Were TypeIX's used exclusively for long range patrols?

[Penelope_Grey]

Originally Posted by von Zelda

it was spotted and sunk while making a daring daylight surfaced attack.

Type VII's were considered to be far better at convoy attacks than Type IX's.

OMG!! a surface attack in daylight! That is just reckless. Even I wouldn't do that.

I think VII's are better at convoy attacking than IX's. But with a bit of planning a IX can attack a convoy as good as a VII... though, due to their larger size, surface attacking in a IX could be tough, methinks you'd have to make submerged attack on convoys due to slow crash dive times.

[Brag]

Originally Posted by Penelope_Grey

OMG!! a surface attack in daylight! That is just reckless. Even I wouldn't do that.

05 Aug 1941
I just made an (unintended) daylight convoy attack.

Was listening trying to determine distance and convoy track. Got it figured out, paralled course and surfaced to overtake.

Climbed to the bridge. Paralleling us was this madium merchie staring me in the face. The blinkin' lookouts quiet as angels.

I flipped the UZO, set gyro angle to 85 degrees and sent out two torps, ordered 90 degree turn away from the convoy and skooted out of there at flank speed. Both torpedoes hit

[CCIP]

I would put it this way: they tended to be assigned long-ranged patrols as this best took advantage of their capabilities. However it depended on many factors including operational requirements, and as you know there was almost always a serious shortage of U-boats.

Aside from the Norway operation where U-64 participated and was sunk, Type IXs were occasionally assigned to wolfpack operations, most famously on the Gibraltar route. A number of them had quite some success there. By anyone but the Germans' standard they were a pretty swift, moderately-sized type of boat. They weren't, shall we say, as ideal (and certainly not as cost-effective) as Type VIIs on wolfpack operations, but they could do them. When possible, of course, they didn't since it made no sense to not exploit their range advantage under any normal circumstances.

Originally Posted by CCIP

I would put it this way: they tended to be assigned long-ranged patrols as this best took advantage of their capabilities. .....it made no sense to not exploit their range advantage under any normal circumstances.

Not being mentioned, the Type IXs carried 8 external torpedoes compared to the 2 on the Type VIIs. As a practical matter late in the war, externals were only loaded on the long distance missions conducted by Type IXs. These missions being to the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. It became virtually impossible to load externals in the North Atlantic due to increased air cover.