Attacking a convoy with a Type IX.. Yes or no?

Thomen · 05-29-10, 11:41 AM

As the title says..
Is it advisable to engage enemy convoys with a type IX u-boat?

I m in mid 1941 right now, roughly 800sm NW of El Ferrol and just got a contact message saying that there is a convoy roughly 140km to my south west, 5 knt spd and a heading of NNE.

Somehow, I seem to remember reading somewhere, that the type IX boats where mostly used against single ships or small unprotected convoys, since their size would make it difficult to evade escorts.

fw66 · 05-29-10, 11:53 AM

Go for it! IX's are perfect for big convoys because of all those torpedoes.

Make an attack, creep away to reload and then get back to it!

papa_smurf · 05-29-10, 12:19 PM

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE

Thomen · 05-29-10, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papa_smurf

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE

Aye, aye, Sir!

*Yells downs the hatch*

Left full rudder! Come to 230, all ahead full!

Jimbuna · 05-29-10, 02:02 PM

The Type IX is suitably equipped to attack convoys as long as you don't take unnecessary risks....shoot from a respectable distance (1k-2k) and back off whilst reloading prior to performing an end round run.

If escorts detect you submerged run silent and deep because your not as agile as the Type VII.

SINK EM ALL!!

Brag · 05-29-10, 03:23 PM

Convoys are excellent targets for a IX U-boat- Keep on attacking and you´ll have great tonnage.

Attack without taking undue risks, creep away, reload, reposition yourself and let them have it again.

Good hunting

STEED · 05-29-10, 04:12 PM

Blow them all away, you got more fire power in a IX Boat, get stuck in.

Thomen · 05-29-10, 05:15 PM

My torpedo aiming skills suck.. even when on automatic. Fired 8 torpedoes into the convoy and only two hits. One premature explosion, three duds as it looks like. The rest missed..

Rhodes · 05-29-10, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomen

My torpedo aiming skills suck.. even when on automatic. Fired 8 torpedoes into the convoy and only two hits. One premature explosion, three duds as it looks like. The rest missed..

Just as real life. Do not think that every kaleun was a teddy shuren or a otto Kretschmer or even a erich topp!

Dissaray · 05-29-10, 10:56 PM

At least you survived long enuf to shoot, and I am asuming that you got out of the mess afterwords alive too. My luck as of late has been geting close to the sweet shooting zone with my torpidos primed for a good run and my targets all picked out only to get rammed by a damn escort or hit the wrong buton and drop a decoy alearting the whole convoy to my location and promptly geting blasted into itty bitty bits. Any attack you survive is a good one in my books, hits or kills are just iceing.

Relish your two hits and learn what you can from your attack to make the next one better.

ppk · 05-30-10, 12:07 PM

The nice thing about the IX is that you've got plenty of eels left to try again on the next night.

PappyCain · 05-31-10, 05:38 AM

Relish your two hits and learn what you can from your attack to make the next one better.

Good advice. Better to learn and survive than to play for arcade kills.

The Starfox · 05-31-10, 11:52 PM

I loved my type IX B uboat, and used it from late 39 to early 43. When out on patrol my biggest hindrance was the lack of torpedoes. Since I play with the GWX mod, I use 2 torpedoes on any of the moderate sized ships or bigger to make sure they sink.

I was always able to sneak in between the front central escort and the side escort, in order to get among the convoy. I would fire off all my torpedoes, which at two per ship would be 3 kills of large ships. Then I immediately dive going silent and deep to sneak out. After I get away, I reload my torpedoes and bring in new torpedoes from the exterior storage bays, and then launch a new attack on the convoy.

I also loved the extra fuel, even though I mostly fought close to Great Britian, the extra fuel meant I could run the engines at a faster speed. Thus I could go head out and return to port much more quickly, allowing me to complete more patrols in a given year.

When I got into the IX D2, I was in heaven

Extra torpedoes and tons of fuel, meant I could move at flank speed all the time, and rampage around the Isles.

So yes, type IX's are awesome boats when you do hit and run style attacks.

maillemaker · 06-01-10, 08:29 AM

I agree, I love the type IX - the more torpedoes the better!

I will be sad when I have enough renown to upgrade, as I will lose the awesome FM interior of my type VII.

Steve

Thomen · 06-01-10, 12:07 PM

I have to agree with the lot of you.

So far I have mainly used type VII's, and rarely ventured out with type IX (my longest patrol of 105 days was done in a IX).

After taking my IXB into the medium convoy described above and fighting a surface battle against a small 4 ship convoy yesterday, it is a very nice boat for such actions.

Thanks for input.

