Silent Running? How about just running?

[maillemaker]

The more I play this game the more convinced I'm becoming that there is little benefit to running silent. Certainly sitting still does no good. I have not once sat quietly on the bottom and survived. So if you're thinking you'll do a "Das Boot" and sit on the bottom, effect repairs, and then sit quietly at 'silent running" and wait for them to go away, forget about it. They will make pass after pass until you are sunk.

It's even becoming less useful to try and use silent running to avoid escorts. Until you can get some distance between yourself and the escorts, AND get your ass pointed towards them to minimize your profile, again - all silent running does for you is make you a nice, slow, easy target.

My tactic? You need 200 meters of water, flank speed until you get to 150 meters, then cut and drift, doing the wiggle waggle. But don't trust too much to silence. Favor flank speed and running to silently getting bombed into the abyss.

[Penelope_Grey]

Erm, what about your batteries? Lets see... U-Boat, top speed submerged; 8 knots. Destroyer; top speed 30+ knots...

Who is gonna run out of power first I wonder? Call me old fashioned I'll stick to silent speed and keeping my back end pointed at the destroyer.

[Brag]

Originally Posted by maillemaker

My tactic? You need 200 meters of water, flank speed until you get to 150 meters, then cut and drift, doing the wiggle waggle. But don't trust too much to silence. Favor flank speed and running to silently getting bombed into the abyss.

Well, if that isn't silent running, I don't know what is.

To get away from datum, you need speed. Then you drift at one knot (movement and stealth combined will get you away.

Also use flank (noisy) if the escorts are dropping DCs on top of your nogging and use the noise of the explosions to mask your own noise, then drift silently.

If you sit on the bottom, you already screwed up--Stay out of shallow water! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Corsair]

Going flank speed down to 150m is the best way to broadcast your position to anything floating a few miles around you...

[Jimbuna]

Flank speed in the opposite direction for no longer than 10 seconds (post depthcharge detonation).....drop a decoy (if you have them) then 15 degrees left or right as silently (preferably 1 knot) and as deeply as you can go

[maillemaker]

Erm, what about your batteries? Lets see... U-Boat, top speed submerged; 8 knots. Destroyer; top speed 30+ knots...

I've never once ran out of batteries in this game, except when depth charges destroy my batteries.

No, I find little value in trying to crawl away at silent speed - they always seem to find me. I find it best to use flank speed to put as much distance away from the convoy as you can. I think the escorts get "homesick" for their convoy the longer they are away from it. The farther away you can get, the more likely they are to cut and run when they lose your scent. But if you try and leave the convoy at silent speed forget it, unless you have very deep water to do it in.

[Penelope_Grey]

Trouble with running flank for prolonged periods is the drain it puts on the batteries and it makes it rather easy for any nearby escorts to join in the hunt.

[maillemaker]

OK, OK, I'm in a better mood now.

Yes, the only way to get away from escorts is to slowly crawl away silently.

I think I've just tried too hard to "be quiet" and trust in silence to save me, and it won't. You've got to flank up to 7 knots, THEN cut and drift to get them to lose their scent. But if they have your scent, going low and slow won't help you - you're just an easy, slow target at that point.

Last night I made it through the Strait of Gibraltar. They were on me at least dozen times, but every time I evaded by running up to flank for a minute, then cutting to 1 knot and a 20 degree shift in course. But once they find you, you've got to go flank to get enough speed up to drift away from them as you will never lose them otherwise.

Up until now I've been trying the strategy of just running silently for long enough until they give up, and in this game, that almost never works.

[Corsair]

150m deep is not enough (except in heavy weather) when you think you're deep enough, just go a little deeper...

[Thniper]

Originally Posted by Corsair

150m deep is not enough (except in heavy weather) when you think you're deep enough, just go a little deeper...

Well, and that was the end of many venturous uboat captains...

I think 200m is enough to escape any destroyers (at least in the early years).

[MENTAT]

Originally Posted by maillemaker

I've never once ran out of batteries in this game, except when depth charges destroy my batteries.

You have not because, stock game comes with a faulty values for batteries. they run much longer in game than in RL.

Download the NASA battery fix, then i will be here, waitin for your valuable comments.