XXI attack periscope

[joe313]

Hi all
it was my second patrol on my XXI i was in position to periscope attack a convoy then one of the escort destroyers detected me i was trying to lock on that destroyer but i couldn't my uboat was bouncing because of a rough weather until finally i was able to lock on on the destroyer it already got 1100ms from me so i fired a homing torpedo it missed the stern of the destroyer then circled around and chased it by that time the destroyer got real close then i gave it a deep thought what should i do ahead flank i was afraid i will get hit by my own torpedo or stay still and get rammed by the destroyer they were both coming at me so i hit ahead flank after the destroyer started its attack run its was to late for me i got rammed by the destroyers add to that my torpedo hit the destroyer when it was ramming me then i got depth charged u bout lost and all my crew i am the only one made it to tell my story

i fond it impossible to lock on target with XXI attack periscope in rough weather because the uboat bounce from 14m to 20m depth
does any one got any idea what to do to keep it level to certain depth I used the A command but it didn't do me any good
I am using GWX 2.1 and SH3 Commander

sorry for the bad english

[kylania]

Your English was just fine!

I've had the same problems as that with other boats. Just the other night I was rough waters and even though I was only 800m away from a convoy, I just couldn't lock anything since things were bouncing up and down so much.

[predavolk]

The periscope depth for the XXI is deeper than for the other boats. 16m VS 13m. In rougher seas, I'll usually set the depth manually to 14m so that I can get good lock-ons. The only caveat is that this makes it quite visible to opponents, so it's best done when you are already detected (as in your situation). And use homing torpedos and decoys when you face destroyers.

[joe313]

Originally Posted by predavolk

The periscope depth for the XXI is deeper than for the other boats. 16m VS 13m. In rougher seas, I'll usually set the depth manually to 14m so that I can get good lock-ons. The only caveat is that this makes it quite visible to opponents, so it's best done when you are already detected (as in your situation). And use homing torpedos and decoys when you face destroyers.

thanx Predavolk
i tried that on my first patrol i end up getting shot at from the destroyer because my conning tower was showing

[predavolk]

Originally Posted by joe313

thanx Predavolk
i tried that on my first patrol i end up getting shot at from the destroyer because my conning tower was showing

I don't use external views, so I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure I've looked underwater and seen that your conning tower is underwater. What's happening is that they're shooting at your periscope, and instead hitting your conning tower that's close to the surface. It should do very little actual damage to your boat, especially in terms of structural damage. It's the only way I've been able to manage keeping a lock on targets in rough weather with the XXI. Otherwise, like you said, the targets come and go- often at the worst times!

[Brag]

When in trouble, go deep quickly. The escorts already know where you are. Once you are deep enough, then start trying to shake them off.