With 100% realism I did not get any renown for my first patrol

[Rambler241]

Kip336 said:

Sonar checks or Hydrophone checks? Both are quite different.

Posters here normally use the term "sonar" as shorthand for "passive sonar", as I think you're well aware. My first paragraph would have made that clear anyway - I said that sonar gave 30km+ "seeing distance". That would hardly apply to active sonar, would it? Your reply implies you don't use passive sonar at all, or rarely.

The fact that you get map contacts doesn't mean there are no other targets near your boat, either when you first see the map contact, or en route to intercept the contact. You're missing out, big time.

[Kip336]

Originally Posted by Rambler241

Kip336 said:

Posters here normally use the term "sonar" as shorthand for "passive sonar", as I think you're well aware. My first paragraph would have made that clear anyway - I said that sonar gave 30km+ "seeing distance". That would hardly apply to active sonar, would it? Your reply implies you don't use passive sonar at all, or rarely.
The fact that you get map contacts doesn't mean there are no other targets near your boat, either when you first see the map contact, or en route to intercept the contact. You're missing out, big time.

Sorry, with Map contacts I meant the Gods Eye view. Even in convoy lanes, you don't get a BDU Contact report for every convoy that passes you, so you'd still have to dip down and use your hydrophone to check for contacts.

I didn't tell CjStaal not to use his hydrophone, nor did I advice him specifically to do it. I specifically said that you generally just sail around. That's what it comes down to.

Personally, I only do Hydrophone checks on the way back from my patrol area. I've got a simple tactic why:
Odds are big I will run into a convoy with multiple large merchant (>7000grt) and many smaller merchants that will end up costing me the better part of my ammunition.

If I spend my torpedoes on every merchant (Lets say >3000grt) I come across on my way to the patrol area, I'd miss out on a lot of tonnage that I could've gotten sinking the largest ships in the convoy.

So, I head for my patrol area (In the convoy lanes), search for a convoy (Using all my sensors available) and sink the largest ships. Depending on the situation, I can stay and use my deckgun for smaller merchants (No escorts, good weather.), or I bow out and start returning home, taking detours left and right along interesting areas to find larger merchants with my hydrophones.

I am not missing out on tonnage, not even big time. I'd even go as far as saying that my tactic ensures I get more tonnage per patrol by waiting for the highest tonnage ships to come in my periscopes. If I don't find a convoy, then I can always fall back on taking smaller targets when I see them.
My worst 'patrol' was just over 20.000grt, but that ended early after a run in with a destroyer Most of my patrols I return with just the bare minimums in my ammo, a few deck gun shells and maybe a hundred or so 20mm shells for AA.

But in the end, we all just sail around looking for targets.

[Pisces]

Iirc there was also a bug that if you change anything to your sub before the 1st patrol (that means upgrades AND crew) then renown doesn't get awarded either.

The amount of renown CjStaal expects suggests it is from reaching the patrol location, but this could also be the reason.