It's a bit lonely in 1939

[DirtyACE]

Just sailing around on my first patrol in GWX. Completed my objective which is to patrol AM24. Sad to say, so far in my journey I've only encountered a couple neutral ships, and one British warship which was too fast and too far away. Aside from that I have not seen anymore contacts of any kind. I pulled out the map of convoy routes and decided to head south of AM24 to the Halifax-Liverpool route. Been sitting here for a couple days now just drifting and absolutely nothing. It's like everyone has stopped sailing. Is it always like this in 1939? Should I keep heading south towards Brest where there's another convoy route?

[Jimbuna]

Try AM52 or if your in transient mode go to BF13-15

[Stealth Hunter]

So, are you good (be honest...)?

You might want to try raiding a naval base (Scapa Flow or Hartlepool). That's how I've racked up my 857,000 tonnes in 3 years.

[Brag]

Check out Operation Spinnennetz in the stickies. The map will tell you where the hot areas are.

We have a few port raiding madmen but that's not the way U-boats operated, nor a good recipe to survive the war.

[DirtyACE]

Thanks but I just was currious about the hot spots durring 1939. Any tips?

Also, it seems that intercepting is harder in GWX. I received a couple message from HQ of convoys and I tried intercepting them and both times I came up with nothing. I wouldn't even see the convoy. So far on my first patrol I've only sunk two measily little ships. A small freighter and tramp steamer.

Any tips on more effective interception in GWX?

[nikbear]

If my memory serves me right,40 miles off of hartlepool and the gap between orkney and the scottish mainland will usually get you good contacts,its not very deep so be carefulalso the the south east corner before you enter the channel where the ships turn to go to there channel ports is usually quite good,again shallow but as long as you are careful and use silent running when navy ships are around and keep your periscope to a minimum,you should be good to go

[madmike81]

i just caught the Nelson and the Hood in Lock Ewe in Sept of 39.

[Schöneboom]

Guten Abend, DirtyACE,

The Western Approaches are reliable fishing areas because of the bottlenecks; if I had to choose between north & south of Ireland, I'd pick the north passage because of the narrower search area. Also, there is a channel between the Outer Hebrides & the Scottish mainland, known as The Minch. There is always single-ship British traffic through there (sometimes convoys), and you don't have to get close to Loch Ewe to find those ships. You could just lurk at, for ex., the south end and catch them going in or out. In GWX I'd stay away from Britain's east coast because of the mines.

Re how to intercept, I don't pursue every contact that appears on the map; that way lies madness. The ones worth pursuing are generally heading towards my position and within 1 day's travel (2 days, for convoys, maybe). Farther than that, esp. without map updates, it's not worth it -- odds are, the ships will change course.

After calculating the ETA for the intercept, it's a very good idea to submerge for sound checks periodically once you're in hydrophone range, esp. in bad weather &/or at night. A vital point: do not rely entirely on the sonar man -- slow down the boat ("Kleinefahrt") and listen yourself -- you'll often hear the ships long before he does.

Once you can hear the ship, the rest is history!

Gute Jagd!

[3Jane]

double post, sorry :P

[3Jane]

This is september '39 just after the outbreak of the war. This region of the Irish/Celtic sea seems to make the trip worth while. Plenty of small freighters for the deck gun, but also with patience enough large merchants. Also plenty of time submerged at 2kts/silent using your hydrophone makes a big difference I find, if you don't do so already.



[Log Entry 0]
Type=0
EntryText=Patrol 1|U-Straylight, 2nd Flotilla|Left at: September 1, 1939, 13:57|From: Wilhelmshaven|Mission Orders: Patrol grid BE31
Date=19390901
Time=1357
Categ=0

[Log Entry 1]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 26|Large Merchant, 11539 tons
EntryTitle=September 5, 1939, 07:08
Date=19390905
Time=708
Categ=0

[Log Entry 2]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 26|Passenger/Cargo, 2045 tons
EntryTitle=September 6, 1939, 01:17
Date=19390906
Time=117
Categ=0

[Log Entry 3]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 26|Large Merchant, 11535 tons
EntryTitle=September 6, 1939, 20:17
Date=19390906
Time=2017
Categ=0

[Log Entry 4]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 13|Small Merchant, 1818 tons
EntryTitle=September 9, 1939, 05:41
Date=19390909
Time=541
Categ=0

