Attacking convoys - "Thrill factor" only?

[Benzin1973]

I used to think that the main reasons for taking the risk of attacking convoys (namely Escorted convoys) were:
A) The juiciest targets were in convoys.
B) The "Thrill/Excitement" factor, you know, the excitement of it being dangerous due to the convoys escorts.

But lately i have encountered some very tasty targets traveling solo, empire freighters, large merchants, all sorts of fat targets from C2/medium cargo and upwards. It seems to me that the trick to finding these tasties is just knowing where to look.
So i guess this takes previous reason "A" out.

On the other hand, hitting a convoy is obviously more dangerous, they are escorted, some of the targets have guns, etc. and i hear that late war (i havent been there yet) convoys are nearly suicide.
Not to mention that attacking convoys sometimes doesnt allow me to get in ideal firing positions (e.g. 90º on their port/starboard 1.5k away), hence im more likely to miss.

So i guess the only reason is "B"? Do we only go risk our lives against a convoy for the "thrills", or is there another reason?

Reading about how hard it gets starting 1942 with GWX makes me cross myself hehe, and since my main responsability is keeping my crew alive (including myself), and assuming it really is as hard & dangerous as i read it is, i think i will give up convoys once i hit "the 1942 wall".

[Von Due]

I would imagine many players choose convoys when they want to play it historically as convoy hunting was a huge part of it. Thrill is definitely there and if you can successfully attack a convoy from '43 and onwards, and survive, you have achieved quite a lot in this game.

[bstanko6]

Von Due is right. If you were a real simmer, that yearned for realism, then you would know that Doenitz would not be pleased with only attacking single shipping. You would be given court martial for being a coward.

[Aquelarrefox]

no, thats too much. Many deads by hunting to hang someone for dont serch convoys.

foward, to complicated find sone ships after middle of war. If they spot good target as grosser armed merchant, they hit it. go great tonelage or operational advantage as supplys.

[Benzin1973]

Maybe im worrying too much about something i havent really experienced yet.
Im only on late 1940, so i dont really know how hard it is (or isnt) to hit a convoy in 1943. I will give it a try once i get there. so far 1940 convoys are not hard at all, even task force ones.

About "being hanged" for not attacking convoys, if i return to port with a record of 24000 tons of ships sunk, i dont understand why would Donitz be so "upset". I think 24000 tons is 24000 tons, i dont see what relevance would it have it they were travling alone or in group. Provided i wasnt ordered to sink a specific target travling in a convoy of course.

This is slightly off topic but, As for being a "true simmer" or not, ("simmer" as in i dont use time compression and actually wait 49 hours to travel, and put on my captain outfit to play), thats easy. Im not.

I find that "truly simulating" something that happened over 70 years ago, in the other side of the world, with people from other countries, in the middle of the ocean on a metal boat, during war, under life or death conditions, while sitting in front of my computer in my home, is not very viable.
So i dont worry too much about "simulating" it.
Instead I enjoy playing this game wich is based on historical events to have fun. and dont take it dead-seriously.

[Mittelwaechter]

The job was to sink as many freighters as possible - as efficiently as possible.

A flock of targets close together, a few attack runs and then back to base to reload and come back for the next convoy. Demoralize the English toper in London!

Searching single freighters takes more time, uses more resources, exposes the U-boot to aircraft attacks.

In the game it is pretty simple to sneak up a single helpless freighter and shoot it unseen. The joy of excitement comes with an opponent able to fight back.

In '43 it takes some skill to survive - and the FAT are fun.

[Benzin1973]

Originally Posted by Mittelwaechter

The job was to sink as many freighters as possible - as efficiently as possible.

A flock of targets close together, a few attack runs and then back to base to reload and come back for the next convoy. Demoralize the English toper in London!

Searching single freighters takes more time, uses more resources, exposes the U-boot to aircraft attacks.

In the game it is pretty simple to sneak up a single helpless freighter and shoot it unseen. The joy of excitement comes with an opponent able to fight back.

In '43 it takes some skill to survive - and the FAT are fun.

Yes that makes perfect sense. Up to the point in time i am now (Nov. 1941), one convoy attack yields two large ships sunk in relatively little time, and escaping is relatively easy (provided i did things right). This is efficient indeed.

But what about in say 1943? from what ibe read here (and maybe those were gross exagerations?), "attacking a convoy is almost suicide!" as in, most likely you will end up dead. From an efficiency point of view, an uboat taking more time attacking lone ships, is more efficient than an lost uboat filled with corpses on the bottom of the sea! hehe
From a historical point of view, lets not forget uboat many times attacked convoys in "packs" wich sadly is something we cant do here.


From a having more fun point of view... Absolutely!. Targeting lone freighters was a ton of fun for me back when the main challenge was actually hitting it, doing the plotting correctly, obtaining accurate data for the TDC, learning to manouver to a good position, after all that efford seeing that torpedo hit the target was the thrill in itself!

But now that i have more experience and manage to hit my targets most of the time, plotting and punching numbers in the TDC is almost routine, it does get old. In fact the most fun ibe had so far in SH3, was the time i took an aircraft carrier from a task force.

So i guess the answer to my question is:
A) Yep, mostly because its more fun (thrill factor)
B) its more historicaly accurate.

Now im very curious to see those 1943 convoys!

[Coldcall]

Originally Posted by bstanko6

Von Due is right. If you were a real simmer, that yearned for realism, then you would know that Doenitz would not be pleased with only attacking single shipping. You would be given court martial for being a coward.

Not sure about that. Doenitz wanted to show the wolfpack strategy worked, with first sub spotter just showing while other uboats arrive on scene. However he loved his ace captains so if you were an ace hitting single ships then I dont think he would have court marshalled you

[bstanko6]

I was just making a point that the U-Boot captain had a responsibility from Germany to inflict a logistical blow to Britain. And single merchant shipping was not first priority.

[Benzin1973]

Been playing my last patrol (Jan 1941 now) and ibe realized that if "thrills" is the issue... Forget convoys!
Task groups are the juiciest, most exciting targets this game has to offer.
I just sank the HMS Hood! he was travling as part of a task force in AM27 (i was looking for convoys there). Even after taking a full salvo of four torpedos on his port, he stayed at float for quite a while longer.

The other ships were one (or two?) more battlecruisers, several destroyers and some cruisers. They bombed the living poop out of me for a while, but i managed to evade them

I bet becoming a "task force" hunter killer uboat is as historical as a chineese man riding a bicycle to the moon to conmemorate the Apollo landings, but i dont care. Task group hunting is the best!
And if Donitz makes a tandrum because i sink carriers and battleships instead of merchants carrying gas, bolts and ore, then he can go get himself another skipper.