Did Uboats really shoot down airplanes ?

[Achtung Englander]

In Das Boot just the mere sight of a airplane (especially a Sub Spitfre) would have them screaming "aaaaaaaaaaalllllllaaarrrmmmmmmm" yet in the game you just hit a button and your flak gunner usually gives them what for and you notch up your kills with lots of planes

is that really realistic ?

[Captain Nemo]

In the book 'Iron Coffins' by Herbert Werner he tells of instances where his u-boat shot down enemy planes when sailing out of the Bay of Biscay. This was during the latter stages of the war when Allied aircraft more or less pinned down the u-boat forces coming out of France. Generally speaking, u-boat commanders would rather submerge than take on aircraft as the risk of being sunk was too great.

Nemo

[HunterICX]

Historicaly , there where some planes shot down by submarine but most of the times they dived when there was a sight of them.

If i,m Right I red about an Herrkaleun shooting an plane down with the Deck Gun


but its a game, If I spotted an plane I mostly try to dive but when its to close I man the flak gun and try to down them and if he's still alive after his first bombing run after that I crash dive to. because after he dropped the first 2 bombs you got time to crash dive to hide urself

[Achtung Englander]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

but its a game,

what are you talking about

this is war - war is not a game

[CWorth]

Originally Posted by HunterICX

Historicaly , there where some planes shot down by submarine but most of the times they dived when there was a sight of them.

If i,m Right I red about an Herrkaleun shooting an plane down with the Deck Gun


but its a game, If I spotted an plane I mostly try to dive but when its to close I man the flak gun and try to down them and if he's still alive after his first bombing run after that I crash dive to. because after he dropped the first 2 bombs you got time to crash dive to hide urself

Exactly the same way I handle the planes.Crash dive most of the time and only fight then dive after they pass only if i have no other choice.

Its always best to save your boat and go after worthwhile targets then duke it out with planes and risk heavy damage to your boat or worse yet being sunk.

[kylania]

From http://uboat.net/history/aircraft_losses.htm

125 aircraft shot down by 97 individual U-boats for the loss of 31 U-boats either sunk during the attack or due to being located by other forces shortly afterwards and sunk. One source says that RAF Coastal Command (U-boat hunters) lost 700 aircraft (badly damaged, shot down and paid off - not all to U-boats of course) and sank 220 U-boats during the war. I've been unable to verify the RAF losses but the U-boat figure is about right it seems. These figures show the immense effort put out by the British to hunt down the U-boats and almost all the aircraft successes took place in 1942 and later.

[Biggles]

I mostly stay and fight but that depends on where I am. Just outside Cuba I spotted a HUGE formation of B-24 Liberators, so I dived.....I'm not stupid you know......

If it would be outside France, then I'd load my guns and let smoke some yanks

[Respenus]

I haven't been in a real plane right since my install of the GW mod, but I saw in the training mission, it's hard like hell. In the stock version, I always duked it out, but now, I'm gonna reconsider my "just watch and shoot" attitude towards planes :hmm:

[Phantom II]

Oh, when you have either GW or NYGM installed, you'll want to think twice about engaging those planes.

-Phantom