First impressions of the Type IX

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

I traded in most of my renown after 2 patrols for a Type IX on Patrol 3. I have yet to make contact with the enemy, much less take her into combat but there are features in the IX that are an upgrade and there are features in the VII B not in the IX that I miss.

-on smooth seas I can go at 11 knots at 1/3 speed, in the VII I went at 10. that's nice if you need to get somewhere on the surface and save gas.

-below water I only go at 4 knots at 1/3 speed, in the VII I went at 5. I liked making distance on the batteries. it did help with fuel economy.

-Only 110 shells for the deck gun. the Type VII had 180 (close enough, I'm guessing). if gunning down ships is your thing, this is a bummer.

-The IX has 24 torpedoes, I think thats at least 5 or 6 more than the VII. the lack of deck gun ammo is made up for with the torpedoes. I got this beast for Narvik in April, and I'd much rather take out a cruiser or battleship with a torpedo than get into a gun duel. sorry, floating Tiger tanks aren't how I roll.

-the hydrophone perfomance seems lessoned. I say that becuase my green efficiency bar above the sonar/radio room is less than half way across. With the same crewmen, it was 2/3s of the way across in the Type VII. I upgraded the hydrophones in the old VII and brought them over to the IX. I dont know why the sonar/radio performance would go down. anyway, I may have to specialize a crewman in radio. I guess this is my biggest and only bone to pick so far.

-diving time. its supposed to be 5 seconds slower than the VII, but I honestly dont see much difference. If I had to crash dive, I feel pretty good about getting deep if I need to in plenty of time.

- I supposed its nice to have a 37 mm and a 20 mm for AA but I have no intention of using them. I start a revolving door of AA gunners if I stay up to duke it out with aircraft. No thanks. KIAs do nothing for my renown.

I look forward to seeing how this beast does on my patrol. I just hope I get into port by the beginning of March, so I can do my part for the Norway invasion.

[Brag]

You can't transfer upgrades! So your hydrophone is the obsolete one. So you need to do a lot of turning to get contacts.

[Klaus_Doldinger]

For me the 110 shells for the deck gun is not a problem. The main weapon is the torpedo; I only use the deck gun to finish off torpedoed ships -if neccesary- or when the target is enough small, slow and defenceless to properly saturate it with HE, a rather rare thing as the war progress: an armed merchant can have enough luck to inflict a lot of damage on my boat: his gunners can be inexperienced, but the merchant is a more stable ordnance platform and can absorb more punishment than my boat.

[Morts]

Originally Posted by UnterseeBoogeyMan

I traded in most of my renown after 2 patrols for a Type IX on Patrol 3. I have yet to make contact with the enemy, much less take her into combat but there are features in the IX that are an upgrade and there are features in the VII B not in the IX that I miss.

-on smooth seas I can go at 11 knots at 1/3 speed, in the VII I went at 10. that's nice if you need to get somewhere on the surface and save gas.

-below water I only go at 4 knots at 1/3 speed, in the VII I went at 5. I liked making distance on the batteries. it did help with fuel economy.

-Only 110 shells for the deck gun. the Type VII had 180 (close enough, I'm guessing). if gunning down ships is your thing, this is a bummer.

-The IX has 24 torpedoes, I think thats at least 5 or 6 more than the VII. the lack of deck gun ammo is made up for with the torpedoes. I got this beast for Narvik in April, and I'd much rather take out a cruiser or battleship with a torpedo than get into a gun duel. sorry, floating Tiger tanks aren't how I roll.

-the hydrophone perfomance seems lessoned. I say that becuase my green efficiency bar above the sonar/radio room is less than half way across. With the same crewmen, it was 2/3s of the way across in the Type VII. I upgraded the hydrophones in the old VII and brought them over to the IX. I dont know why the sonar/radio performance would go down. anyway, I may have to specialize a crewman in radio. I guess this is my biggest and only bone to pick so far.

-diving time. its supposed to be 5 seconds slower than the VII, but I honestly dont see much difference. If I had to crash dive, I feel pretty good about getting deep if I need to in plenty of time.

- I supposed its nice to have a 37 mm and a 20 mm for AA but I have no intention of using them. I start a revolving door of AA gunners if I stay up to duke it out with aircraft. No thanks. KIAs do nothing for my renown.

I look forward to seeing how this beast does on my patrol. I just hope I get into port by the beginning of March, so I can do my part for the Norway invasion.

i belive the IX only has 21 torps ingame (22 IRL)

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Morts

i belive the IX only has 21 torps ingame (22 IRL)

That's the IXB.

