Short on torpedoes, need advice

[robj250]

I am approaching a large comvoy with 13 merchants and 7 warships. I only have 9 towpedoes left forward, 2 stern. Depth under keel 120 metres. HI is 92%.

How should I handle it?

Should I fire 2 torpedoes at each ship I pick to try and stop them dead in the water and head for deeper water and come back later and finish them off with the deck gun, or what?

Using SH3 and a VIIC/42 in March 1944

Rob

[AVGWarhawk]

Two each until torpedos are exhausted. Surface later to finish off if needed.

[P_Funk]

ONLY 9? You musn't love the duck do you?

[melnibonian]

Rob since you're in 1944 I would suggest caution. The Destroyers are deadly from 1943 onwards. I would fire as many torpedoes as possible to as many targets as possible from the largest possible distance to avoid detection. In situations like these there is a high chance you will get yourself killed if you try to get too close. If despite all this you still want to go for the kills try to fire a couple of torpedoes to the most important ships. Be prepared though to get a heavy beating afterwards if you get detected by the DDs.

Good Luck

[robj250]

Here is what I thought I might do. I'm have the convoy on sonar so I can see how far away they are, well approximately. Long range anyway. and I will wait until the escorts have passed me and are astern.

I thought I might go to 50 Metres, ahead standard, (not silent) to get in the front of the convoy and then go to periscope depth. Take as many as I can and then dive as deep as I and and go hell bent for election for the deeper water.

Bad Idea?

Or should I go silent runing to the convoy.

After sinking a ship or two, go deep and silent running, dead stop?????

[melnibonian]

Potentially it can work but there is a HUGE chance the Destroyers will pick you up in their hydrophones. Don't forget no matter how deep you go they can always run faster than you and they can always reach you with their depth charges. I would have followed a different approach. Stay in periscope depth, go to silent running (if you are closer than 20Km from the convoy, otherwise you can take a few chances) and plot an intercept course. Most probably you will not be able to come really close but if you manage to approach within 4-5 Km you can still cause some damage. I would fire all the torpedoes I can from that distance and then turn back and go really deep. If it is possible fire the "nornal" torpedoes first and then the FAT/LUT ones. That way after the first torpedoes hit and the convoy starts zig-zaging you still have some chances of hitting something with the pattern torpedoes.

Good Luck

[AndyW]

Originally Posted by robj250

Here is what I thought I might do. I'm have the convoy on sonar so I can see how far away they are, well approximately. Long range anyway. and I will wait until the escorts have passed me and are astern.

I thought I might go to 50 Metres, ahead standard, (not silent) to get in the front of the convoy and then go to periscope depth. Take as many as I can and then dive as deep as I and and go hell bent for election for the deeper water.

Bad Idea?

Sounds good, but I would always run on silent mode except for the reloading time. This is going to happen during night in fair weather, right?

Your first attack should sink two big merchants with 2 torps each and demage onother with your stern torpedo (1 torp would be enough for a pyro ship). Than I would crash dive deeeeeeeep and run with the convoy to reload. If you're lucky they don't ping you and you may have a second salvo, but I woudn't put my money on it.

But this is mere theory - well not really: I sunk a whale factory ship and a medium tanker that way in March 1944, but then again the escorts weren't too clever as I expected them to be, maybe because the weather was (thankfully) awful.

Now 7 warships and beeing pinged in 1944 would be tough.

Good luck!

Cheers,
AndyW