Pesky Frigate Meets His End

Commander Gizmo · 09-12-09, 08:17 PM

I was chasing a convoy earlier and ended up having to take on most of the escorts, sinking each one as the need occurred. That's not as easy as it used to be in GWX3.0 it seems. Anyway, I was down to a flower class tailing the convoy to one side and a black swan class leading at the front.

I decided to have a little fun since I am a pretty good shot with the deck gun, even in GWX. So I slipped in behind the convoy and surfaced about 6500 meters behind the flower and sighted him in. After firing for a while and getting plenty in return huge plumes of smoke were coming up. I continued my barrage laughing at their captain's vain attempts to hit something with his green crew. A few shells later and it exploded quite nicely and my crew and I started to celebrate.

At just that moment the frigate decided to show up all guns blazing. Having an apparently more seasoned crew, they actually landed a shell in the forward compartment. After ordering a crash dive, I spend some time evading and hiding before slinking back towards the convoy. You see, I had a plan. While the frigate searched in circles I moved back the direction he would have to travel to return the convoy. I was figuring that if I could catch him heading in a straight line back I would have the whole convoy to myself.

For once it worked and I managed to line up the shot. The torpedo slid under the keel quite nicely and exploded just as I had planned. However, that's where things turned for the worst. Although I had manged to destroy the engine compartment and bring it to a stop, the crew apparently had no intention of abandoning ship. There they sat on the deck manning the guns while their crew mates were undoubtedly pumping all that water back out of the hull. It simply wouldn't sink.

I really needed him gone because a convoy moving at 4 knots will take forever to get out of gun range. However, I discovered another problem. By this time, I was out of my main stock of torpedoes in my IXB and didn't have time to get the ones off the deck for the job. So after sighing and figuring I would just have to move my torpedoes while I wait for the convoy to get out of gun range a thought suddenly occurred to me. Something so dastardly it just might work.

I carefully maneuvered my uboat in next to the frigate so that I could only see his hull in my scope. After coasting to a complete stop, I have the order to surface. No, I wasn't going to board her -- though I could have used some fresh food at that point in my patrol. I ordered the men to the deck and flak guns. "I want their deck guns taken out first!" I ordered. A few shots rang out and the frigate's main guns were flying through the air with some very satisfying explosions beneath them.

It was only then that I suddenly gave thought to the amount of ammunition that would shortly be exploding a few yards from my boat. "CRASH DIVE!!!" As the frigate started to rip itself to shreds, we were just starting to dip under the waves. We took some heavy damage on the conning tower and flak guns, but we made it down and survived to devastate the rest of the convoy.

Thank goodness there wasn't an s-class there. I sank a South Hampton, three Black Swan, a Town, two KF, and a flower in that one convoy; but I've never sank an S-Class. Can it even be done? I blew their deck and flak guns off the boat once and then pulled up along side and put all my shells into their hull and they didn't even flinch. I couldn't even see damage marks on their hull. I think I need one of those!

SteveW1 · 09-12-09, 08:27 PM

S Class's can be sunk, I put 2 Fish into one last night took a while for it to go down but it eventually slipped under.

Steve

Damo · 09-12-09, 08:41 PM

Aiming for the hull and the guns will lead to a very slow demise of any ship. You want to be aiming below the water line so you get a splash first then an explosion as the shell hits to ensure that she starts flooding. Aiming at one spot will cause more damage to one section too, reducing the chances of the flooding to be brought under control.

Personally I don't like deckgunning navy ships, especially in GWX but if I have to, I try and get myself head on so I present the smallest target for them. Normally when you get a couple of hits they start to zig zag leaving their sides vulnerable but this should only be done from long range. If they get within 2500m I crash dive and set myself up for another go at range. This is a pure desperation 'gotta kill em' strategy though and not one I'd adopt in a D.I.D. career. There it's all about saving my men and my boat with the opportunity to go back out and get em next time.

