-- is there any point in playing past June '43? --

[Keelbuster]

Ok I've had it. I can't survive in 43. It's ridiculous - day and night, bombers descend on my boat and score hits. I can't even get out of Biscay. I'm so frustrated! Just lost a 13 patrol team to bombers. I put it to the wise folks here:

HOW DO YOU SURVIVE '43 and onward?

Pissed,

KB

[CCIP]

I find it more fun after that, frankly. The challenge of survival, to me, is what the game is all about after that.

You just have to be cautious. Learn to deal with planes, especially (which is no problem at all in vanilla game, but RUb... ohoho )

[Keelbuster]

Agreed about the challenge - but so far it seems like there's no chance whatsoever. I've tried diving, deeking left and right, shooting at the bombers to scare them, running during day, running during night. Nothing works. They always score hits.

How do you deal with bombers?

KB

[CCIP]

I have two ways, really. They seem to work equally well, which for me is about 9.5 times out of 10 or so.

One is to set auto-response to always dive to periscope depth, and as soon as it starts - follow with a crash dive order. This saves a few seconds of diving time, I find.
If it's not working too well, you might want to look for the "Decks Awash" mod (I think it's more of a tweak, actually), but I don't use that myself.

The other way, which I prefer, is manuevering on the surface and letting the bombers have one pass at you, then diving. When manuevering, you always try to keep the bombers directly to your beam (left or right) and turn back and forth as hard as you can; I try to start a hard turn towards them when they're just starting their attack run.
Most of the time, they miss and I crash dive as soon as they pass overhead, and get deep before they get a second pass. :hmm:

[Keelbuster]

Hmmm. Tried these strategies....and seeing that i'll get hit like 5 times per run, that means that I'll survive 2 runs on average?

KB

[Keelbuster]

I should elaborate - i was running with an IXD2 - no snorkel. So , I had to run above, and i got hit by planes many times per run - more than 5.

Does the IX series get a snorkel? That makes things easier. What kind of boat do you run? The IX is ideal for your strategy, because it has max air defence for that first pass. Still, those large bombers are deadly....

KB

[silent_otto]

For me, the best strategy is getting transferred to the 11th at Bergen in 1943... wait for the XXI and much less planes there...

And of course get your schnorkel as soon as it's available!

[Ducimus]

You may look into a couple mods.

theres 1, that fixes the snorkel visibility issue. Apparently umodded, using a snorkel is the same as being on the surface (or was that at snorke depth as opposed to periscope depth?)

Then theres the depthcharge_real damage mod. Stock game has a blast radius of 40 meters whereas i guess histroically it was closer to 15.

Then theres another that deliberatly slows the planes velocity down a weeee bit to give you time to react.

Of course the combination of all 3 probably make things too easy.

[Happy Times]

http://uboat.net/maps/piening-route.htm One way to go.

[kiwi_2005]

I find to go at flank speed in a 360degree circle, and man the aa gun crew im yet to be hit this way i get minor damage from close calls but never direct hits

[Inajira]

I have the same problem with allied planes in early 1943. I tried that Piening route incidentally but I got pounded all the way to the western tip of Spain. I also find they are ubelievably accurate on a clear night. I get 'aircraft spotted' and crash dive immediately only to find that their first bomb drop is 'dead' on target. I resorted to periscope depth during the day (Type IXC, no snorkel) and running diesels at night. Still no telling when I get jumped by that elite night bomber squadron!

[ReM]

SHIII is so good!
WWII KaLeuns must've felt exactly the same way! How to even reach the operational area without being sunk by aeroplanes?

I bet it is modelled!

[Inajira]

I don't mind the realism of aircraft being regularly encountered, but I do have a problem with such pinpoint accuracy under conditions of rather poor visibility. Am going to take a crack at that 'decks awash' adjustment though. Does it decrease your visibility or does it just make dive times quicker?

[Heffalump]

The best late war survival device is the snorkel.

Before that, surviving is tough. Get the best radar detector available and try to get yourself sent to the south Atlantic. Do anything you can to survive until the snorkel comes on the scene. The only thing I can recommend in the pre-snorkel days is to do a 45 degree turn when diving just as your stern goes under water. It helps. However don't dive if the aircraft is spotted close by. Go flank speed, man the flak, and take evasive action. Dive after the first bombing run.

After the snorkel aircraft are almost a non-factor. You are a true submarine. During the day I will run submerged at 40 meters on electric engines. At night I'll 'breathe' and run at 12 meters with both the snorkel and periscope up. (I don't run with the snorkel during daylight). Once in a while my man at the scope will spot an aircraft but there's always time to lower the scope and snorkel before the aircraft sees you. They won't see you easily at night. (I run RUB which I think has Jungmans snorkel fix in it. Without that there's a bug that allows planes to see you from long distances at night.)

Of course at that point you can ditch your watchmen. Make sure you have 2 men with sonar qualifications and the best device available. Stop and listen often. All of your prey will be found from listening...

The great thing about the late war are all the intersting gadgets and torpedos. Indeed with the acoustic fish you can become something of an escort hunter.

In 44 I'll often approach a convoy with 4 normal or FAT torpedos up front, and an escort killer in the stern. I'll close to 1000 meters, fire the 4 front tubes at the convoy and wait for a minute. Then I'll empty the stern tube at the nearest escort and go deep. The first 4 fish should hit just as the stern fish is getting close to the escort. At that time the escort will often speed up and the homing torpedo should then get a good lock on him. It usually takes him out. I then exit through the hole in the escort screen.

Who said the late war wasn't fun?

[Nedlam]

Originally Posted by Heffalump

In 44 I'll often approach a convoy with 4 normal or FAT torpedos up front, and an escort killer in the stern. I'll close to 1000 meters, fire the 4 front tubes at the convoy and wait for a minute. Then I'll empty the stern tube at the nearest escort and go deep. The first 4 fish should hit just as the stern fish is getting close to the escort. At that time the escort will often speed up and the homing torpedo should then get a good lock on him. It usually takes him out. I then exit through the hole in the escort screen.

Nice, I am no where near that time in the war but I'm making a mental not if this plan...