Happy Hunting Grounds

[Brag]

To all Kaleuns!

We need your help to compile enemy shipping routes!

Recently I started making detailed notes of shipping routes. Like all intelligence gathered, the observations are fragmentary and need more inputs.

The way I identify a hot area is:

Either a contact report or a real contact. This is followed up by actual intercepts to confirm traffic frequency.

A good example: On my way home a contact appeared too far to act on it. But I would be transiting the area in a day or two.

I drew a course line on the chart. Reaching the location, I patroled this line for two days. During that period one large freighter (11K) and two small freighters appeared. Not a bad place to get tonnage.

One needs to be precise as a few kilomters difference you could end up out of hearing range and each ship's path will be slightly different.

Here is my description of this fairly good hunting ground:

AM51 20 KMS south of northern edge of grid square. Direction of route 095-275. GWX 1.03

Here is another heavily traveled sea lane:


Center of Gibraltar Strait to 20 KMS of Cape Sao Vicente. Some ships take an arched route to the north (westbound traffic mostly). Big tonnage possible here. GWX 1.03

In your reports Include what mode you're using as traffic is quite different in the mods.

[ReM]

Originally Posted by Brag

Here is my description of this fairly good hunting ground:

AM51 20 KMS south of northern edge of grid square. Direction of route 095-275. GWX 1.03

You might want to use another sytem to precisely designate the location.....

Use the old German grid system for instance....



Read about it here

Your location would be something like AM 5133 or 5132

[Brag]

Rem:

Thanks for your imput! Good idea for one spot (datum)-- we're looking for a line to identify a route. So two of these locations are needed to establish a line. I use the projected course of a reported ship as a base line.

We also need to keep in mind that routes are not straight.

[KeptinCranky]

note: all this data has been gathered between september of 39 and april of 41
also I'm assuming GWX here,

BF17 to CG48 A good line to follow for outbound convoys, mostly cargos some tankers, sometimes a bigger warship.

the eastern half of AM36

CG94 except for grids 1 2 and 3 (but you knew that )
also goes for CG86 although less so as well as CG95 grids 4 and 7

Any grid starting with BE3x mostly inbound convoys

AM17 18 19 and 01

AM53

and between 9-3-1940 until half of april 1940 definitely check out AF8325, but be there early or the nutcases in the Stukas will have sunk all the lovely troopships.

Now, obviously, looking at the map you will notice some of these areas are in shallow waters and definitely within aircraft range. This might result in big red exclamations along the lines of OMGWTFBBQ STAY OUT OF DER KANAL and so forth and I couldn't agree more, but sometimes that's the chance you take for nice tonnage

other no go areas IMO anything starting with AN7x or AN8x, unless of course one is fond of mines and MTBs and planes in 20meters of water or so

I've also sort of come up with a no go chart as follows


with a type II sub in 1939 don't go near anything with less than 25 meters of water

add 50 meters to that figure for:

a: type of submarine above II (so add 50 for a VII 100 for a IX)
B: every year after 1939

Ignore tables at own risk or for more than 20k tonnes of warship

[Brag]

Thanks, Cranky!

We have a good start collecting info.

On my present patrol (Late May 1940) I stopped by the E-W sea lane crossing AM51 and stooged around for 48 hours. Made contact with 5 small freighters. they all came within visual contact without my need to change course.

It would have been excellent target practice for the gunnies in calmer weather.

[Brag]

Bump to give Kaleuns a chance to contribute. Come on, guys, time to share your knowledge!