What's the Fascination with U-boats?

[Harry708]

Hey dont get me wrond i like fleet boats in think they lool awsome.
But hey put a VIIC and a Gato class next to eachother and i need to say no more!

You’re right the Gato does look Bigger, Nastier and more Lethal.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by VonHesse

Did you by chance mean the "multiplayer" function?






(sorry Steve, couldn't help myself)

I by chance did. How rude of you to notice.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Harry708

You’re right the Gato does look Bigger, Nastier and more Lethal.

Gato....thats the one with the ice cream machine in it, right.
Real nasty and lethal, I bet!

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by oscar19681

But hey put a VIIC and a Gato class next to eachother and i need to say no more!

Well actually you do need to say more. The most important thing to say is that you really can't compare the Type VII with the Gato Fleet sub as both had different missions and operating environments. Not to mention that the Type VII was constructed in 1935 and the Gato in 1941.

There were some excellent discussions on this in a thread about "who had the best sub" a while back (use the search function if interested).

Here is the short answer: There was no best... only the best for that environment.

[HundertzehnGustav]

ah! head over to the SHIII section, the thread Platapus is talking about has just been dug out seconds ago.

meh, i say do not compare a Torpedo boat to an Aircraft carrier. Ya just plain Can't do thqt.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by HundertzehnGustav

meh, i say do not compare a Torpedo boat to an Aircraft carrier. Ya just plain Can't do thqt.

Pfft! That's a cop-out.

All subs are made to travel to a destination, sink ships via torps and
escape via diving. We can compare them them against each other on
how well they do these things.

[Mikhayl]

In general I guess American players can relate more easily to US subs, while European players will relate more easily to German subs, or subs of their country for those who had some (Britain, Russia...).
Personally there's that, and I find the German sub more pretty, I'm aware that US subs were more efficient war machines but their design has less sex appeal IMO.

[Highbury]

Well in that sense I totally agree with Mikhail.. in terms of just liking the look of one vs the other, in the same way you would judge the looks of two cars, the U-Boat would win hands down for me.

And I still think in a gaming sense it is better, as the going gets worse and worse. Simply being in a simulated U-Boat service has an ever increasing difficulty variable built right in that you don't get with Fleet Boats. An ever strengthening enemy is totally the way to go in a game of this sort IMO.

[FIREWALL]

The points been made. Loooong transit, alot of torps, easy hunting.

To be honest what sim do's this sound like ?

Thank heavens for the Modders.

I still use disc for a drink coaster.

[Torplexed]

Seems like this ATO-PTO battle never ends.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Letum

Pfft! That's a cop-out.

All subs are made to travel to a destination, sink ships via torps and
escape via diving. We can compare them them against each other on
how well they do these things.

I think the big difference is that submarines, unlike tanks and planes aren't really designed to slug it out with each other. You can see how a Tiger is clearly superior to a M4 Sherman based on the war record when they went head to head. Submarines fought the opposing sides ASW system for the most part. Obviously, the Germans had the more difficult battle over time given the massive resources the Allies poured into this field. Japan could never equal that.

[Méo]

Why U-boats?

For me, it is:

1- The feeling to be the Underdog against the British empire.

2- The feeling to be a Wolf (which could be greatly increased with wolfpacks).

3- U-boats got a lower profile, so it's easier to shadow convoys/ships at day and easier to perform surface attack at night.

4- While you're a predator in the early years, you struggle for survival as the war goes on.

[Highbury]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Seems like this ATO-PTO battle never ends.

LOL another awesome one Torp

[Chef]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

The German U-Boat fleet:

for starters it was the deadliest submarine warfare unit in the history of war, the Type VII u-boat has in fact been referred to as "the deadliest weapon of war ever devised" by more than one historian.

To be honest, almost as deadly to its own crews as it was to the Allies in numbers. In percentage, much deadlier to its own crews.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Chef

To be honest, almost as deadly to its own crews as it was to the Allies in numbers. In percentage, much deadlier to its own crews.

Nooooo, the VII wasnt deadly to it's own crew, the allied ASW was deadly to the VII's crew.