Now I understand the frustration

[dcb]

Now I start to understand the frustration of U-boot commanders who went on patrol in late WW2 years. I am reaching mid-'43 with my career (GWX, of course, playing dead-is-dead) and already things are getting hot. Enemy radar is making one hell of a difference. After approaching convoys mostly undetected in the past, now I can't get anywhere near a convoy as the bloody radar is pinpointing me, sending my boat deep below for cover. Escorts now come right at me even before I can get a fix on the convoy on my (primitive) radar. I'm at the third convoy that I miss in a single patrol because they find me before I'm able to get at medium range, to shoot my eels. Bye-bye night cover, farewell discreet approach on surface. The %#$? (censored) radar is ruining every attempt at a stealthy approach.
As I said, frustration is the name of the game from now on, but this also brings a challenge. The challenge to find new tactics, else I'm gonna miss every bloody convoy by far.
Let's see what the future will bring.

[STEED]

Peanuts compared to 1944 no wait hang on 1945.

It's now a question of surviving.

Good Luck.

[Sirrvs]

Do you guys even bother patrolling in the assigned grid in the later years? Or do you just pick off merchants where you know you can get some tonnage relatively safely and head home?

[NealT]

I take what I can get and usually get so banged up I have to go home early.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by STEED

Peanuts compared to 1944 no wait hang on 1945.
It's now a question of surviving.
Good Luck.

Thanks, mate. I guess I'll need all the luck I can get, given what I see even as early as mid-43.

@Sirrvs

Yes, of course I first patrol the assigned grid for 24 hours, because of two reasons: 1. it brings some renown (not much, but anyway...) and
2. that's what they did in RL, and I want to recreate the whole experience, not just hunt for some easy tonnage. If they had to go to the assigned grid, then that's what I'll do as well, even if this means less juicy targets. I even had patrols that ended without any kill at all. Strange to admit, but I never felt I was wasting my time in such a patrol. Knowing that IRL many U-boots returned to base without even gettting near the enemy, my "zero-tonnage" sorties actually brought me some form of satisfaction: though empty, it's as realistic as can be.
Go figure...

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Sirrvs

Do you guys even bother patrolling in the assigned grid in the later years?

No and I shall tell you why, me and my big IXD2 are on patrol down under and there are no patrol grids.

[Keelbuster]

Originally Posted by dcb

Escorts now come right at me even before I can get a fix on the convoy on my (primitive) radar.

Turn off your radar. You're broadcasting your presence and position over an electromagnetic loud-speaker. I never use radar, and as of yet have not found any use for it, except for locating lone un-armed merchants in heavy fog.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Keelbuster

Turn off your radar. You're broadcasting your presence and position over an electromagnetic loud-speaker. I never use radar, and as of yet have not found any use for it, except for locating lone un-armed merchants in heavy fog.

agreed. It is a near useless tool and you might as well launch signal flares every nautical mile you move forward... leave it off or dont equip it on your boat at all.

I have found that if you leave map contact updates ON you will see the little grey contact line that represents a radar signal... if you stay right on the outer most edge of this line they will not detect you... try to exploit this to your advantage if you can, but this is very difficult to do.

radar was the final blow to the U-boat war IMHO... my strategy for late war is to remain submerged for as long as possible, only surfacing at night to recharge batteries and when i do so i am moving at flank speed.

hunting ships should be dont almost entirely by hydrophone after 1943... your war is pretty much over after that point.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

hunting ships should be dont almost entirely by hydrophone after 1943... your war is pretty much over after that point.

Too true the tonnage takes a nose dive.

Thank you Adolf for the long term scientific cut backs in 1940.

[dcb]

Thanks everybody for the good advice & tactics. Will try them for the remainder of my patrol. Too bad I already spent renown for the radar Now I'm off to stalking the Med route of convoys near Algiers.

[Jimbuna]

Make hay whilst the sun shines

Stormy weather ahead

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by dcb

Thanks everybody for the good advice & tactics. Will try them for the remainder of my patrol. Too bad I already spent renown for the radar Now I'm off to stalking the Med route of convoys near Algiers.

Ack! Lost my last boat near there in September 1943. Ran afoul of a really nasty Tribal class destroyer with a plentiful supply of hedgehogs.

[Fenris_Wolf]

Thank you Adolf for the long term scientific cut backs in 1940

I guess those experiments in castle wolfenstein for super soldiers and super assasin ladies as well as diverting all the research towards super secret project of atomicbombspacerocketcannonlaserbeamtimetravelnerv egasblarghlol left no funds for advancing the u-boat service.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Good thread.

We worked our hooties off on the sensors in GWX. (...and everthying else too for that matter LOL!)

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Fenris_Wolf

I guess those experiments in castle wolfenstein for super soldiers and super assasin ladies as well as diverting all the research towards super secret project of atomicbombspacerocketcannonlaserbeamtimetravelnerv egasblarghlol left no funds for advancing the u-boat service.

Erm right yea.