What do you do if you see enemy aircraft?

[meduza]

If I spot the aircraft on time, I crash dive. If they surprise me and I dont have time to dive, I try to shoot him, and as soon as he's above me, dive before he turns back.

With the stock SH3, I manage to do this . Once.

@Paul Riley
Regarding the use of the radar, I like to pretend that it's been thrown overboard, because turning it on will attract all RAF and Royal Navy directly at you.

[predavolk]

I dive if at all possible. Although I must admit, with my new pair of dual rapid 20s, and my quad 20, I am feeling rather tempted to try them at least once. Maybe on the way home sometime.

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by meduza

If I spot the aircraft on time, I crash dive. If they surprise me and I dont have time to dive, I try to shoot him, and as soon as he's above me, dive before he turns back.

With the stock SH3, I manage to do this . Once.

@Paul Riley
Regarding the use of the radar, I like to pretend that it's been thrown overboard, because turning it on will attract all RAF and Royal Navy directly at you.

Well,as soon as I run into problems with the radar maybe I will do the same,and lob it in the sea.As I say,I dont use it during daylight hours and when vis. is good.

Thanks for the tip anyhow. :rotfl:

[nikbear]

Originally Posted by meduza

If I spot the aircraft on time, I crash dive. If they surprise me and I dont have time to dive, I try to shoot him, and as soon as he's above me, dive before he turns back.

With the stock SH3, I manage to do this . Once.

@Paul Riley
Regarding the use of the radar, I like to pretend that it's been thrown overboard, because turning it on will attract all RAF and Royal Navy directly at you.

Is that true regarding radar:hmm:I've read in some books that it attracted allied planes,but just recently I've read in Martin middlebrooks "CONVOY" The Greatest U-boat Battle Of The War' that the RAF actually gave up trying to find U-boats from there radar and that the ony reason the germans belived otherwise was a captured RAF officer telling them that there subs could be tracked and found from there radar signature,does anyone have the deffinitive answer regarding this matter and which model does SH3/GWX use?:hmm:

[Tomcat84]

I recently read the memoir Iron Coffins by Werner. He says that BDU at some point broadcast all uboats not to use metox anymore cause the allies home in on it.

In the GWX manual it says this was a lie by a captured pilot, in reality the allies had new radar that used wavelengths that Metox didnt pick up.

Dont know what the game does, but I'd like to know

[Steeltrap]

Well something like 45-50% of all u-boat losses in WWII were due to aircraft or aircraft operating in conjunction with ships (this includes losses due to air attacks on harbours).

Aircraft were regarded as the single greatest threat to u-boats due to their speed, ability to surprise (related to speed and difficulty in detecting them) and weapons/sensors.

The fact is you should avoid aircraft like the plague. UNLESS you have NO CHOICE (due to prior damage or detecting the aircraft too late, by which I mean closer than about 4-6km) you should immediately dive.

Incidentally, you can edit the 'crash dive' depth so you can use it more regularly. I set mine for 50m.

Another thing: my view is that 'shallow water' means you change your tactics to avoid needing to dive, NOT that you fight on the surface because you can't dive quickly/deeply. Staying on the surface is usually a losing proposition - even early in the war, if you 'defeat' the aircraft you may well suffer significant casualties/damage, so you've still 'lost'.

Your job is to sink ships using your advantage of surprise/stealth. Doing anything else is contrary to that. If I were BdU I'd be asking what you were doing such that you were cornered on the surface by aircraft and you'd better have a good answer...."watching a ship sink" doesn't qualify as a good answer!!!

It was a failure of stock SH3 that people were so blase about aircraft (witness the post where the person shot down 52 in one patrol!!). They were killers, and u-boats rightly feared them (thank goodness the air-dropped homing torpedo isn't included!!). GWX/NYGM correctly altered this so you'll pretty much die regularly if you continue to stay on the surface near aircraft - even being damaged by near misses or air depth charges is better than staying on the surface to be bombed/strafed.

[astak9]

In the earley days I try to take them out (especially the bi-planes) Later in the war crash dives. (be carefull in shallow water )

[Task Force]

So far in my current carear with U-45 Ive seen two planes, Both those little bi planes and they are currently setting at the bottom of the North Sea.(currently in mid 1940) And weve attacked and sunk all/most of five convoys with over 400,000 tons sunk and seen only two planes.

[Chisum]

A last word: when aircraft is hited be carefull because often he continues his way and tries to explode on your deck !