05-29-10, 11:41 AM	#1
Thomen Ace of the Deep Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: West Virginia Posts: 1,207 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	Attacking a convoy with a Type IX.. Yes or no? As the title says.. Is it advisable to engage enemy convoys with a type IX u-boat? I m in mid 1941 right now, roughly 800sm NW of El Ferrol and just got a contact message saying that there is a convoy roughly 140km to my south west, 5 knt spd and a heading of NNE. Somehow, I seem to remember reading somewhere, that the type IX boats where mostly used against single ships or small unprotected convoys, since their size would make it difficult to evade escorts.

05-29-10, 12:19 PM	#3
papa_smurf Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2,851 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	BE MORE AGGRESSIVE __________________

05-29-10, 02:02 PM	#5
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 191,185 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	The Type IX is suitably equipped to attack convoys as long as you don't take unnecessary risks....shoot from a respectable distance (1k-2k) and back off whilst reloading prior to performing an end round run. If escorts detect you submerged run silent and deep because your not as agile as the Type VII. SINK EM ALL!! __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

05-29-10, 03:23 PM	#6
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Convoys are excellent targets for a IX U-boat- Keep on attacking and you´ll have great tonnage. Attack without taking undue risks, creep away, reload, reposition yourself and let them have it again. Good hunting __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

05-29-10, 04:12 PM	#7
STEED Lucky Jack Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Down Town UK Posts: 27,695 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 48	Blow them all away, you got more fire power in a IX Boat, get stuck in. __________________ Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT!

05-29-10, 11:53 AM	#2
fw66 Torpedoman Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: UK Posts: 119 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 0	Go for it! IX's are perfect for big convoys because of all those torpedoes. Make an attack, creep away to reload and then get back to it!

05-29-10, 05:15 PM	#8
Thomen Ace of the Deep Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: West Virginia Posts: 1,207 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	My torpedo aiming skills suck.. even when on automatic. Fired 8 torpedoes into the convoy and only two hits. One premature explosion, three duds as it looks like. The rest missed..

05-29-10, 10:56 PM	#10
Dissaray 中国水兵 Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 280 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	At least you survived long enuf to shoot, and I am asuming that you got out of the mess afterwords alive too. My luck as of late has been geting close to the sweet shooting zone with my torpidos primed for a good run and my targets all picked out only to get rammed by a damn escort or hit the wrong buton and drop a decoy alearting the whole convoy to my location and promptly geting blasted into itty bitty bits. Any attack you survive is a good one in my books, hits or kills are just iceing. Relish your two hits and learn what you can from your attack to make the next one better.

05-30-10, 12:07 PM	#11
ppk Machinist's Mate Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 125 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	The nice thing about the IX is that you've got plenty of eels left to try again on the next night. __________________ When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you. Friedrich Nietzsche U-46 (VIIB) - 62 ships for 395,532 tons in Apr40 [DiD]

05-31-10, 05:38 AM	#12
PappyCain Samurai Navy Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: on the Atlantic Ocean Posts: 559 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Relish your two hits and learn what you can from your attack to make the next one better. Good advice. Better to learn and survive than to play for arcade kills. __________________ DID, no cheats, no shortcuts, no non-historic equipment deviations. Boat and crew safety is integral with my immersion style! Follow the historic events during your patrol: http://www.uboat.net/today.html

05-31-10, 11:52 PM	#13
The Starfox Watch Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 19 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	I loved my type IX B uboat, and used it from late 39 to early 43. When out on patrol my biggest hindrance was the lack of torpedoes. Since I play with the GWX mod, I use 2 torpedoes on any of the moderate sized ships or bigger to make sure they sink. I was always able to sneak in between the front central escort and the side escort, in order to get among the convoy. I would fire off all my torpedoes, which at two per ship would be 3 kills of large ships. Then I immediately dive going silent and deep to sneak out. After I get away, I reload my torpedoes and bring in new torpedoes from the exterior storage bays, and then launch a new attack on the convoy. I also loved the extra fuel, even though I mostly fought close to Great Britian, the extra fuel meant I could run the engines at a faster speed. Thus I could go head out and return to port much more quickly, allowing me to complete more patrols in a given year. When I got into the IX D2, I was in heaven Extra torpedoes and tons of fuel, meant I could move at flank speed all the time, and rampage around the Isles. So yes, type IX's are awesome boats when you do hit and run style attacks.

06-01-10, 08:29 AM	#14
maillemaker Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,639 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	I agree, I love the type IX - the more torpedoes the better! I will be sad when I have enough renown to upgrade, as I will lose the awesome FM interior of my type VII. Steve

06-01-10, 12:07 PM	#15
Thomen Ace of the Deep Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: West Virginia Posts: 1,207 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	I have to agree with the lot of you. So far I have mainly used type VII's, and rarely ventured out with type IX (my longest patrol of 105 days was done in a IX). After taking my IXB into the medium convoy described above and fighting a surface battle against a small 4 ship convoy yesterday, it is a very nice boat for such actions. Thanks for input.