sub choice dilema

[Sailor Steve]

Ever since SH1 I've been in the habit of running multiple careers, one from each available flotilla. I keep a record of who is where and when, and run one full patrol before switching to the oldest one again.

For me this is both more and less realistic at the same time. Less, because obviously no one can really be two different people and have different lives, but more because realistically captains didn't ordinarily get to choose what type of boat they would command; they took what they were assigned. Realistically you should roll a die and use the result to choose between the available commands, taking what fate deals you. I can't do that, and I can't bring myself to choose what I know I couldn't really choose, so I take the option to do them all at the same time.

[pickler]

thanks for all the responses. the majority here seem to agree that vii is just a better boat and yes i do keep my viic uflak in 10th flotilla. while the guns are great on this boat and no aircraft managed to sink me so far, i have a major issue:
i completed my first patrol from penang heading to Arabian sea and the swimming up to the Oman sea close to strait of hormuz. thats where i picked up a small convoy of 4 large tankers unescorted!! i dispensed all my torpedos to sink them and then headed home. on the way home i ran into a similar convoy but i could not do much without torpedos.

this is why im considering an ixc40; firepower. but i should also mention that i met lots of lancaster bombers in that patrol. i really like to see 1945 as i have never survived past '43 let alone with 170k tons.

[Raptor]

And you are taking on aircraft deliberately why?

The U-flak concept proved to be almost worthless in real life. The gain just wasn't worth the pain. The tactical value of the few aircraft shot down was dwarfed by the loss of life amongst the gunners and damage to the boats sustained during "the great turkey shoot". There's a reason Donitz scrapped the project and returned the 4 flak boats to their regular configurations.

I've never tested it, but the drag of the increasingly larger turms (towers) with their extra weaponry had a serious negative effect on both diving times and underwater maximum speed of the boats.

Does anyone know if either SH3 or GWX models that effect?

[pickler]

im not sure but the upgrade feom viib to viic was a penalty in performance both dive times and underwater speed. did not notice much with coning tower 4 upgrade. i have shot down every aircraft that i took onwith uflak and taken 20-30% hull damage eah time. but the manuverabilty is great and bombs always fall just short. once aircraft is picked up i align my course 90' prependicular to aircraft path at ahead flank. once the aircraft dives i go hard turn towards aircraft. this is of course for the bigger aircrafts like lancaster. i crash dive when smaller aircraft like hurricane arrive as they are too small and fast to hit. im thinking the best way to solve this problem is to avoid it...save my renown and get the type xxi at Bergen in less than a year. 1944 is coming and my slow viic is not ready for the hedgcog under water.

[Raptor]

According to the .cfg files, the C series (C, C/41, and C/42) is 3 seconds faster diving but its underwater range at 4 knots in 10 nm less than that of the B.

VIIB:
dive time 30 seconds
underwater range = 90 nm at 4 knots

VIIC, C/41, and C/42:
dive time = 27 seconds
underwater range = 80 nm at 4 knots


All VII varieties have the same 150 meter crush depth vs. 165 meters for the type IX varieties.

[pickler]

viib was definitely more hydrodynamic. i could do 3kts silent running while 2kt in viic. div times for my viic is about 33s last i timed it from alarm call to complete submergence of sub. i do not know about viic41/42, i never used them.

[Raptor]

SH3 includes the VIIC/41 and VIIC/42 boats, although the C/42 variant was never completed.

If you elect one of these, you might want to change the appropriate .cfg file to more accurately reflect the true crush depths of these two very deep diving variants. The SH3 default is 150 meters for all type VIIs - totally unrealistic.

The VIIC/41 added 2.5 mm to the thickness of the pressure hull, allowing it to dive to 250 - 300 meters.

The VIIC/42 used armor plate for the pressure hull instead of standard steel, and was designed to allow it to reach 500 meters.

No depth charge could go as deep as these variants could dive, so they were vulnerable only to Hedgehogs and the inherent risks of the depths.

I suspect that Hedgehogs would implode before 500 meters, but I don't know that for sure. Either way, it's a moot point since the C/42 never got built.

There was even a design VIIC/43 with 6 forward torpedo tubes, but that's another story.

[Olamagato]

Originally Posted by Raptor

All VII varieties have the same 150 meter crush depth vs. 165 meters for the type IX varieties.

This is not "crush depth". This is maximum operational depth = pure bureaucracy. Crush depth is not to survive because hard to live after crushing at a depth of... 300-350 m.