Flak Gunners in GWX

[Telgriff]

Originally Posted by its a viic

I just installed GWX a few weeks ago. I currently am in a viib. Cruising along am 53 and plane spotted. I am in Sept 39. I decide to have a flak gunner take care of the plane which now have turned into two. On their second pass ... flak gun destroyed , gunner dead, down to 90% hull integrity. Yikes!!
I have to tell ya the vanilla with 1.4 patch was pretty easy to shoot down planes, even more so this early in the war. I knew GWX was going to have rabid plane AI but geez. This is craziness. Question. How many of you put alot of stock in flak gunners in GWX? Should I just get one and concentrate on more torpedo petty officers. I think I may just crash dive any time I see a plane. Alot of you have been playing GWX Alot longer than I. What have you all done as far as enemy planes are concerned? I play D.I.D. at 76% difficulty.

Dont even bother with flak gunners, I only keep them on the boat to shoot at small merchants and fishing boats to save torps and deck gun ammo. I attempted to shoot at aircraft once in GWX...the result was 4 dead and 6 injured along with a big dent in my IXB.

[Rose]

Dive!

[Carotio]

Are we mice or men?

Of course we stay surfaced and give them some fight back!

My flak gunner is always in the mood for shooting back...

[Webchessie]

I really like watching the burning aircraft that I hit, but I find that that kind of fun usually ends up with dead crew and beat-up boat. Late in the war and it's always best to heed the call of . . . .

ALARM!

[Iron Budokan]

I don't qual flak gunners, either.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

From Clay Blair's "Hitler's U-boat War - The Hunted 1942-1945"

page 515

... On the third day, March 6, (1944) yet another Swordfish from Chaser, piloted by L.E.B. Bennet, sank a U-boat with depth charges and rockets. She was the U-973 commanded by Klaus Paepenmoller* The British destroyer Boadicea recovered the engineer, Franz Rudolf, and two enlisted men, but one of the latter died on board, leaving two prisoners. They asserted that most of the flak gunners and ammo passers had refused to carry out their duties. If true, it was a rare episode in the highly disciplined U-boat force.
------------------------------------

http://uboat.net/boats/u973.htm

I think this speaks volumes and is a sign of the times.

Flak crews in real life often suffered when facing aircraft... even when successful.

It was standard operating proceedure for aircraft to fire continuously on the flak crew while running in to attack with DC's... to "keep the flak crew's heads down with suppressive fires."

In GWX, when slugging it out with aircraft, I think it is wholly appropriate that there is a sharp risk of losing flak gunners when the player decides to engage rather than evade by diving.

I also feel that the overall results of engaging aircraft in GWX are certainly in line with historical plausibility.

You might shoot down the aircraft... but it is VERY likely that you will have to bleed for it a bit.

[Jimbuna]

Further evidence of the Immersion + historical accuracy of GWX

If your the type that likes 'shoot em ups'...stay on the surface and slug it out, but remember you could pay a heavy price.
If your the type that prefers 'historical accuracy'......AALLLAAAAAAAAAARRMMMMM!! and dive....live to fight another day.