a bit too quiet

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by High Voltage

Tried that....it didn't work. Next time I'll shave the beard...

Might want to shower after patrol

[11Bravo]

Originally Posted by She-Wolf

ah, right... shipping lanes...hmm. I will check it out tonight.

Guten Morgen Brag. I am based at Kiel, the patrol area is AN 81 ( I think) and I am in a type IIa sub - zat right?

I have done 9 patrols out of Kiel in a Type IIA (U-13) and just passed 100,000 tons. My best hunting grounds have been just next door in AN84. If you get AN81 hug the south-west corner and use your sonar (hydrophones). There is a lot of traffic running north and south around Lowestoft. Singles in '39, convoys in '40. If you get bored, raid Hartlpool to the north or Dover to the south. The real key to finding targets is your sonar. Only use visual during daylight when recharging batteries, and replenishing oxygen. And don't rely on your sonar man for all the work. Take over once an hour or two and do it yourself. I find targets at twice the range as my sonar guy.

If that doesn't work or you want more excitement, use SH3Gen with intelligence maxed out to get the skinny on what's in port, or use the GWX Spy Sat to increase map contacts. I recommend both as a learning tool/infotainment while concentrating on doing it right using the sonar and innovative patrolling.

And ignore all that bigger boat stuff. Size doesn't matter!! :hmm:

[She-Wolf]

crumbs... I still have so much to learn. Well, thanks all, got enough here to keep me busy for a week I reckon. I did not realise we could go off and do our own thing, thought we had to traipse dutifully back to base as soon as the patrol was completed. What can I do about refuelling though? Getting a bit low to do too much gallivanting up and down the coast... time I went back and looked at the guides I think.

[Khourieat]

Originally Posted by danlisa

Complete your 24 hr patrol & then move onto to an area where you might encounter shipping.

BDU doesn't always give you the best intellegence.

Or, after patrolling you're assigned grid, move over one grid and patrol again, this would be close to real life.

AM51 & AM52 are always a good bet.

Best intelligence?!?

I'm happy when they don't send me to patrol in the middle of continental SPAIN...

I tend to play around BE 13/15, I think, who knows, not me

[bigboywooly]

Originally Posted by She-Wolf

crumbs... I still have so much to learn. Well, thanks all, got enough here to keep me busy for a week I reckon. I did not realise we could go off and do our own thing, thought we had to traipse dutifully back to base as soon as the patrol was completed. What can I do about refuelling though? Getting a bit low to do too much gallivanting up and down the coast... time I went back and looked at the guides I think.

If you keep your speed to around 7kts on the way to patrol you should have plenty left when you get there to hunt
Regular sound checks every hour or so when surfaced also helps pick up traffic

Not much in the way of refuelling early war
Docking at a supply ship\friendly port will end your current patrol anyway
Press the F1 and go to resupply for dates and locations of resupply

Nice to see you back Gracie

[AVGWarhawk]

@she-wolf


Get the bigger boat and get the bigger tanks of fuel to help in your endevours of sinking merchant shipping

Fuel for thought Remember...Doenitz...nudge nudge wink wink! Go get an IXB and have fun on the East Coast of America!

[Einbaum]

Type II idiot here...

Last patrol was sort of like yours..I was sent to the Shetland Islands, which is probably on the extreme end of the range for this boat (IIA). You need to manage your fuel and the best way is to try and set engine revs yourself. In the command room, look at the engine rev counters, then set the speed...ideally they should be around the 3000 RPM mark which will give you a good speed/mpg ratio. Ask your navigator how far you can go with the current speed and then calculate how far your whole trip will be, to make sure.

I also had a similar patrol where nothing was sighted until the very last hour (of the 24) on my patrol sector. That's the life of a Type II man I'm afraid. We get all the scraps and have to contend with limited fuel, basic comfort and hemarrhoids. Face it...we are second line troops...just an after-thought for Hitler. We are the fat slob of a soldier left behind the lines cos we're basically useless. And that's the way we like it. Some people like to play the hero...some like to play the insignificant, useless, slob of a Captain...sort of like a Thomsen in Das Boot. Cigarette hanging from his lips, boiled egg in his pocket, drunk and puke stained coat. Welcome to the world of the Type II.

p.s. Anyone who reaches 100k tons in a type II....time to move to something bigger, matey. Highly unrealistic.

