This Black Swan . . .

Well, we haven't been introduced yet till now. Fog, rain, running hard to intercept a convoy. Just a brief thought - we should dive... (radar?)

"Wir werden angegriefen!!"

"Alarm!! Tauchen!!!!!!!"

"Wasserbomben!"

This might be challenging... (finally or I'm gonna regret it?).
She lost me for now... drifting towards the convoy.

[Brag]

Originally Posted by Hadrys

Well, we haven't been introduced yet till now. Fog, rain, running hard to intercept a convoy. Just a brief thought - we should dive... (radar?)

"Wir werden angegriefen!!"

"Alarm!! Tauchen!!!!!!!"

"Wasserbomben!"

This might be challenging... (finally or I'm gonna regret it?).
She lost me for now... drifting towards the convoy.

Once you've been spotted, it is best to break off the attack and try again later. Sailing in the fog (blind) enemy radar has ALL the advantage.

Originally Posted by Brag

Once you've been spotted, it is best to break off the attack and try again later. Sailing in the fog (blind) enemy radar has ALL the advantage.

Yeah, that's what I did... tried to shadow convoy for a better weather but lost it very quickly (they were doing 4kn so I could run underwater easiely). I've noticed that convoys in CF grids tend to change their course very drastically. That's not the first one which I lost there... Radar would help but it's still 1941.

[Brag]

23 November 1941

The escorts of this convoy got nasty and surpassed the boundaries of politness. I was a good 10 kilometers abeam the convoy, hurrying to visit before dawn.

Blinking Corvette came charging from behind, Black Swan, 40 degrees off port bow.
This was too much!

I dove to PD, Despite my shy nature, I stayed eyeballing the corvette. at 600 meters, let it have it with stern tube. Blam.

The black Swan changed course, at 900 meters I fired tube 1, almost missed, One BS less with that convoy.

I surfaced to continue my overhaul maneuvre.

Another bloody corvette made its appearance.

Damn, my rear tubes were empty.

I turned the boat. The corvette was mucking about in the area where its buddies sank. It turned and headed for me. I was facing the wrong way. Started another one eighty.

The corvette cathered speed, recklessly I accelerated, had solution and fired. I think now the convoy is without escorts. Will find out when I drop in for breakfast.
At the moment I'm a nervous wreck

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Brag

You, nefarious GWX Gangers, have us trembling with fear from your threats. Now, where is 10.4?

Well let me tell you without any fear of being called a liar .........it's sitting nicely inside my hard drive At least the alpha is

[Brag]

After taking out the escorts went into the convoy--torpedoed remaining high value targets. I large freighter, 2 Liberties. One liberty refused to sink.

Only small, unarmed merchies remained. Unable to use deck gun, followed the convoy from 23 November 'til 03 December. GRRRRR, weather only got worse. Low on fuel, broke away.

The convoy yielded 78,000 tons.

[Wilko]

Well done

[Reinhard Dietz]

Originally Posted by Mowinz

I always sink some escorts first before I attack a convoy. How historically accurate is it for SH3 gamers to do this? Was this a common tactic for real life U-Boat commanders? Doubt it.

I've read somewhere that Doenitz actively discouraged sinking escorts. I don't know if it was because he thought it a low-percentage shot, or if he simply thought that a U-boat could/should/better avoid the things and score merchant tonnage.

Rather foolish policy in my judgment, especially as the war went on. The convoy I'm attacking now would be a lot easier to deal with if I had killed the two ships that have kept me submerged and running in the low single digits, afraid to reload torpedoes. I usually reserve the right to zap a pesky one, though.

[Brag]

Surprise, surprise!!
As I headed for Lorient, the weather changed and we were bathed in sunlight and sparkling calm seas. "Full speed ahead , new course 355."

We found the convoy and approached it cautiously from behind. No one fired. So we started picking ships with the deckie. Sunk 4, three are on fire and may sink later. Only three ships left unharmed.

So far this convoy lost 3 tankers, 11 freighters, I black Swan, 2 corvettes--total 90,000 + tonnes.

[TigerShark808]

Originally Posted by Brag

With 15 GWX patrols, I'm not going to say escorts have X ray vision;or heaven forbid, give any ideas to the nefarious GWX modders ideas that escorts are too easy to fool.

