Days on Patrol

[PappyCain]

I reference this site and pages to get 'general ideas' on the length of a patrol depending on the boat, the orders, etc. etc.

http://www.uboat.net/ops/top_patrols.htm

Fuel usually dictates the time to head back to base ... but sometimes I limit the patrol to food rations especially when not burning fuel excessively.

Obviously damage and re-arming makes a decision.

Question to all? What means do you use to limit the patrol time?


S'
PC

Torpedoes and sometimes the shells for the deck gun. I don't return to base until I'm empty or too damaged to risk going further. It's extremely rare that I go below 50-60% remaining fuel, before expending nearly all my ammunition, and returning home. (I save a few torpedoes for the trip back, and use them on the Allies before docking.)

I'm rarely gone long enough to worry about food. Additionally, if I feel the situation actually warrants it, I stop at a deserted island, and have the men collect fruit, do some fishing, and take a few hours rest before we continue on our way. Obviously, I can't do this in the North Atlantic or the Med due to the increased danger. After 1943 though, the extended range of the air patrols mean that I curtail this behavior even more.

So my order of priority for returning to base is Damage, then Ammo, followed by fuel, and then food. I won't even allow them to end the war until I'm done firing my torpedoes at enemy vessels, damn it!

[mookiemookie]

I stay out as long as fuel allows. I don't re-arm, as U-boats would have only received one or two torpedoes at most from a milk cow. I'm stingy with my eels too.

[Kapt Z]

Using a type VIIC I try and set patrol time from 45-50 days at sea tops.

I usually set cruise speed at 9-10kts, which is not ideal, but allows me plenty of patrol time while still making fuel consumption a real factor. I have returned to base, several times, due to low fuel(food) with torpedoes still aboard.

I pretty much stick to the 1944-45 time frame where few Type VII patrols lasted more than 50 days. I prepare patrol orders in advance giving the estimated date of return calculated based on 45-days plus/minus (using a coin toss) 1 D10 die roll for variety. I will depart the patrol square in time to make the RTB date regardless of success, fuel status or torpedoes remaining. Since most of the patrol is conducted using the snorkel, seven weeks should be plenty long enough.

[1480]

Reading Blair's books as a guide, 25-40 days. While on patrol, they were ordered all over the place. A lot of weather stations, chasing after reported convoys, attempting to set up wolf packs etc. I just set up WB's mid patrol orders and will see how that turns out since I am on my shake out cruise in AUG 39....

[von Kinderei]

What is WB's mid patrol orders

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by von Kinderei

What is WB's mid patrol orders

It's a mod for Commander that gives you orders to go to a new map grid during your current patrol. Full details can be found here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160172

Lots of people really enjoy it, so thanks again WB!

[Jimbuna]

A combination of fuel, eels and ammo...not in any particular order.

[von Kinderei]

Thanks gentlemen ...

Now another stupid question ... which one's do I need besides the Mid-Patrol Radio Orders

[Tessa]

It's possible to have patrols in VII\s last 75-90 days if you use the route that Donitz laid out for crossing from Europe to America. It's agonizingly slow but once Drumbeat begins its the one of the only ways to cross the Atlantic without using a milkcow for fuel for the return in the smaller boats.

[1480]

Originally Posted by von Kinderei

Thanks gentlemen ...

Now another stupid question ... which one's do I need besides the Mid-Patrol Radio Orders

SH3 commander, Jscones generic mod enabler x2, GWX a must since I believe it only works with it and not the vanilla version of sh3


No such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people. And you are not cut from that cloth.

[von Kinderei]

Danke 1480 ...


I have Sh3 Commander, GWX 3.0 gold installed along with the mod enabler

I have just placed a mod enabler into the Sh3 Commander folder and placed the WB's mid patrol radio order into that particular mod folder


Is ther anything else I need to do or any of the other mods to make for excellent experience ?

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by 1480

SH3 commander, Jscones generic mod enabler x2, GWX a must since I believe it only works with it and not the vanilla version of sh3

Commander and JSGME are both stand-alone programs - they'll work with the stock game plus any and all of the supermods.

If you use Commander with GWX3. though, you do need to install some extra config files.

[1480]

@Frau, mid patrol orders need gwx to work. I may have worded things a bit funny, my bad.

@V K, I had a bit of a problem with the install of the the mods side of JGME. I had to pull the individual folders out of the M P O. It showed up as MODS in the game JGME, rather than the individual areas of operation, like the readme says to activate individually, otherwise it might send a type II to the east coast of the states .

You know you did it right when you see the titles of the six sub folders in the JGME. Then you just activate the one that you need for that particular mission when you launch SH3 commander. You need to activate it on the Commander JGME before your game JGME will recognize it.

Sorry I did this half-a$$ backwards, but I need a nap.