First patrol in GWX..

[Flying Fish]

Greetings, Kaleuns..

I started my first GWX campaign after playing the stock SHIII for a couple of weeks. During that time I wasn't sunk by any sort of enemy action, but only saw limited action against convoys.

So here we are in GWX, commanding U-34, a type VIIB out of Wilhlemshaven. I get my first assignment to patrol an area near Rockall Banks. Did my requisite 24 there, and moved on down southwest of Ireland. My first GWX kill was an ammunition ship (holy explosions, batman). I lingered in the general vicinity and picked up two mechants running abreast towards Bristol. Thought it was the making of a convoy when the swab on the hydrophones picked them up. Anyways, sunk them both....a medium cargo, and a passenger cargo.

We're almost getting to the point where it's time to think about heading for home, but I still have some gas left to patrol the area. We're running on the surface at night, 6kts, in heavy seas. I *MAY* have been a little too heavy on TC, within 100KN of the coast of Ireland, and low and behold there is a destroyer 45 degrees off my port bow, on me like a humpin' dog. (Had a watch officer up there with a WO and three swabs...nice going! ) Crash dive, and turn 10 degrees into the oncoming destoyer. Down, down down....at 40 meters we switch to silent running and we're on our way to 100 meters (had 150 or so beneath the keel before diving). I mananged to avoid his first DC attack...made a slight course change to see if I couldn't get away from him.....still running silent at 100 meters. I thought I lost him but he lined up for another pass, and this time, he got me. It wasn't pretty, and my beautiful U-34 hit rock bottom and flooded before I could get the damage fixed.

So....to de-brief, I'm wondering what I did wrong. Was it my initial maneuvers after crash diving, or a bad move after I avoided the first DC attack? I know I should have notched back on TC, but being as it was, with him almost on top of me, what could I have done better? What's the best way to handle this situation in GWX?

Awesome mod by the way, GWX team! And to the folks who made SH3 commander, nice job! It's made this sim so much more immersive!!

-FF