Don't panic I raised that issue along with the start date of the IXD2 and both will be corrected when GWX 1.04 comes out.

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

Originally Posted by Brag

You can't transfer upgrades! So your hydrophone is the obsolete one. So you need to do a lot of turning to get contacts.

that means I have to wait around for an upgraded hydrophone for the IX? because I did reassign the most advanced hydrophone to the boat and no changes in crew performance. we'll see what happens anyway


in reference to oher post, I wasnt real sure about torpedo number in the IX, but I remember it was a substantial increase over what was in the VII. so if 24 isnt right, oh well thanks for the info, thats that- all i want is to put them in the hull of a ship

[Hartmann]

Originally Posted by UnterseeBoogeyMan

-Only 110 shells for the deck gun. the Type VII had 180 (close enough, I'm guessing). if gunning down ships is your thing, this is a bummer.

Yes , only 110 shells, but type VII use a 88 mm , and the IX use a 110 mm gun

it means more damage with less impacts on the target.

[Vacillator]

Originally Posted by Hartmann

the IX use a 110 mm gun

Think that's a typo error, should be 105mm

[papa_smurf]

The type Ix is my fave U-boat aswell, it has a greater range, more torpedoes - which makes it perfect convoy hunter, as it can sink more ships in a convoy than a type VII.
The only downside(s) I find is that its a bigger target for aircraft, and having a slower dive doesn't help.
As for it having less deck gun shells than the type VII, this doesn't bother me either, as a true U-boat commander would only use his deck gun to finish off crippled ships or sink small merchants.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by STEED

That's the IXB.

Don't panic I raised that issue along with the start date of the IXD2 and both will be corrected when GWX 1.04 comes out.

thanks to STEED we've sorted it.....but only in GWX

[Hartmann]

Originally Posted by Vacillator

Think that's a typo error, should be 105mm

yes is a error is 105 ,

the gun crew and the commander could be not very happy when they discover the boat loaded with 110 mm shells with a 105 gun :rotfl:

[Incubus]

I loved the IXD2. The range lets you travel to less-defended locations later in the war, you can pretty much tour the world, and the torpedo loadout allows for much more aggressive maneuvers.

While the large amount of torpedoes lends well to wrecking convoys, personally I don't think the IX is an ideal convoy hunter. It is bigger and less responsive, and harder to react to unpredictable events (like getting jumped by a DD, or spotted by a Catalina at the extreme edges of its patrol range).

The decreased ammo for the deck gun isn't all that bad- the increased caliber (supposedly) does more damage. I actually really like using the cannon- I really try to save torpedoes for situations that really need stealth.

IX is fun for those long-range patrols hunting lone tankers in the Caribbean, but for the North Sea/Atlantic I'll stick to the more advanced Type VII models since they have the best balance of armament, range, and maneuverability.

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

Originally Posted by papa_smurf

The type Ix is my fave U-boat aswell, it has a greater range, more torpedoes - which makes it perfect convoy hunter, as it can sink more ships in a convoy than a type VII.
The only downside(s) I find is that its a bigger target for aircraft, and having a slower dive doesn't help.
As for it having less deck gun shells than the type VII, this doesn't bother me either, as a true U-boat commander would only use his deck gun to finish off crippled ships or sink small merchants.

actually a few uboats exclusively used their deck guns on ships off the U.S coast during Operation Drumbeat. 1939 to early 1940 game conditions in GWX in the Atlantic are very similar to the easy time of it Uboats had on the American coast. If you see a 2000 tonner, why would you burn a torpedo on it when 10 well placed shots can take him out? Now, if the deck gun is being used later in the war when merchants have their own deck guns to shoot back with then 1.you're committing suicide 2. the ingame settings or some backend game files have been modded to make life too easy. so, early 1940, late '39, I dont feel guilty or cheap using the gun.
another point about GWX, you can see enough small merchants, that if you use the gun effectively, you can add 10,000 extra tons to your scorecard.

[IrischKapitan]

Watch the IX is a big bugger, It will show far more on enemy sonar . Use the extra depth and go to 200m plus, and don't ever take an IX into shallow water...............

[danlisa]

Want a challenge?

Take the IXD2 into the Med for a patrol or two. While you're there, head down and take the canal through to the Indian Ocean.

The D2 is the best boat in the game.