[Log Entry 5]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 13|Whale Factory Ship, 10756 tons
EntryTitle=September 9, 1939, 19:35
Date=19390909
Time=1935
Categ=0

[Log Entry 6]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 13|Small Freighter, 2212 tons
EntryTitle=September 9, 1939, 22:27
Date=19390909
Time=2227
Categ=0

[Log Entry 7]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 14|Medium Cargo, 5134 tons
EntryTitle=September 11, 1939, 03:52
Date=19390911
Time=352
Categ=0

[Log Entry 8]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BE 31|Medium Cargo, 5177 tons
EntryTitle=September 12, 1939, 14:33
Date=19390912
Time=1433
Categ=0

[Log Entry 9]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 12|Modern Medium Tanker, 10159 tons
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 02:32
Date=19390914
Time=232
Categ=0

[Log Entry 10]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 12|Small Merchant, 2420 tons
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 02:39
Date=19390914
Time=239
Categ=0

[Log Entry 11]
Type=0
EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid BF 24|Hurricane Mk IIC
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 16:59
Date=19390914
Time=1659
Categ=0

[Log Entry 12]
Type=0
EntryText=Aircraft destroyed!|Grid BF 24|Hurricane Mk IIC
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 18:02
Date=19390914
Time=1802
Categ=0

[Log Entry 13]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 24|Small Freighter, 1667 tons
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 18:20
Date=19390914
Time=1820
Categ=0

[Log Entry 14]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 24|Small Freighter, 1668 tons
EntryTitle=September 14, 1939, 18:40
Date=19390914
Time=1840
Categ=0

[Log Entry 15]
Type=0
EntryText=Ship sunk!|Grid BF 35|Large Merchant, 11461 tons
EntryTitle=September 16, 1939, 04:10
Date=19390916
Time=410
Categ=0

Further to this I am currently in BF 15 on my second tour facing the largest convoy I have ever seen in GWX, large modern tankers/large merchants/whale tankers/ etc. Nice, but there are hurricane winds and sea state so surface attack is impossible, can't use the deck gun either of course. Submerged attack the only option. However being in a VIIB with limited torpedos and only one yes 1! black swan escort to face, the frustration is incredible. Oh for a IXb.............

If you are feeling really brave, then there is always the Bristol Channel. I found small convoys of 2 to 4 ships there. As stated above I found I found the area off Hartlepool is very good for small and medium merchants, and the port is not that too difficult to sneek into either.

[DirtyACE]

Thank you guys! I tried going to the area just SW of Ireland, I think those are the BF grids. Found a nice convoy, sunk 2 large tankers, 1 modern medium tanker, and 1 tramp steamer. Was lucky to get out alive to be honest. There were 3 escorts who were all over me once I sunk the second large tanker. On the way back to base I sank a few more smaller vessels. Got back to base in Kiel with 77% hull and one crewman dead who I barried at sea. So, for my very first patrol in GWX I have 55,000+ tons, but boy was it not easy.

Thanks again everyone

[papa_smurf]

A good place is in the channel between Scapa flow and Lerwick - i've bagged a many ships during 1939.

As for harbour raiding - thats best left to the suicide bunch on this forum.

[Brag]

Originally Posted by DirtyACE

Thank you guys! I tried going to the area just SW of Ireland, I think those are the BF grids. Found a nice convoy, sunk 2 large tankers, 1 modern medium tanker, and 1 tramp steamer. Was lucky to get out alive to be honest. There were 3 escorts who were all over me once I sunk the second large tanker. On the way back to base I sank a few more smaller vessels. Got back to base in Kiel with 77% hull and one crewman dead who I barried at sea. So, for my very first patrol in GWX I have 55,000+ tons, but boy was it not easy.

Thanks again everyone

Well done!

[nikbear]

Originally Posted by DirtyACE

Thank you guys! I tried going to the area just SW of Ireland, I think those are the BF grids. Found a nice convoy, sunk 2 large tankers, 1 modern medium tanker, and 1 tramp steamer. Was lucky to get out alive to be honest. There were 3 escorts who were all over me once I sunk the second large tanker. On the way back to base I sank a few more smaller vessels. Got back to base in Kiel with 77% hull and one crewman dead who I barried at sea. So, for my very first patrol in GWX I have 55,000+ tons, but boy was it not easy.

Thanks again everyone

For a first patrol that is excellentgood work