[She-Wolf]

hello Bigboy

I have been hanging around near Lowestoft (gotta watch out for shallows and sandbanks there it seems), and have had two targets appear on the navmap, but they fade out on the map before I get close enough to see what they are or get a direct fix on them. And then, when I did locate a ship on the sonar, it's sound suddenly disappeared and I could not locate it anywhere on the dial - now why are these strange disappearances happening I wonder?

[AVGWarhawk]

There has been a thread started on ghost ships. You hear them and go investigate. Nothing found. I have not experience it but other claim it happens.

[bigboywooly]

The opportune map contacts diasppear after a short time
The ships may have reached their last waypoint if heading inshore so will exit the game

[She-Wolf]

Oh Einbaum, what a picture you paint. I think I will give the puke-stained shirt a miss. I will do what you say about the revs = thanks

WarHawk... 'oo is zees Doenitz person?

[She-Wolf]

Originally Posted by bigboywooly

The opportune map contacts diasppear after a short time
The ships may have reached their last waypoint if heading inshore so will exit the game

aahh, maybe that is it then - not ghosties.

[AVGWarhawk]

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...y/Doenitz.html

Originally Posted by She-Wolf

Oh Einbaum, what a picture you paint. I think I will give the puke-stained shirt a miss. I will do what you say about the revs = thanks

WarHawk... 'oo is zees Doenitz person?

I did not know if you were kidding or not She-Wolf but the link above is the man who will render a IXB in France so you can continue your u-boat adventures with impunity. Althought the small IIA is fun sports car with few torpedos. It is high time you get into something a little more sporty. Once in the IX models you will become a IXaholic.

[11Bravo]

Originally Posted by She-Wolf

crumbs... I still have so much to learn. Well, thanks all, got enough here to keep me busy for a week I reckon. I did not realise we could go off and do our own thing, thought we had to traipse dutifully back to base as soon as the patrol was completed. What can I do about refuelling though? Getting a bit low to do too much gallivanting up and down the coast... time I went back and looked at the guides I think.

Fuel management is crucial in a Type II.

When you leave Kiel get into some open water and select a speed. Wait for the boat to settle down at that speed. Then ask the Navigator to report maximum range at that speed. Write down the speed and the range and do so for all the other speeds. Now select one that has enough range for your mission and stick with it for travelling. For me, that is 1/3 ahead.

Once you get to your patrol square, ask the navigator to report the maximum range at that speed. You will get a number about 3/4 what he told you before. Ratio the two numbers and that's how full your gas tank is...3/4 full for example. That means you will need 1/4 a tank to get back. Everything else is for patrolling and maneuvering for attack.

Check your fuel every day. I typically enter Kiel with under 100 km of fuel left. My patrols last about two weeks. The Chief Engineer tells me we are out of fuel while cruising through the Kanal. The Fuel Gage will have read zero long ago. Live on the edge...

[Einbaum]

SheWolf, 11Bravo is another TypeII weirdo like myself. I have a very similar experience to his...arrive in port with the engine chugging along on fumes. Most people use the Type II as a stepping stone to bigger things. For others like me and Bravo it's a way of playing....adds a whole new dimension, like limited fuel, torpedos and nothing is expected of you. They don't even notice if you've left port....or care.

So key to the Type II is management of limited resources I'm afraid. This is a typical TypeII captain:




It's from the film Das Boot...I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it already. Yes...the Type II is the mule of the Kriegsmarine, the "school" boat, or the boat for learners. But my is she a beaut under a certain light:



p.s. Oh yeah and when I send a patrol report to BDU (submarine HQ), I always get back "who?"...I repeat: "U-3 leaving patrol sector, 0 torpedos left" and they answer something like "..we have a U-3 in the fleet?...ok....then, come back to port...I suppose". Blimming had enough of BDU.