Amount of days at sea

Tessa · 08-08-10, 04:40 PM

Your patrol/trolling area also affects the total time spent at sea. If you hit a good convoy after just a day or two in the Atlantic you could be home and expended all your torpedos in just 4 or 5 days. Generally mine average around 12-18 days, longest is 30. Around day 15 or so I'll start running low on fuel and either have to return home or be near a supply ship.

My last patrol went from Kiel -> Gibraltor and ended up with 2 torpedos left and about 5% or less fuel left when I reach the supply ship.

Panser · 08-08-10, 05:51 PM

As others have said, a month to 6 weeks was a typical patrol duration until boats started going long haul to try and find more targets. However, don't feel you should force yourself to stay out this long unless you're deliberately trying to go for authenticity. With a bit of recklessness, a lot of luck and a severe case of throat itch you can be done in a fraction of the time.

I've always patrolled until I'm either out of eels or badly damaged; I've had some phenomenal luck finding juicy targets in my current career and will pursue targets relentlessly. My patrols have been completely ahistorical in terms of their duration:

-Shortest patrol is 7 days, returning due to a botched harbour raid getting my sub smashed up pretty bad.
- Longest patrol is a mere 20 days, returning empty after interdicting two different patrols off the west coast of Ireland.

I have spent only 126 days at sea in 9 patrols for 470115 tons sunk between 01/09/39 and 17/10/40.

Obviously this makes a mockery of the real statistics, but it sure makes for a fine game

K-61 · 08-08-10, 07:33 PM

In patrol one of my current career, I was at sea for seven weeks. I had a long dry spell before I finally scored my first kill. Picked up a few more singles and then bagged only one from a convoy before it got too close to shallow shores to be prudent to carry on. I finally returned home as I was running low on fuel. Six to eight weeks in a VII sailing from Germany was normal, somewhat less than that for subs sailing from France. "Paukenschlag" patrols or extended patrols to sub-equatorial regions also made for patrols of about three months. At some point, you simply have to sail for home, as the crew starts getting itchy for shore leave and even the boat itself would seem to be wanting to get back to port for refit and upgrading. Thank God for time compression. I used time compression in "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" as a P-51 pilot; it would be nuts to try to do a patrol fully at 1x. I did read about one guy who tried it.

Gerald · 08-08-10, 08:04 PM

sometimes shorter.

08-08-10, 05:51 PM	#2
Panser Machinist's Mate Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Lincs, UK Posts: 124 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	As others have said, a month to 6 weeks was a typical patrol duration until boats started going long haul to try and find more targets. However, don't feel you should force yourself to stay out this long unless you're deliberately trying to go for authenticity. With a bit of recklessness, a lot of luck and a severe case of throat itch you can be done in a fraction of the time. I've always patrolled until I'm either out of eels or badly damaged; I've had some phenomenal luck finding juicy targets in my current career and will pursue targets relentlessly. My patrols have been completely ahistorical in terms of their duration: -Shortest patrol is 7 days, returning due to a botched harbour raid getting my sub smashed up pretty bad. - Longest patrol is a mere 20 days, returning empty after interdicting two different patrols off the west coast of Ireland. I have spent only 126 days at sea in 9 patrols for 470115 tons sunk between 01/09/39 and 17/10/40. Obviously this makes a mockery of the real statistics, but it sure makes for a fine game __________________ In danger of becoming the resident Windows 7 apologist

08-08-10, 07:33 PM	#3
K-61 Grey Wolf Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 795 Downloads: 39 Uploads: 0	In patrol one of my current career, I was at sea for seven weeks. I had a long dry spell before I finally scored my first kill. Picked up a few more singles and then bagged only one from a convoy before it got too close to shallow shores to be prudent to carry on. I finally returned home as I was running low on fuel. Six to eight weeks in a VII sailing from Germany was normal, somewhat less than that for subs sailing from France. "Paukenschlag" patrols or extended patrols to sub-equatorial regions also made for patrols of about three months. At some point, you simply have to sail for home, as the crew starts getting itchy for shore leave and even the boat itself would seem to be wanting to get back to port for refit and upgrading. Thank God for time compression. I used time compression in "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" as a P-51 pilot; it would be nuts to try to do a patrol fully at 1x. I did read about one guy who tried it. __________________

08-08-10, 08:04 PM	#4
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	For me between 20-30 days, sometimes shorter. __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-08-10, 04:40 PM	#1
Tessa Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: CG 96 Posts: 861 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Your patrol/trolling area also affects the total time spent at sea. If you hit a good convoy after just a day or two in the Atlantic you could be home and expended all your torpedos in just 4 or 5 days. Generally mine average around 12-18 days, longest is 30. Around day 15 or so I'll start running low on fuel and either have to return home or be near a supply ship. My last patrol went from Kiel -> Gibraltor and ended up with 2 torpedos left and about 5% or less fuel left when I reach the supply ship.