[nikbear]

Originally Posted by Steeltrap

Well something like 45-50% of all u-boat losses in WWII were due to aircraft or aircraft operating in conjunction with ships (this includes losses due to air attacks on harbours).

Aircraft were regarded as the single greatest threat to u-boats due to their speed, ability to surprise (related to speed and difficulty in detecting them) and weapons/sensors.

The fact is you should avoid aircraft like the plague. UNLESS you have NO CHOICE (due to prior damage or detecting the aircraft too late, by which I mean closer than about 4-6km) you should immediately dive.

Incidentally, you can edit the 'crash dive' depth so you can use it more regularly. I set mine for 50m.

Another thing: my view is that 'shallow water' means you change your tactics to avoid needing to dive, NOT that you fight on the surface because you can't dive quickly/deeply. Staying on the surface is usually a losing proposition - even early in the war, if you 'defeat' the aircraft you may well suffer significant casualties/damage, so you've still 'lost'.

Your job is to sink ships using your advantage of surprise/stealth. Doing anything else is contrary to that. If I were BdU I'd be asking what you were doing such that you were cornered on the surface by aircraft and you'd better have a good answer...."watching a ship sink" doesn't qualify as a good answer!!!

It was a failure of stock SH3 that people were so blase about aircraft (witness the post where the person shot down 52 in one patrol!!). They were killers, and u-boats rightly feared them (thank goodness the air-dropped homing torpedo isn't included!!). GWX/NYGM correctly altered this so you'll pretty much die regularly if you continue to stay on the surface near aircraft - even being damaged by near misses or air depth charges is better than staying on the surface to be bombed/strafed.

I belive someone is working on a mod for the 'air dropped homing torpedo'!FIDO it was called:rotfl:that should spice things up a bit

[Steeltrap]

Ah, no - it should make things deadly.

My recollection is that FIDO was so effective (unlike the initial German version that was rushed into service due to combat pressures before its 'glitches' were ironed out) that the Germans knew nothing of it until after the war - the only boats aware of it were destroyed by it......

NOT something I'd look forward to. I imagine your only real hope would be to shut down your engines and change course/depth....at least it didn't use active sonar.

[Cezbor]

Fast dive and change of course .....or ..... many stupid manuvers just to trick those @#$%&*@@### flying sons of Albion

[bookworm_020]

Put my head betwwen my knees and kiss my A$$ goodbye!

Dive like there's no tomorrow, and if I'm not fast enough, there won't be!

[Steeltrap]

A follow up to my previous:

"340 [Fido] torpedoes [were] dropped in 264 attacks of which 204 were against submarines. In 142 attacks US aircraft sank 31 submarines and damaged 15; in 62 attacks against submarines other Allies, mainly British, sank six and damaged three. Most of these submarine sinkings were German U-boats in the Atlantic, but five Japanese submarines were sunk by Fidos, one, I-52, in the Atlantic and four in the Pacific. OEG Study No. 289, 12 August 1946, is the main source for this conclusion."

Fido was first used successfully by a British B-24 Liberator defending Convoy HX 237 on 12 May 1943, sinking U-456. This was followed by a USN PBY-5A from VP 84 which sank U-640 on 14 May 1943.

I still think it's true the Germans were unaware of it - due to its small warhead (about 45kg torpex) they probably thought the damage was from a near bomb/depth charge.....either way, these stats make it clear it's NOT a pleasant experience for the recipient:

- 27% of attacks lead to damage or destruction of target submarine (18% destruction, 9% damage). So there's a 1/4 chance it will hit you, and a 66% chance that any hit will be fatal.

YIKES!!!!

[Paul Riley]

Originally Posted by Tomcat84

I recently read the memoir Iron Coffins by Werner. He says that BDU at some point broadcast all uboats not to use metox anymore cause the allies home in on it.

In the GWX manual it says this was a lie by a captured pilot, in reality the allies had new radar that used wavelengths that Metox didnt pick up.

Dont know what the game does, but I'd like to know

I have had Iron Coffins for a couple of years,a really good book,and it CAN in fact help you with this game.
Regarding Metox,i'm not sure,but were'nt the emissions really miniscule,and hard for RAF bomber command/planes/ships to detect?.I havent had this device yet,but know a little about it,as it gave the uboat a few vital seconds to prepare for an incoming aerial attack! , and also notified the crew that they were being tracked by radar.
It sounds like a very vital piece of equipment to me,better than having nothing!.