion only worked directly after the game loading sequence.
I used two german subs at periscope depth, but unfortunately they couldn't keep their speed. I had to ensure the escorts would pick them up instantly. They attacked the U-boats while a few freighters run on exactly placed mines. It gave the player the illusion of someone else sunk them with torpedos. A little radio chatter completed the trick.

[MantiBrutalis]

Somewhere I read that A) AI ships cannot change depth, making the subs be always on surface or always on periscope depth. I am also quite convinced that AI subs underwater use "the ship physics", just the model is placed few meters under the place where the sub "really" is. Detecting mechanism works for the sub's "real" position on surface, so the files are changed to make the sub "look small" for the escorts, making them hard to see, but not impossible to see.

But I could be horribly wrong, although I am pretty convinced that it works somehow like that. It is quite hard to describe.

Also B) it is impossible for AI ships to fire torpedoes or even estimate firing solutions. Actual attacking is done (in my solid belief) with spawning explosions (or barrels/rounds/whatever) on the target ship's hull. Never ever are there torpedoes which aren't yours.


All of these are speculations, even if I believe in my poor interpretation of what can be done in the game. Until recently I thought the surfaced wolfpack would just shell the convoy from a distance.

[sharkbit]

I can not say for certain myself but from what I've read about h.sie's wolfpacks in his hardcode realism fixes mod, and from what I've seen from the test mission included in the mod, the AI subs(five I believe) are on the surface and attack using their deck guns. The escorts and convoy will react to that-firing starshells, returning fire, zig-zagging, etc.

Key thing to remember is that it is a "design for effect", not a "realism effect". The AI wolfpack subs will disrupt he convoy, opening holes up in the escort screen for you, the human player, to exploit and to damage other ships in the convoy so that you may have an opportunity to finish off.

I would think that timing is everything. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you may not be able to exploit it, just as in real life.

Like I said, I may be blowing sunshine out my butt and completely wrong though. I have the mod enabled and have not had the pleasure of seeing the wolfpack in action in a career. I've always been released to attack independently after an hour or two of shadowing the convoy. That alone makes the game more interesting. Now, instead of attacking the convoy whenever you feel like it, you have to at least gather information on the convoy, radio in a contact report hourly, and await an answer from BdU. I've expereinced that portion a few times in a career.

I'm jealous that you were able to see it in action in a career.

Even without wolfpacks enabled in the hardcode fixes by h.sie and Stiebler, the work they have done is incredible. It has breathed so much fresh air into SH3 that it makes it a joy to keep coming back to it time and time again.

They and all modders deserve a huge thank you for all the work that they do.