Is something wrong here??

[DeadlyTigger]

Ok, I think this is ridiculous, but I want my fellow Kaleuns' thoughts on it.

I'm currently in the English Channel (yeah, I know, "don't go there"), but I wanted to try it out. Everything was going smooth until 3/4's of the way I was spotted by an airplane and then a destroyer took up the signal and the chase. I had thought "Ok, it's just one destroyer." So I did the 'wiggle waggle' and evaded all of his charge drops quite easily, if I may say so myself.

Then he eventually ran out of depth charges and began making 'dry' passes over my U-Boat. I thought he would soon return to port and leave me be - but he didn't. I waited there 90 meters below surface for SIX hours. All the while, he was making passes overhead but not dropping a single thing. I was getting quite frustrated at this point as I saw no end to his criss-crossing, and I couldn't seem to shake him off.

Eventually, a second destroyer showed up. I thought, "Ok, so he was just waiting for another guy to take his place." The new destroyer began making his runs in addition to the guy who was out of depth charges. The new guy was absolutely horrid at marking my position and dropped most of his charges far away enough that I didn't even feel the roll in my boat. The first guy however, ALWAYS seemed to be pin-point right on top of my position - but of course, this didn't matter. He was harmless.

So now it had been around 10 hours since the first attack began, and the second guy was now out of 'presents' to deliver. But they both kept criss-crossing me... So I figured that they were again calling in more support. Sure enough, another warship comes in. Only thing, this destroyer doesn't even have any charges to drop in the first place! He just criss-crosses my boat along with the other two. And now it's been about 18 hours since the first attack (whole thing started around 0600).

By now, I was pretty fed up and was leaving the TC at x512. They continued to criss-cross all the way until 0600 the next day... Now it had been a full 24 hours, and every single destroyer was still up there merrily circling me.

But now what's this?! A fourth ship! He races to my position and lines up for a run; but oh no... he has no charges either! What is with these British??? Do they set from port without ammunition? Is our U-Boat blockade really so fierce? (And just 3 days into the war?)

So here I am. Stuck under the waves of the English channel with some sort of "Annual British Destroyers-Without-Charges" convention going on up above me. Just out of morbid curiosity I allowed TC to continue until 2200 the next night. (note that this is a good 40 hours into the whole fiasco)

They were still up there, circling, circling...circling... Now my oxygen was gone (it would have been gone earlier, but for some reason when I continued the game from a previous night, my oxygen tank started out full. )

So I guess what I find so ridiculous is that they just stay up there. I mean, what is the deal?? Are there any historical accounts of destroyers circling for 40 hours without depth charges? It would seem to me that they would have better things to do or different subs to chase.

I don't know... I'm just frustrated by it. I've only been playing the game for about a month (this is my second career), but it seems ridiculous to me that they just stay up there. Seemingly forever.

This is GWX, by the way. A great and excellent game with this mod; I just don't know about these destroyers...


But what are your thoughts?

[Kaleu. Jochen Mohr]

go to 10 or 11 meter and let them bang into your cunningtower... they will eventualy sink...
the only thing you gotta do then is repair ur tower

First of all, you've not mentioned if you're playing stock, grey wolves, GWX, etc.

I've not experienced what you've described but in real life a task force hanging around on the surface for many hours was a distinct possibility. They knew that the u-boat only had a limited amount of air so they could easily wait it out. Eventually, the u-boat must surface and the destroyers could bring every gun to bare.

Why have you not tried to slip away from the area at 1 to 2 knots in all of this time?

[Mush Martin]

Originally Posted by Kaleu. Jochen Mohr

go to 10 or 11 meter and let them bang into your cunningtower... they will eventualy sink...
the only thing you gotta do then is repair ur tower

A Legitimately good suggestion in the Game but not RL.


I have spent a good deal of time watching team attacks by various
levels of AI (in GWX) and the escorts I find have a very realistic
behaviour pattern (simulated)

I have watched them do creeping attacks and sprint and drifts.
I find it highly realistic that the first DD when it ran out maintained
contact with you as a homer for the other ships. as for there
various skill levels, well you know I suppose various skill levels
reflect RL.

regarding the persistent showing up without ammo.
Hmmmm well that probably shouldnt be but it was at least
a theoretical possibility if the others had previously prosecuted
contacts while over the horizon prior to egaging you.
on the other hand RL might have left two of four toothless DD's
on you but HK group and escort group behaviours are simulated
and a senior thinking captain doesnt exist in game.

I find it interesting that Under the circumstances described that
you didnt seem to draw any Air response.

[Brag]

The situation is realistic. When they have you nailed, they don'y need to drop depth charges and mess up the acustics. A tactic that was used later in the war was to keep the U boat surrounded until it was forced to suraface.

What brand of cigarettes you want us to send you via Red Cross parcels?

[Mush Martin]

Uhm Chesterfields I guess same as Cmdr Bond.

[DeadlyTigger]

Well, shucks. I guess that's the end of that career. Unless I do something drastic. :hmm:

Although I could always go back and reload from a further save and sink that first destroyer, something I should have done in the first place but was reluctant to use up even more torps. I had already used a few to sink destroyers while they were hunting me, and I had used three on a large merchant before I realized I should just be using my deck gun.

All in all, it's a learning experience, ey? I sort of want to let my careers play out without reloading, but I might just go ahead and reload just to see what would have happened.

I'm playing GWX by the way. I think I mentioned that at the end of my first post. Excellent mod from what I can tell, though I never bothered to play stock SH3 as I had heard so many good reports about GWX. The whole game feels very real and immersing.

And I'll take this opportunity to extend my thanks to the GWX team for putting so much time into a community mod like this. Great work!

Thanks for your responses, I know hold a new respect for destroyers....


Edit: In response to Von Zelda,

I have tried slipping away at 1 knot. But it seems nearly impossible because they always seem to ping me and find my position. I'm sure it is definitely possible, but that first destroyer never failed to find me, no matter what I did. He almost always made a perfect run over my position. As the number of destroyers grew, my chances of escaping rapidly fell. I should probably search around the forum for more tips on how to escape destroyers. I've read a few, but I'm still quite newbish.

[bigboywooly]

If they lose contact with you for 30 minutes they will go away
As they still have some form of contact they are still there

You werent alone though

Far above, Walker was talking to his officers: "No doubt about it. She's gone deeper than I thought possible, and our depth-charge primers won't explode below 600 feet. Very maddening indeed." He grinned and continued: "Well, long wait ahead. Let's have some sandwiches sent up. We will sit it out. I estimate this chap will surface at midnight. Either his air or batteries will give out by then." It was shortly after noon on June 13. By 8 p.m. Poser had taken several evasive turns without result. He could not shake off his tormentors. At two minutes after midnight his air gave out. He ordered reluctantly, "Take her to the surface." Without any audible warning, U-202 rose fast through the water to surface with bows high in the air. Her crew leaped through the conning tower hatch to man her guns, and Poser shouted for full speed in the hope of outrunning the hunters. On Starling's bridge, the tiny silver conning tower was visible in the moonlight. "Star shell...commence," ordered Walker. One turret bathed the heavens with light. Then came a flashing crash of the first broadside from all six sloops laying a barrage of shells around the target. A dull red glow leaped from behind the conning tower of the U-boat. A dimmed lamp blinked from Starling, and firing ceased while Walker increased speed to ram.

12 hours sat above the uboat

http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/walker.html

[Schöneboom]

If I'm not mistaken, SH3 Commander will you thermal layers -- this could help you escape, but of course you must be in deep water. If you have GWX, SH3 Cmdr. is the other must-have mod.

Mach's gut!