What do you think...

[WinterMute]

Hello kaleuns!

Please, read my story and then tell me what do you think about it.

A new career with GWX mod, most realistic settings.

It's November 29th, 1939. My 3rd patrol, 1st on my newly obtained u-boat IID. I'd completed patrol objectives and was looking for some target for my five torpedos, so not to go back home with empty hands. I saw the port of Dunkirk nearby, so I decided to check it out.

Around 12.00 AM I acquired visual contact with ships in the port. I noticed one passanger/troop transport ship, one large tanker, one medium cargo and a variety of smaller units. There were also 4 destroyers docked at piers. I decided to sneak right into the very middle of the port and to sunk the first three units I've mentioned.

So I went down to periscope depth and went stright ahead at 2 knots and "silent running". While passing by two Polish destroyers I heard pinging and recived a message from an officer: "Enemy is pinging us, sir!", but none of destroyers even moved. I thought: "OK, probably they are drinking tea , they do not suspect such a bold action and this pinging is just a looped game effect and in fact shoudn't be heard".

And there I was in the middle of the port. First two torpedos I send with best wishes to the French troop transporter. And frankly, I was prepared to die. I was in very shallow waters surrounded by 4 DD's... Should I say more?

But... NOTHING HAPPENED! DD's did literally nothing. So I also sunk the large tanker and the medium cargo and I was out of torps. Then I slowly left the port and fled back to Kiel. With only five torpedos I sunk 45.000 BRT, my best score ever!

End of story. So, what do you think about it? Is it fair or is it cheating?

Looks like ships in a port are sitting ducks! I know that Prien did even better in Scapa Flow, but come on... He didn't leave Scapa just like that with Brits doing nothing. It looks like in SH3 (or at least in GWX) DD's docked in a port just can't move! Besides the warning about pinging I also recived two warnings about depth charges but as I said DD's weren't moving at all. Maybe it's a bug or maybe it's just the way it must be, I don't know... But tell me - can it be considered realistic? I spent about 3 hrs in the port - is it possible that none of the destroyers would be ready for action by that time?

cheers

[Corrupt_File]

Yes, this has happened to me. The game engine doesn't model empty boats, so the ship will do everything but move when you are near. Careful, I've found this to only be true for ship right in port. If they are moored a was out, I've made a few DD's and Dido's unhappy, and they start moving.

[swuboo]

It's not entirely unrealistic; those ships could be manned by skeleton crews while the bulk of their crews are on shore leave. Or, they may be undergoing refits. They simply may not have any coal on board for the boilers. Regardless, sure, it's possible that three hours might be too short a time tor those ships to get underway.

What IS unrealistic is that after three hours, no backup could be procured. Dunkirk is well within range of a number of Allied air and naval bases. Surely in that time they could have gotten planes over the harbor, and probably some destroyers out of Dover.

But, since the game does simulate radio contact with nearby forces, you may simply have lucked out. I know for a fact the RAF has shown up when I've lingered too long near a kill.

[bookworm_020]

I visted Fremantle in Australia last night and had me a good old time! One bathurst escort on patrol outside, so I knocked him off and went hunting! Took out athe sub depo ship and a balbo sub outside the harbor, then moved inside, taking out a sommers, fletcher and clemenson destroyer, a LST, Two troophips, medium class cargo and an S Class sub, as well as damaging another S class and a tanker.

This all in 1944!!

Alas my happiness was short lived, I got caught on the surface my a aircraft who gave me a hammering, killing 2/3 of my crew and doing great damage to my sub. I patched it up, but a bathurst escort showed up and knocked me off as I had no hydrophones, periscopes, radio, radar, torpedo tubes working!

Such is Life!

[Mooncatt]

yeah i was once messing about in scapa flow saw a cruiser which promptly moved when once of my fish slammed into her side. then all hell broke loose

[LeafsFan]

I am glad then that I hit that anchored destroyer that I saw alongside the dido class cruiser I hit in St Helena yesterday. The patrol craft was easy to avoid, a destroyer may not have been.

HB

[WinterMute]

Uuups, I did it again...

I came back to Dunkirk on February 1940 in the same boat. Everything was all the same. Everything. Same Polish destroyers, same French troop transporter, British large tanker and so on. No patrol crafts around the port.

I went in, spent half a day inside waiting for the French troop transporter to sink (sadly, she didn't and I had no more torpedos) and left. DD's were pinging at me like a bunch of crazies but they couldn't move. When I got to the surface for a moment they immediately opened fire from all guns, so they weren't out of service at all. Not a single airplane appeared nor any warship.

Ships in the port of Dunkirk are the easiest prey in the game I think, and exploiting this is cheating for sure.