Sinking Fishing Boats - Bad Form?

[Frank0001]

Very impressive! That would be a great addition to the game!

I've read the SHIII creators didn't want to put in dinghies for moral reasons. So we wouldn't have to face the question of saving or leaving the survivors.
Though it would be so realistic to have!

I ran over a little sailboat about 200 KM east of Scopa. No need to waste ammo. What was he doing so far out at night? I wasn't sure what to do so I went with murphy's laws of combat.


When in doubt, wipe it out.

[bookworm_020]

Sink them all! They come back as armed trawlers to haunt you later!

[Blacklight]

I deck gun those suckers to the bottom. Why would a fisherman take his boat out into a KNOWN WAR ZONE I ask ? He's got to be up to something SNEAKY. I say.. sink them ALL !!!

[headcase]

How many Soldiers can that fishing boat feed in a year? Sink it. It's not the most gratifying thing, but it will have significant long-term impact. Might not be a lot of tonnage, but the job is to eradicate the other guy's supply lines. All of them.

[Elmer Kosterman]

All else being equal, fishing boats are for Germany better sunk than a float for Germany because it decreases Britains ability to feed herself and lowers moral.

It is to consider whether long term consequences would discourage an attack. For example, torpedos can be used later on bigger targets, but a few shells will probable not be missed. There is also the danger having ASW forces directed to you, and this varies according to proximaty to enemy land and stage of the war.

Any moral arguments against attacking fishing boats can be used against attacking any unarmed ships.

shootemup!!!!!!!!!!shootemup!!!!!!!!!!!

if in bad weather its.....................................

RAMMING TIME!!!!!!!

[Platapus]

I am sure that the Kaluens had such conversations over beers while in port.

The opinions expressed here probably matched up pretty well with the different opinions of the Kaluens.

We just have the advantage of cute emoticons

...and the knowledge that we are not actually killing people, while the real Kaluens were.

Kinda makes it a harder decision when actual people are dying instead of pixels

[Catfish]

Hello,
historically speaking it was just not done. The fish being caught by french trawlers was bought and paid for (if most probably in occupation money) by the german Kriegsmarine, who after all needed to eat. There is even a story where a boat bought fresh fish from a british trawler. The fishing fleets remained relatively unharmed, even if some of them may indeed have sent a report to Great Britain if they saw a U-boat.
There were enough atrocities towards civilians, but probably not against fishermen.
Some british and formerly danish fishing boats got bigger engines and were used as blockade breakers to support the nowegian and french resistance, but were seldomly caught - and not by U-boats.
From the capitalistic approach a torpedo was probably more worth than a small fishing boat
As well U-boats sometimes used fishing fleets to cover ...
I would evade them for not alarming the bad guys.

Greetings,
Catfish

[Frank0001]

Originally Posted by Elmer Kosterman

All else being equal, fishing boats are for Germany better sunk than a float for Germany because it decreases Britains ability to feed herself and lowers moral.

I doubt the sinking of fishing boats would decrease the morale of England, all it would do is make them even more angry at us, and fight twice as hard.
Besides, it would certainly not starve the country, perhaps robbing a family of its income.

[Brag]

J.S. Balz writes:

Almost any ship is a form of beauty. I love to listen to the soft murmor of their screws in the aquatic distance, as they approach on the path of their doom.

Welcome to the war, Mates!

Kptlt. Johan Sebastian Balz

[Red Heat]

In my war patrols when i find unarmed trawlers e use the deck gun...and if is bad weather...and if i find fishing boats...flank speed and i ram!
No piety to the enemy...and i dont feel guilty or anything at all for those actions its beter to act like this than put my U-Boat in danger and my crew!

[Elmer Kosterman]

Originally Posted by Frank0001

I doubt the sinking of fishing boats would decrease the morale of England, all it would do is make them even more angry at us, and fight twice as hard.
Besides, it would certainly not starve the country, perhaps robbing a family of its income.

Manipulating morale is tricky business. They say bombing Germany raised morale here. At any rate, it's hard keeping spirits up when you're hungry. I'm not saying sinking a fishing boat would have starved a country. But when a family looses its income, however many tear-jerk emotions that thought may provoke, they are going to have a hard time feeding themselves. It would have been an accumulation of such instances that would have starved England.