How to engage / report this convoy?

[Kubryk]

Hi guys,

it took me almost 9 months at sea, with brief breaks, and on my 5th patrol since 1 Sept. 1939 I spotted my first convoy. Sea-gods listened to my prayers and for the first time in my game experience I can enjoy clear waters with no wind. I did a couple of check-ups without attacking, now I know that convoy looks like this:

Corvette Flower (end of convoy)

C2/3----C2/3----C2/3----C3----
SM-----C2/3-----T3-----SM----C2/3
SM-----C2/3-----ST----C2/3---SM
SM-----C2/3-----T2-----SM----SM

Destroyer (head of the convoy)

I'm greedy - I'd link to sink 'em all. Unfortunately most of the C2/C3s have USA flag, but big tankers are British.

In my VIIB I have:
1 steam on stern, no reserve
1 steam, 3 electric on bow, 3 electric in reserve (onboard)

Total: 8 torpedoes, ca. 160 shells for my deck gun.

Now - how to make the most of it? In order to use deck gun I must sink DD (I can do this) but how to hit that corvette? Is it wise to engage her with deck gun from distant place? I don't think I'll be able to sink her wasting only one torpedo.

I'd like to sink T2, T3 and couple of big merchants with torpedoes and finish as much small merchants as possible with deck gun.

What tactic would you reccomend? We're quite close to coast of Ireland.

Also - I should report a convoy. How can I do this?
Let's say I'm chasing them, I spot a corvette. I ID this ship in my notepad, than click 'send contact report'. Does BdU in SH3 know that I'm reporting a convoy or do I have to report every single ship manually?

Thanks for help, I'd really like to destroy my first convoy totally

[papa_smurf]

This is not what you can call "tactical", but here goes.... Sink the biggest ships, and ignore the rest.
But in all seriousness, I would tail the convoy at a distance and send reports to BDu, and wait for night to attack as its only 1939, you shouldn't worry about the escorts as they won't have ASDIC. Just pick you targets carefully and don't bother with the deck gun - that's asking for trouble, save that for lone merchants.
I would go for the tankers, as they are the most valuable, and use 2 torpeodoes on each to make sure each is sunk. Once you've launched a salvo, dive imediatley and go silent, this should shake off any of the escorts easily, and re-load. Then get yourself in postion for another attack, and repeat unitl you've had enough or out of torpedoes - Enjoy


As for reporting to BDu, when you send a contact report, you report the whole convoy and its approximate speed and course.

[danlisa]

Stock SH3 Answer - 160 DG shells should sink them all. Seriously.

Supermod Answer - How good are you with a DG? From about 3500m out, remove the Flowers Deck Guns and hope that secondary explosions will sink it. Try not to waste a torp on it, if you must use a torp, use a magnetic setting @ +1 or 2m below her keel line, then line up a stern/foward shot that will run from her Bow to Stern. It will detonate about midships and break her back.

If my memory serves, a T3 is the biggest tanker? Even if that's wrong this method works for all ships. Nail one torp into it's bow about 2-3 meters below the water line. Forward momentum and flooding will drive it under.

Happy hunting.

[sharkbit]

Ahhhhh.....convoys with only one or two escorts ....those were the good ol' days!

The ability to slip in close to the convoy without worrying about the flanker escorts, no radar, and the escort's crew half asleep at the wheel.

Night surface attack is your best bet. Get in there and hit them with everything you got. Stay on the surface, get out after shooting your eels, reload, and hit them again. Rinse and repeat until all your eels are gone.
Then head home with the victory pennants flying for some beer and whorin'.

There is nothing more satisfying in this game than a successful night surface attack where the escorts have no idea where you're at as you slip away on the surface and get in position to do it again.

Remember too, that Flower Class corvettes are slow and you may be able to outrun him on the surface if he gets too nosy and spots you or gets close. And if he makes a mistake and gets too close, send a gift out of your stern tube his way. If you get him, the convoy is yours for the taking. the destroyer could be a nuisance though if he gets wind of you.(missed that my in your post the first time around.)

Just wait a few more years when you run into a convoy with radar equipped escorts surrounding the convoy, making night surfaced attacks very difficult, if not impossible and submerged attacks pretty hairy as well. You'll be wishing for the Happy Times again.

Good luck and let us know how it went.

[hatemf90]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Ahhhhh.....convoys with only one or two escorts ....those were the good ol' days!

I cant find those good old days My first spotted convoy had about 2 (mabe 3) destroyers and a corvette...

btw when i hit a ship and it takes time to sink but meanwhile im far from it (or diving) do I still get credit?