I still prefer the stern shot under the keel on chasing destroyers at 350m, gets me grinning every time. I'll not be a happy bunny when those hedgehogs appear.

Commander Gizmo · 09-12-09, 10:26 PM

I kinda figured that almost any hit on a sub is below the water line, but yea I aleays aim to flood if I'm not trying to remove some of their equipment. The S class I mentioned was foaming bubbles from their hull for 5 hours and never sank. Shouldn't their hulls be as weak as ours?

They tried to hit me but couldn't aim their guns low enough. I know GWX is suppost to be anti-deck gun, but I can take a frigate that is dead in the water at 7000-8000km with minimal casualties. This one hit me at 6km though, so I didn't want to take them on at range.

Mopy · 09-12-09, 11:05 PM

How do you do that? I've seen several convoys in mid '40 with a single escort and calm weather, itching to sink it and take down the rest of the convoy with the deck gun. I have never once managed. It just changes direction and speed way too often to get into a good firing position.

Grats on taking out the 1.. 2.. 3... 8! Escorts though.

/jealous

Commander Gizmo · 09-13-09, 12:26 AM

Shadowing a convoy is a lot of work. This one was running at 4 knots, which is why it worked out so well. You have to do quite a bit of calculating to end up at the right intersection point to begin with after you get the report of a convoy or otherwise spot them. They slow down quite a bit when zig zagging after you first strike.

I often try to bait patrols that are too agressive to ignoe so that they end up in the right firing posistion. I also have lots of close calls with depth charges. I've learned a few tricks with the IXB that I couldn't do in the VII. That extra little bit of power comes in handy.

If you run just out of visual range (before radar) and dip under every so often and take a manual listen on the hydrophones you can stalk them until your fuel runs out. Be sure to watch for the lateral patrols as they often swing out quickly to see if anyone is there. They're really sneaky sometimes. Early in the war most navy crews are in experienced and lousy gunners.

09-12-09, 08:17 PM	#1
Commander Gizmo Watch Officer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 4	Pesky Frigate Meets His End I was chasing a convoy earlier and ended up having to take on most of the escorts, sinking each one as the need occurred. That's not as easy as it used to be in GWX3.0 it seems. Anyway, I was down to a flower class tailing the convoy to one side and a black swan class leading at the front. I decided to have a little fun since I am a pretty good shot with the deck gun, even in GWX. So I slipped in behind the convoy and surfaced about 6500 meters behind the flower and sighted him in. After firing for a while and getting plenty in return huge plumes of smoke were coming up. I continued my barrage laughing at their captain's vain attempts to hit something with his green crew. A few shells later and it exploded quite nicely and my crew and I started to celebrate. At just that moment the frigate decided to show up all guns blazing. Having an apparently more seasoned crew, they actually landed a shell in the forward compartment. After ordering a crash dive, I spend some time evading and hiding before slinking back towards the convoy. You see, I had a plan. While the frigate searched in circles I moved back the direction he would have to travel to return the convoy. I was figuring that if I could catch him heading in a straight line back I would have the whole convoy to myself. For once it worked and I managed to line up the shot. The torpedo slid under the keel quite nicely and exploded just as I had planned. However, that's where things turned for the worst. Although I had manged to destroy the engine compartment and bring it to a stop, the crew apparently had no intention of abandoning ship. There they sat on the deck manning the guns while their crew mates were undoubtedly pumping all that water back out of the hull. It simply wouldn't sink. I really needed him gone because a convoy moving at 4 knots will take forever to get out of gun range. However, I discovered another problem. By this time, I was out of my main stock of torpedoes in my IXB and didn't have time to get the ones off the deck for the job. So after sighing and figuring I would just have to move my torpedoes while I wait for the convoy to get out of gun range a thought suddenly occurred to me. Something so dastardly it just might work. I carefully maneuvered my uboat in next to the frigate so that I could only see his hull in my scope. After coasting to a complete stop, I have the order to surface. No, I wasn't going to board her -- though I could have used some fresh food at that point in my patrol. I ordered the men to the deck and flak guns. "I want their deck guns taken out first!" I ordered. A few shots rang out and the frigate's main guns were flying through the air with some very satisfying explosions beneath them. It was only then that I suddenly gave thought to the amount of ammunition that would shortly be exploding a few yards from my boat. "CRASH DIVE!!!" As the frigate started to rip itself to shreds, we were just starting to dip under the waves. We took some heavy damage on the conning tower and flak guns, but we made it down and survived to devastate the rest of the convoy. Thank goodness there wasn't an s-class there. I sank a South Hampton, three Black Swan, a Town, two KF, and a flower in that one convoy; but I've never sank an S-Class. Can it even be done? I blew their deck and flak guns off the boat once and then pulled up along side and put all my shells into their hull and they didn't even flinch. I couldn't even see damage marks on their hull. I think I need one of those!

