sub choice dilema

[pickler]

i started my career in 1941 in st.nazaire with a viic. it is now Oct.1943 and im at penang. i have been very fortunate in my 7 patrols that i have had and managed to sink 170,000grt. this included two cruise liners and and an escort carrier as well as 3 aircrafts. therefore i managed to collwct lots of renown despite the conversion cost to a uflak in june 43. i was recently transfrred to 10 flotilla and im in need of a long range boat at penang. my options are ixb, ixc, ixc/40 and ixd2. i have the renown to get either but im not sure which one. since i will no longer be a uflak i need fast diving time to escape aircraft right? in that case ixb is the fastest of them all but also with least range (similar to viic). ixd2 range allows me to cruise at 13kts to my destination and back so i can squeeze more patrols over time but its heft is dangerous and can be easily picked up by sonar. which one should i choose? survivability is important but so is range. maybe i should request transfer to keep viic uflak so i can survive th war?

i have gwx plus ui/graphical tweaks.

[RConch]

Aircraft are the greatest threat, the diving time makes a big difference to me. Survival is the primary concern.
I go Type VII throughout the war.
But it is your choice on how you approach the game, if you get killed-no big deal. Start a new career.

[Osmium Steele]

This is an age old dilema which has been re-hashed dozens of times on these forums and a final answer has yet to appear.

You've already made the relevant arguments. It really does come down to individual choice.

[Raptor]

You can remove range from the equation by selecting Unlimited Fuel from the Realism settings. Just pretend you met up with a floating Esso station - a covert German tanker or a generous u-boat.


If absolute survivability is your primary goal, you take the IXB because the type VII boats are not available with the 10th flotilla, although if you are driving a VII when you transfer, you might get to keep it (but all type VII have a 6,500 nm range at 12 knots. The tanker will have to become your personal tag-along. However, at the cost of 2 extra seconds of diving time, you can get the huge range increase offered by both the IXC and IXC/40.

IXB:
dive time = 35 seconds
range = 8,700 nm at 12 knots

IXC:
dive time = 37 seconds
range = 11,000 nm at 12 knots

IXC/40:
dive time = 37 seconds
range = 11,400 nm at 12 knots

IXD2:
dive time = 42 seconds
range = 23,700 nm at 12 knots

Although crush depths were different historically (and many boats exceeded these and still returned to the surface), the game does not model these; all type IX boats are 165 meters (all type VII are 150 meters). You can alter these by editing the appropriate .cfg files.

Caveat: how many boats exceeded the above crush depths and did not return to the surface is anybody's guess.

[TorpLos]

In all my years of playing sh3.... I never played with the IX series... Just single missions. Wow. Crazy. To me it just doesnt feel right lugging that big load around and attacking shipping where they cant protect themselves.

[bigboywooly]

Always used the IX
Prefer those to the VII
Of course a lumbering giant is no good later in the war but I never get that far so

[Raptor]

Just tested and proved my theory: I started in April 1943 in the 7th/13th flotilla and got a VIIC. Made a short harbor patrol and exited. Requested transfer to the 10th flotilla, which was granted.

If you are driving a VII when you transfer to the 10th flotilla, you get to keep it.

You will have the option to switch to any type IX once transferred, but you don't have to do so. However, there are no type VII boats available, and if you give up your type VII, you can't get it back in that flotilla.