What do you do if you see enemy aircraft?

[Task Force]

I usualy zigzag and crash dive. Those little buzzing things are dangerious.

[Kielhauler1961]

quote:
Shat your pants and hope for the best as you crash dive.

quote:
Steed! Well said!

For me:

"Fluegzeug geschistet!"

"ALAAAAAAARRRRRMMMMM!"


Well, I don't see too much point in dying at 50 metres by ramming the boat into the sea-floor just to avoid getting killed 25 seconds earlier on the surface. But then again I drive a "Duck", nothing goes down quicker except a French...(edited for decency). All a matter of preference and co-ordination I suppose. If you train up your watch crew and stay submerged during daylight from 1939-41, and after that change it around, they see the attacking aircraft before it gets within attack range. I haven't been sunk by an aircraft for as long as I can remember, and I play on 90% (gotta have the event camera otherwise no screenies!)

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Kielhauler1961

Well, I don't see too much point in dying at 50 metres by ramming the boat into the sea-floor just to avoid getting killed 25 seconds earlier on the surface.

:rotfl:

Well, there's always that. I agree, shallow water does present its own arguments; and good ones they are.

[Chisum]

Depending the year.
39-40-41-42 and maybe early 43, if you have specialized crew in AA, you can fire against aircrafts.

My system is:

-full ahead
-turn the ship to put the aircraft in your 180°
-let your specialists fired but watch always the aircraft
-makes some 45° right/left regularly to disturb the aircraft but takes care to don't disturb too much your own gunners.
-remember that everytime the planes fired and hit you, your Hull Integrity is affected...

Like this I killed 27 aircrafts in the last campagne, Suntherland, Catalina, Wellington and also Mosquito(but about this one it's better to crash dive !).


After half 1943: crash dive and changing road quickly !

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Chisum

Depending the year.
39-40-41-42 and maybe early 43, if you have specialized crew in AA, you can fire against aircrafts.

My system is:

-full ahead
-turn the ship to put the aircraft in your 180°
-let your specialists fired but watch always the aircraft
-makes some 45° right/left regularly to disturb the aircraft but takes care to don't disturb too much your own gunners.
-remember that everytime the planes fired and hit you, your Hull Integrity is affected...

Like this I killed 27 aircrafts in the last campagne, Suntherland, Catalina, Wellington and also Mosquito(but about this one it's better to crash dive !).


After half 1943: crash dive and changing road quickly !

Aye...before the rockets get you :p

[Chisum]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Aye...before the rockets get you :p

Of course lol !

:p

[Paul Riley]

Err...rockets?!
You must be taking the p*ss here.Seriously?.

[nikbear]

Oh yes,they have rocketsonce experienced,never forgotenthey can really spoil your day

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Err...rockets?!
You must be taking the p*ss here.Seriously?.

Only in GWX afaik.

[nikbear]

Originally Posted by meduza

If I spot the aircraft on time, I crash dive. If they surprise me and I dont have time to dive, I try to shoot him, and as soon as he's above me, dive before he turns back.

With the stock SH3, I manage to do this . Once.

@Paul Riley
Regarding the use of the radar, I like to pretend that it's been thrown overboard, because turning it on will attract all RAF and Royal Navy directly at you.

Is that true regarding radar:hmm:I've read in some books that it attracted allied planes,but just recently I've read in Martin middlebrooks "CONVOY" The Greatest U-boat Battle Of The War' that the RAF actually gave up trying to find U-boats from there radar and that the ony reason the germans belived otherwise was a captured RAF officer telling them that there subs could be tracked and found from there radar signature,does anyone have the deffinitive answer regarding this matter and which model does SH3/GWX use?:hmm:

[Tomcat84]

I recently read the memoir Iron Coffins by Werner. He says that BDU at some point broadcast all uboats not to use metox anymore cause the allies home in on it.

In the GWX manual it says this was a lie by a captured pilot, in reality the allies had new radar that used wavelengths that Metox didnt pick up.

Dont know what the game does, but I'd like to know

[Steeltrap]

Well something like 45-50% of all u-boat losses in WWII were due to aircraft or aircraft operating in conjunction with ships (this includes losses due to air attacks on harbours).

Aircraft were regarded as the single greatest threat to u-boats due to their speed, ability to surprise (related to speed and difficulty in detecting them) and weapons/sensors.

The fact is you should avoid aircraft like the plague. UNLESS you have NO CHOICE (due to prior damage or detecting the aircraft too late, by which I mean closer than about 4-6km) you should immediately dive.

Incidentally, you can edit the 'crash dive' depth so you can use it more regularly. I set mine for 50m.

Another thing: my view is that 'shallow water' means you change your tactics to avoid needing to dive, NOT that you fight on the surface because you can't dive quickly/deeply. Staying on the surface is usually a losing proposition - even early in the war, if you 'defeat' the aircraft you may well suffer significant casualties/damage, so you've still 'lost'.

Your job is to sink ships using your advantage of surprise/stealth. Doing anything else is contrary to that. If I were BdU I'd be asking what you were doing such that you were cornered on the surface by aircraft and you'd better have a good answer...."watching a ship sink" doesn't qualify as a good answer!!!

It was a failure of stock SH3 that people were so blase about aircraft (witness the post where the person shot down 52 in one patrol!!). They were killers, and u-boats rightly feared them (thank goodness the air-dropped homing torpedo isn't included!!). GWX/NYGM correctly altered this so you'll pretty much die regularly if you continue to stay on the surface near aircraft - even being damaged by near misses or air depth charges is better than staying on the surface to be bombed/strafed.

[astak9]

In the earley days I try to take them out (especially the bi-planes) Later in the war crash dives. (be carefull in shallow water )

[Task Force]

So far in my current carear with U-45 Ive seen two planes, Both those little bi planes and they are currently setting at the bottom of the North Sea.(currently in mid 1940) And weve attacked and sunk all/most of five convoys with over 400,000 tons sunk and seen only two planes.

[Chisum]

A last word: when aircraft is hited be carefull because often he continues his way and tries to explode on your deck !