09-12-09, 08:27 PM	#2
SteveW1 Watch Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 331 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	S Class's can be sunk, I put 2 Fish into one last night took a while for it to go down but it eventually slipped under. Steve __________________

09-12-09, 08:41 PM	#3
Damo Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: Forever stuck in Data folder... Posts: 482 Downloads: 259 Uploads: 0	Aiming for the hull and the guns will lead to a very slow demise of any ship. You want to be aiming below the water line so you get a splash first then an explosion as the shell hits to ensure that she starts flooding. Aiming at one spot will cause more damage to one section too, reducing the chances of the flooding to be brought under control. Personally I don't like deckgunning navy ships, especially in GWX but if I have to, I try and get myself head on so I present the smallest target for them. Normally when you get a couple of hits they start to zig zag leaving their sides vulnerable but this should only be done from long range. If they get within 2500m I crash dive and set myself up for another go at range. This is a pure desperation 'gotta kill em' strategy though and not one I'd adopt in a D.I.D. career. There it's all about saving my men and my boat with the opportunity to go back out and get em next time. I still prefer the stern shot under the keel on chasing destroyers at 350m, gets me grinning every time. I'll not be a happy bunny when those hedgehogs appear. __________________ The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat. It only took one T1 eel to convince that boat not to float.

09-12-09, 10:26 PM	#4
Commander Gizmo Watch Officer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 4	I kinda figured that almost any hit on a sub is below the water line, but yea I aleays aim to flood if I'm not trying to remove some of their equipment. The S class I mentioned was foaming bubbles from their hull for 5 hours and never sank. Shouldn't their hulls be as weak as ours? They tried to hit me but couldn't aim their guns low enough. I know GWX is suppost to be anti-deck gun, but I can take a frigate that is dead in the water at 7000-8000km with minimal casualties. This one hit me at 6km though, so I didn't want to take them on at range.

09-12-09, 11:05 PM	#5
Mopy Torpedoman Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 118 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	How do you do that? I've seen several convoys in mid '40 with a single escort and calm weather, itching to sink it and take down the rest of the convoy with the deck gun. I have never once managed. It just changes direction and speed way too often to get into a good firing position. Grats on taking out the 1.. 2.. 3... 8! Escorts though. /jealous

09-13-09, 12:26 AM	#6
Commander Gizmo Watch Officer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 4	Shadowing a convoy is a lot of work. This one was running at 4 knots, which is why it worked out so well. You have to do quite a bit of calculating to end up at the right intersection point to begin with after you get the report of a convoy or otherwise spot them. They slow down quite a bit when zig zagging after you first strike. I often try to bait patrols that are too agressive to ignoe so that they end up in the right firing posistion. I also have lots of close calls with depth charges. I've learned a few tricks with the IXB that I couldn't do in the VII. That extra little bit of power comes in handy. If you run just out of visual range (before radar) and dip under every so often and take a manual listen on the hydrophones you can stalk them until your fuel runs out. Be sure to watch for the lateral patrols as they often swing out quickly to see if anyone is there. They're really sneaky sometimes. Early in the war most navy crews are in experienced and lousy gunners.