October 17, 1940 Situation

Rose · 12-18-07, 04:42 PM

I'm on my inaugural patrol in a VII-C based out of St. Nazaire, assigned to patrol grid DT56 off the coast of Morocco. I've only found two ships by radio contact -- one was in terrible weather so I didn't bother with an intercept (it was off the coast of Spain, and was probably neutral anyway), the other was moving away from me and was already 60 nautical miles south of my U-boat, so I didn't bother with that either. I am meandering around in DT56 right now, completing the 24 hours, and with no ships in sight. I've been sailing for about two weeks and the crew is itching for an attack. I keep telling them that on our return voyage I'll manage to find something, but I'm having trouble convincing even myself... Are there any juicy shipping lanes between DT56 and the Bay of Biscay that I could frequent in hopes of an encounter? I know it's a basic question, but I just got back into playing with the release of GWX 2.0. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

. It's October 1940 btw.

KeptinCranky · 12-18-07, 05:36 PM

you say you're in DT56?

I'd say stick around, submerge to 20 meters (so you can still receive radio), do a slow search pattern and only surface for air and battery recharge and loiter until a convoy comes along...because it will definitely come along in a week or so.

once it does, I'd hound it all the way to Britain or until my eels run out, at which point I should be near to Biscay and home port.....

look at the map...DT56 is a definite hotspot
Been there.... done it

Brag · 12-18-07, 05:52 PM

It would be interesting to see what GWX 2.0 jas done with the heavy single ship traffic on the north side of the Gulf of Cadiz. That used to be a tonnage grabber.

Rose · 12-20-07, 04:45 PM

Just a bit of an update on my situation: I took your advice Keptin Cranky and continued in a slow search pattern, mostly submerged at 20m, in and around DT56. The storm which had been brewing for a few days continued to rage around my vessel, but we pushed on. My sonar op received some contacts but they were all single and moving in inconvenient directions. A single ship isn't worth it in terrible weather anyway. Finally, as my crew began to lose all hope of ever finding a convoy, a group of spies based in Freetown, Liberia radioed that they had witnessed a large amount of British merchant ships amassing and then departing the port. BdU then gave the convoy's estimated position and I had my navigator plot an intercept. I intercepted the large British and South African convoy and have been stalking them along a parallel course for about 100km. It is far too rough to attack any of the ships yet, so I'm going to wait until the waves calm down to make my move. I just hope it clears up soon. I've been running about 6km minimum to the closest ship for most of the time. Is that too risky? Would you guys recommend backing off a bit? What would my fellow kaleuns do in a situation like this?

KeptinCranky · 12-20-07, 05:05 PM

Back off!

6km is too close for shadowing, except at night and even then you might get spotted by an escort and then all hell will break loose and even if you get away you've lost ground, I stay 10 to 15km away and match their speed from a position slightly ahead and make a quick dive to listen every 2 hours, if they change course during that time, and they will at some point, I can adjust my course and speed and still be in a good position to make an attack when the weather clears/night falls/or i've had enough of shadowing

Rose · 12-20-07, 05:23 PM

Alright man, thanks alot for the advice!

12-18-07, 04:42 PM	#1
Rose Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2006 Location: New York City Posts: 966 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	October 17, 1940 Situation I'm on my inaugural patrol in a VII-C based out of St. Nazaire, assigned to patrol grid DT56 off the coast of Morocco. I've only found two ships by radio contact -- one was in terrible weather so I didn't bother with an intercept (it was off the coast of Spain, and was probably neutral anyway), the other was moving away from me and was already 60 nautical miles south of my U-boat, so I didn't bother with that either. I am meandering around in DT56 right now, completing the 24 hours, and with no ships in sight. I've been sailing for about two weeks and the crew is itching for an attack. I keep telling them that on our return voyage I'll manage to find something, but I'm having trouble convincing even myself... Are there any juicy shipping lanes between DT56 and the Bay of Biscay that I could frequent in hopes of an encounter? I know it's a basic question, but I just got back into playing with the release of GWX 2.0. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks . It's October 1940 btw.

12-18-07, 05:52 PM	#3
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	It would be interesting to see what GWX 2.0 jas done with the heavy single ship traffic on the north side of the Gulf of Cadiz. That used to be a tonnage grabber. __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

12-18-07, 05:36 PM	#2
KeptinCranky Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,050 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	you say you're in DT56? I'd say stick around, submerge to 20 meters (so you can still receive radio), do a slow search pattern and only surface for air and battery recharge and loiter until a convoy comes along...because it will definitely come along in a week or so. once it does, I'd hound it all the way to Britain or until my eels run out, at which point I should be near to Biscay and home port..... look at the map...DT56 is a definite hotspot Been there.... done it

12-20-07, 04:45 PM	#4
Rose Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2006 Location: New York City Posts: 966 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Just a bit of an update on my situation: I took your advice Keptin Cranky and continued in a slow search pattern, mostly submerged at 20m, in and around DT56. The storm which had been brewing for a few days continued to rage around my vessel, but we pushed on. My sonar op received some contacts but they were all single and moving in inconvenient directions. A single ship isn't worth it in terrible weather anyway. Finally, as my crew began to lose all hope of ever finding a convoy, a group of spies based in Freetown, Liberia radioed that they had witnessed a large amount of British merchant ships amassing and then departing the port. BdU then gave the convoy's estimated position and I had my navigator plot an intercept. I intercepted the large British and South African convoy and have been stalking them along a parallel course for about 100km. It is far too rough to attack any of the ships yet, so I'm going to wait until the waves calm down to make my move. I just hope it clears up soon. I've been running about 6km minimum to the closest ship for most of the time. Is that too risky? Would you guys recommend backing off a bit? What would my fellow kaleuns do in a situation like this?

12-20-07, 05:05 PM	#5
KeptinCranky Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,050 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Back off! 6km is too close for shadowing, except at night and even then you might get spotted by an escort and then all hell will break loose and even if you get away you've lost ground, I stay 10 to 15km away and match their speed from a position slightly ahead and make a quick dive to listen every 2 hours, if they change course during that time, and they will at some point, I can adjust my course and speed and still be in a good position to make an attack when the weather clears/night falls/or i've had enough of shadowing

12-20-07, 05:23 PM	#6
Rose Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2006 Location: New York City Posts: 966 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Alright man, thanks alot for the advice!