Harbor Infiltration

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

Though a difficult (not to mention possibly fatal) tactic to learn, harbor infiltration, though unrecommended by the GWX manual (which also gives pointers) can give rewarding results or put you and your crew to a watery grave.

For example, I recently attempted passage into Loch Ewe and discovered a modern tanker, a Bouge class, an Illustrious class, US Brooklyn class, and two other crusiers (8 January 1943). Left with no sucsess after aircraft kept pinning me, but still.
My general rules, if you are absolutely sure you wish to do this, are:

What type of U-boat do you have? The Type IX and, in most cases, XXI, are too big and one has little mauverability in them. Harbors also have a nasty tendency to be shallow.

Batteries, torpedoes, air, etc: Reload, move externals if needed. Check and recharge batteries, O2, and compressed air.

Damage: Can you sustain DCs, bombs, wishful gunfire, and more?

Stealth: Try to remain quiet on youre way in. Even if the HMT Aquitania lumbers to a halt @ 500 m with a 90 degree AoB. Saves you from constant air patrols. If you are spotted and attacked in the harbor, GET OUT. Better live than dead.

Defenses: ASW nets, mines, and more. Nets are forgiving; you can go over them. Mines, not so much. Track the path and cycles of patrols. Watch for shore defenses. HINT: Mines and nets will be where you want to go.

Time of day/torpedoes: Same rules as convoys; They cant evade what they cant see.

This is just general & by no means works every time. If you want more advice, PM me or someone like Jim, Steve, or TarJak. Theyve played longer and probably know more.

[Ifernat]

A few things I've learned

1) Forget magnetic shots, most things that are worth sneaking into a harbor for have torpedo nets surrounding them. This means impact pistols and running depths set to less than 2 meters.

2) Consider carefully how the deep the harbor is vs the draft of your target. Nothing is quite as annoying as pumping several torpedoes into a 30k ton battleship for it to settle upright on the harbor bottom and not count as 'sunk'. Some harbors are worse than others for this.

3) Breaching the outer defenses especially on large, spread out harbors at dusk can be a good idea. If you raise your periscope just a little, not to the surface you can actually look over the bow of the ship and watch for nets and or mines as long as there is enough light. Once dark you're not going to be able to see anything.

4) Early war ASW trawlers and (to an even greater extent) PT boats are not that much of a threat as long as they don't detect you. Since they don't generally have ASDIC. Do not go faster than 3 knots (set manually) assuming patrolling defenders and parked destroyers are atleast 4-5km away. Drop it to 2 knots if anything is between 2-4 km. Inside 2km and I back it down to 1 knot. The good news is at 1 knot (about 50 rpm) you're almost invisible. The bad news...you're going nowhere fast.

NEVER forget to set your speed manually before 'returning to course' or setting a navigation waypoint. Your engine will rev to Standard cruise speed RPMs and everyone WILL hear you.

5) The slow torpedo fired at the longest range possible is your friend. Shoot and immediately move. Ideally, have an idea of where the patrolling destroyers are and shoot when they are the farthest away. Every second you get to move, especially at 2-3 knots, before having to slow down is vital to ensure you don't get swept by ASDIC.

6) Watch the weather and know how long the current weather state has been running. Low light favors you, but also makes it harder to see targets which is important since parked ships will not be detectable by hydrophone. A light chop is good as well since it hides your wake and your torpedoes, too heavy though and you risk torpedoes broaching the surface or going low and hitting sub nets. Knowing how long the weather state has been in effect is important because harbor raids tend not be fast affairs given how slow you have to go. Its not a good thing to be in the middle of a raid and have the skies clear and the ocean go calm.

7) It requires nerves of steel and impeccable timing but you can infiltrate harbors on the surface with your decks awash (set for 7 m depth) provided environmental conditions are good. You can also surface inside harbors and do the same thing to both recharge air and batteries as well as reload with significantly less risk of being heard. Shooting from the surface, displacing at full speed (something you'd never get away with submerged) and slowing down and diving back to periscope depth in the 3-4 minute run time of a slow torpedo from 4k-5k meters out can be tricky but very, very effective if the light situation will allow for it. I would not stay on the surface after a torpedo impact simply because all someone has to do to really ruin your day is to get a star shell anywhere close to you.

And finally I do want to provide a hint of sorts for would be infiltrators....the harbor at Gibraltar is on the eastern side quite deep. Very deep in fact. Makes you wonder where the British got a ASW net that long....or did they?

[Admiral Halsey]

I found another way to breach Gibraltar. If you head to the Western side eventually the sub net gets low enough that you can sail right over it with only a small part of your conning tower showing.

[scott_c2911]

Casablanca and the port in the faroe isles (forgot its name now) are real soft touches pre 1942. I have sunk BBs at anchor up there Casablanca is good for adding about 20,000grt to you score too. Batvika Whaling Station I would have thought would also be a soft touch but its been many years since I attacked it. I think theres a destroyer at anchor up there. Lerwick can go bad quite easily due asw nets and dds but it can also be profitable. Swansea if you brave enough is ok but not worth the sweaty palms really. Harbour attacks are generally bad. I have been detected and sunk at Reykjavi,k its like mount doom up there.

[Jimbuna]

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

[maillemaker]

I haven't done a harbor raid in some time. If you understand the game mechanics, it's pretty easy to rape them every time.

The AI simply can't handle driving the defender ships near land. Very often they will go forward/reverse over and over, pummeling themselves onto the beach or into a pier until they sink themselves.

So just stay near land or an obstacle like a pier and they can't touch you.

I've even backed my sub into a slip and surfaced and pulled in external torpedoes and gotten a breath of air. The buildings along the docks will (usually) shield your low-setting submarine from all the gunfire that will head your way.

The biggest problems are submarine nets and running out of air. And escaping, if any escorts did not kill themselves on the rocks.

If you have external camera, you can "fly" underwater like a drone and discover any sub nets and/or mines in your way. If not, you can use your periscope underwater to see what is ahead of you.

Steve