Chasing Convoys and Task Force after attacking.

[depthtok33l]

Late December 1941, patrolling off 130nm South East of Bungo Strait came across a task force consisting of 2 or 3 aircraft carriers some heavy cruisers and quite a few destroyers heading into Bungo Straits (could have been the TF that attacked Pearl Harbour)

Anyways I was caught off guard, I was on time compression when the game went back to its normal speed and ship sighted. A very beautiful sight but couldn't do anything about it, they were doing 14 1/2 knots. I was going to intercept but my Narwhal set on flank speed could only do 13 on high seas, I got to about 10,000 yards then the DD sighted me, went down to 150 feet then depth charged but no scratches.

Anyways, I've read a couple of post here that when they have attacked a convoy/TF, they are able to chase it and set up for another attack.

HOW DO YOU CHASE THEM AND SETUP FOR ANOTHER ATTACK? (Especially when they start to zigzag and/or change direction)

Do you stay behind or escape and go to a possible route for them etc?

Help would be appreciated.

[TorpX]

If you make contact in a favorable position, you can intercept and attack with a lower speed. If your initial position is not favorable, and they are faster than you, you are out of luck. This is why it was rare for fast Naval Task Forces to suffer torpedo attacks. Most of the "end-arounds" were made against merchant convoys.

If they zig (and loose enough speed to give you the speed advantage), you still might be able to get ahead of them, but this would be problematic, as you would have no way of knowing when and where the zigs would occur.

Realistically, with a slow boat like yours, you would probably only get one shot.

[Armistead]

It can be difficult in the slower boats. However it's rare to run into a TF you can't overtake in a boat like the Gato. One poor aspect of the game is if you're spotted by any sensor even TF slow down and go to helming. They will continue this for a time then go back to set speed, obvious better to do during the day at distance enuf just to let them get a visual. Sometimes at night I will shoot a M14 or two from very long range just hoping the torp will be spotted and slow a group down.

In RSRD I don't recall a group going over 20 knots unless a DD group. I have chased TF over 400 nms to do end arounds. A few faster ones escape because if you attack during the day and are held down, a group can get way in front of you. If it has carriers, planes will constantly drive you back down.

If you damage a few ships, if they can't keep up with the groups they will fall behind or often they're able to keep up. The goal is not to let them despawn out of your contact zone. If you regain contact you'll usually find all ships repaired and the ones you've sunk back. The contact zone is about 25 nms.

Many TF come back down the same path. If you miss and lose them, hang where you are a few days, they may come right back to you....this is RSRD of course...

[Crannogman]

Originally Posted by Armistead

It can be difficult in the slower boats. However it's rare to run into a TF you can't overtake in a boat like the Gato. One poor aspect of the game is if you're spotted by any sensor even TF slow down and go to helming. They will continue this for a time then go back to set speed, obvious better to do during the day at distance enuf just to let them get a visual. Sometimes at night I will shoot a M14 or two from very long range just hoping the torp will be spotted and slow a group down.

In RSRD I don't recall a group going over 20 knots unless a DD group. I have chased TF over 400 nms to do end arounds. A few faster ones escape because if you attack during the day and are held down, a group can get way in front of you. If it has carriers, planes will constantly drive you back down.

If you damage a few ships, if they can't keep up with the groups they will fall behind or often they're able to keep up. The goal is not to let them despawn out of your contact zone. If you regain contact you'll usually find all ships repaired and the ones you've sunk back. The contact zone is about 25 nms.

Many TF come back down the same path. If you miss and lose them, hang where you are a few days, they may come right back to you....this is RSRD of course...

I didn't know that task forces respawn their ships so often in RSRD. I did note that some ships will appear to respawn if their task force splits or is combined with another; RSRD effects these composition changes by despawning the old group(s) and spawning the new. If the ship was present historically in the new group(s), it will spawn even if sunk/damaged in the predecessor task force that just despawned. However, this may be more true for the battle layers than the general task force layers

[merc4ulfate]

I just hit Kurita's Center force at the southern tip of Masbate before they entered Ticao Pass heading for the San Bernardino Straights.

I have a Gato, October, 1944. The task force was going 22 knots.

I first suspected the TF was headed my way when waves of planes began showing on radar. They were heading towards my west northwest and must have been from the carriers Intrepid and Cabot. The planes hit the TF in real life and they sank the Musashi and damaged others.

I wasn't in as good of a position as I wished I could have been. I was getting radar signals so I kept my scope down most of the time and simply went by sonar readings. They went farther sound than I thought they would but I emptied all ten tubes into the force.

I sank:

Yamato
confirmed damage on 1 Destroyer

After the initial volley I dove 445 feet to reload. Took 12 percent damage to the hull in the depth charge attacks. There were two signals on sonar coming down the same route but much farther behind the TF. After the TF left the area( the DD's left soon to join the group after the TF was out of my range). I came to periscope depth to find two Heavy Tone Cruisers coming down. They must have been damaged in the air attack and fallen behind. I fired three fish at each sinking both of them in short order.

I had a birdie tell me something about history repeating itself so I sat there for a day waiting for Kurita to return. When they returned on the 26 near midnight I once again sank the Yamato. It had re-spawned I just pretended it was the Musashi.

85% realism
Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
1_TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
1_TMO_25_small_patch
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
Improved Ship Physics 2.6_TMO_RSRDC
TMO_Visuals_for_RSRDC
Fixed_CD_sonar_RSRDC
Classe_Balao_CamoTri
Pacific Sound Mod
Nav Map Make-Over v2.1
NMMO Airbase Add-on
NMMO v2.1 Patch 1 with AB
NMMO Maps Add-on
NMMO Pre Pearl Harbor Career Start Add-on
NMMO Reverse Ocean Colors Add-on
Less Plankton 1.2

Total

Two Yamato Class Battleships 70,527 long tons each
Two Tone Heavy Cruisers 15,443 long tonnes each

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Armistead

If you damage a few ships, if they can't keep up with the groups they will fall behind or often they're able to keep up. The goal is not to let them despawn out of your contact zone. If you regain contact you'll usually find all ships repaired and the ones you've sunk back. The contact zone is about 25 nms.

I take it, that if you sink these same ships again, you don't get credit for them?

One poor aspect of the game is if you're spotted by any sensor even TF slow down and go to helming.

I tried to reduce this helming slow-down business in ISP. Nobody has made a field report about this yet, but it shouldn't be as bad as it used to be.

[merc4ulfate]

You get credit for sinking the ships even if it is twice ... I got credit for sinking the Yamato both times in the same TF on two different days.

The helming issue is much better Torpx with the current version of ISP for TMO+RSRD. The TF I ran into kept their 22 knots speed even after the initial attack and only slowed to avoid the DD's coming my way or in maneuvers to avoid torpedoes.