[verticalization]

My first convoy was like this, a single destroyer up front.. and a corvette in the back.

After my initial attack, i wasnt so greedy.. tho i did have the balls to stay around periscope depth, and out of silent mode, to let my torpedos reload..

if you get extremely lucky like me, (because believe me, it was not my skill at that time) you might find yourself in a situation where the corvette is behind you doing circles, and a destroyer making his way to the same position.. if you can hit them both just right, a shot from stern should take out the corvette, and another from the front should get the DD when he turns to your new found position.

i'm going to goahead and give a disclaimer with that advice tho, its basically like running into a lions cage, stealing all their food.. and than deciding to poke the biggest one with a stick.

[sharkbit]

I cant find those good old days My first spotted convoy had about 2 (mabe 3) destroyers and a corvette...

I bet they didn't have radar though. Even 2 or 3 escorts early war are fairly easy to sneak by with patience, some intelligence gathering, good position, running decks awash, slow speed, and a little luck. Radar makes it sooooo much more difficult to sneak in at night on the surface later in the war.

btw when i hit a ship and it takes time to sink but meanwhile im far from it (or diving) do I still get credit?

I believe that if you are still in hydrophone(submerged) or visual range(surfaced), you will get credit although I've been robbed a few times.

[Kubryk]

Thanks for answers, I'll add that date is mid May 1940, convoy speed is 7 knots and I'm playing stock SH3 v.1.4b, no mods whatsoever.

Realistically I should attack both big tankers, escape and make another attack. But after 9 months of patrolling without convoys I AM greedy, extremely greedy and impatient, I would like to do everything in one extreme attack

The only thing that is worrying me is that corvette, so small, I don't know how to sink her. Since it's 1940 and stock merchants are unarmed

[sharkbit]

You definitely do not want to get greedy and definitely do not get impatient. Patience is the key. Trust me, I learned that the hard way and more than once.


Don't go hunting the escorts, but if a golden opportunity to make a hole in the escort screen appears, take it.
Remember that the escorts will not have radar as it was so rare early on. The destroyer might but I really doubt it. Use that to your advantage to maul the convoy.

Also, don't get discouraged if you have to abort an attack or you miss, or you get sighted and are forced under. Just end around agin to get in position and attack again. As Bdu says....Be more agressive!

You should definitely look into downloading one of the super-mods available(GWX, NYGM, etc.). It sounds like you've gotten your feet wet and may want to move on. I got pretty bored with stock pretty quick and downloaded GWX. That will make the game a weeeee bit more challenging.

[Kubryk]

I'll go for GWX but first I have to finish my career. That's at least two months of playing - I'm on my fifth patrol and it's one motnh RT already... I'm a bit slow I guess

One last question - say I attack and then escape, after how many km merchants would order themselves in nice lanes again? I estimate that after my attack they will run in every direction.

[sharkbit]

I've never seen a convoy scatter in the game. It would be cool if they did that on rare occasions. They pretty much stay in their positions but they start to zig zag after an attack or you are sighted for a couple of hours before they settle down again. The zigs can be pretty rapid, maybe even unrealistically, and you have to be pretty careful shooting while they are zigging.

The only time I've seen the formation get pretty confused is when the convoy hits a waypoint and changes course. I was moving in ahead of a convoy for an attack once when that happened and I had to get out and wait till things settled down before moving in again.

I don't know for sure, but you may be able to keep your current career when you DL GWX.
Also get SH3Commander. It is a game aid that increases immersion and adds some nice settings for gameplay and career options.

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by Kubryk

Realistically I should attack both big tankers, escape and make another attack. But after 9 months of patrolling without convoys I AM greedy, extremely greedy and impatient, I would like to do everything in one extreme attack

Definately don't try to get all of them in one big attempt. This being your first convoy you're going to be stressed to the max. I know, I had the same thing. I completely FUBAR-ed it trying to hit 4 ships around me from inside a convoy, and all of them having the same impact time. Naturally not a single torpedo hit home. K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stuppid)

The tankers are all in the center column. Collumns are not as easy to hit all-in-one as you can with rows (90 degree aproach/zero gyroangle, waiting to fire when each target passes the periscope-line: distant target impacts same time as nearest). Depending on the time or distance they have to go to port-entry. You either try 3 seperate times from outside of the convoy, waiting until the right row is in front of you (and the specific target passes the line). Or you go stealthy inside the columns and wreak havoc from ahead moving to the rear. The 3 seperate attacks would be my favourite after hindsight.