But I've run into this Black Swan . . .

After two days of idling in the sunshine some way off Freetown in my new Type IXC sumbie, Got a report of a convoy heading our way. Conviniently we only had to do 5 knots to get close enough to follow it.

Before lunch, I was on my bunk reading an erotic novel some joker snuck under my pillow. This was interrpted by, "Captain to the bridge, ship sighted."

The wind was beginning to churn up a sparkling sea and on the horizon, a Liberty ship chugged along, several masts indicated this was the convoy. I ordered a slightly diverging course when a shell ripped the air over our heads.

No more than 3,000 meters away, a Black Swan whith a big white moustache raced toward us making noise with its artillery. Where did that come from?

"Alaaaaaarm."
Staying near the surface at flank speed we moved away from the spot the fiend had last seen us, then down to eighty meters at silent runnin. The Black Swan dropped lots of depth charges somewhere else then gave up and went away.

I sent a contact report to Canovaro at BDU's Spinnennetz and ploted my evening visit to the convoy.

In ambush position with the sun already down, but enough light to get an appreciation of the convoy, I observed the lead Black Swan go through a complicated dancing routine. Never one minute of straight course. After each evolution it seemed to be heading for me, then breaking off.

Eventually I was inside the screen with a bunch of low value targets. But a Whale factory came into view. I had told myself not to waste torpedoes as we would have plenty of opportunity to nibble at this convoy. One torpedo, one ship.

I was already at 40 meters when the torpedo hit.

Through the observation scope I saw an escort go right overhead and then dump DCs somewhere else. Lots of DC. The Whale factory sank.

We went around the convoy. Same routine. Lined up a perfect shot on a large freighter and dove. Premature explosion.

Drats. Back up to PD. The surface was a mess of ships too close to fire on but managed a hit on the stern of a medium tanker.had to dive as a corvette headed our way. 3 torpedoes failed to hit.

The evening attack went very well (almost), fired 3 torpedoes at a whale factory, a medium freighter and a medium tanker. The whale sunk, so did the medium, the third torpedo hit a small freighter (WTF?!).

Back to ambush for pre=dawn attack, rough seas , the night as dark as a cockroach den. Perfect.

The lead swan is doing its dancing bit and heads straight for me. I lower the scope so the bllighter won't smash it. We're cooked anyway.

It passes overhead. Whew! I guess he didn't see us.

Oh yeah? Here it comes again. This time, no mistake he's heading for me in a tight turn. Same thing, he passes overhead. but no DC. We are too shallow for him.

The convoy is zigzagging, flares illuninate and searchlights sway. I take a quick stern shot at a Liberty and head down.

Through the obs scope I see the Black Swan make another perfect pass. This time he drops. Flank and down to 120 meters. The DCs explode above.

But the bugger loses us and goes banging some distance away.

We still have lots of torpedoes left. The convoy, and us are a long way from home. Somehow I feel this Black Swan has my number.

I play GWX and to be honest I have never feared any BLACK SWAN one bit. It must be that my first kill in this game was do to knocking a DD on her @ss at 500 meters while attempting to ram. I love searching for convoys but love it more when there are atleast 4 escorts involved. Its easy to run from an escort and kill defenseless merchant ships..it's another thing to engage the escorts and ignore the merchants.

If the escort does not zig zag then obviously an easy kill...BUT if it's trying to make your life hard well is then the fight is on .You got to love ( EMBRACE ) your aft torp when engaging DD's. YOU GOT TO LOVE THE FIGHT .


ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ENGAGE A TASK FORCE AND DESTROY IT

[Jimbuna]

Circumstances have a tendency to change after 42 when crews become veteran and elite, get radar and hedgehog equipped vessels

[TigerShark808]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Circumstances have a tendency to change after 42 when crews become veteran and elite, get radar and hedgehog equipped vessels

That is so true .

[Kaleu. Jochen Mohr]

Originally Posted by TigerShark808

That is so true .

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
it isnt that true.
passing the channal SURFACED in 1943

[TigerShark808]

Originally Posted by Kaleu. Jochen Mohr

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
it isnt that true.
passing the channal SURFACED in 1943

I past thru the channel surfaced many times after 43..BUT being willing to engage is another story.

[bigboywooly]

:hmm: