Evading Escorts- Time Compression does NOT guarantee detection!

predavolk · 04-14-08, 08:16 AM

I'm reversing my position on this one. 2nd last patrol, and especially the last patrol, I used up to 32x time compression while being hunted by escorts without any problems. Including at least one destroyer (I was only pinged once). My earlier data was affected by a spurious correlation with weather. I was hunting convoys in glass water off Gibraltar, and was always detected except for one non TC run.

Please note that I'm not saying that TC grants immunity to detection, but it doesn't automatically give you away. Which is a blessing, because I don't have hours to spend waiting for an escort to give up while I slip away at 2 knots.

I'm using a Type IXB, operating at 40M - 170M depth, going 2 knots (so right on 100rpm), silent running, using GWX 2.0. And in heavy sea states, I've had no problems evading the escorts, despite depth charge runs and some pinging. This is in area AM 53. I had the whirlwind tour of 3-days of action (actual tour lasted one week) in transiting from Wil. to Lorient. I ran into FOUR convoys, each thick with a couple of tankers or large merchants. While I missed an ammunition ship (really ticked about that one, shot two torps at it and wanted to see it/hear it blow!!), I nailed 80K of shipping. This is in November of 1940. The escorts strangely only responded with a single ship joining in, which no doubt helped me escape each time by diving to 40M (once) and 160M+ (3x) then creeping along at 2 knots. Typically the escort charged in, dropped a string of depth charges, sometimes pinged, then proceed to drop less and less accurate strings (the 40M got in a good 2nd run, but then lost me). Strangely enough, each convoy had a massive screening escort of 4-6 ships in each time. My tactics were to get in front of the convoy, or to come in from the side (that resulted in long-range shots), take my shots, then immediately go to flank speed and dive for deeper depths while running away from my position. After a minute or so, I'd cut speed and turn another 90 degrees. That got me out of the area quickly, but didn't give other escorts a lot of time to get a fix on me (I hope). Either that or the rough seas (10-15kt winds) helped me out. I never thought I'd be happy for rough seas! Despite the heavy seas, visibility was generally good, which made the attacks possible (and was more realistic than the super-storms so often encountered).

This also worked at the front end of the attacks when I used time compression while waiting in ambush.

I realize this doesn't prove anything, but it does disprove the hypothesis that TC close to escorts automatically betrays your position. At this point in the war, with one escort hunting, in heavy seas, in 1940, it's not a guaranteed problem to use time compression when you're close to escorts.

I'm at 450K tons now (end of Nov. 1940), so maybe it's time to leave tonnage for a bit and try this TC on some renown-heavy task forces! Yes, overconfidence kills, but fortune favors the bold!

04-14-08, 08:16 AM	#1
predavolk Weps Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 369 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Evading Escorts- Time Compression does NOT guarantee detection! I'm reversing my position on this one. 2nd last patrol, and especially the last patrol, I used up to 32x time compression while being hunted by escorts without any problems. Including at least one destroyer (I was only pinged once). My earlier data was affected by a spurious correlation with weather. I was hunting convoys in glass water off Gibraltar, and was always detected except for one non TC run. Please note that I'm not saying that TC grants immunity to detection, but it doesn't automatically give you away. Which is a blessing, because I don't have hours to spend waiting for an escort to give up while I slip away at 2 knots. I'm using a Type IXB, operating at 40M - 170M depth, going 2 knots (so right on 100rpm), silent running, using GWX 2.0. And in heavy sea states, I've had no problems evading the escorts, despite depth charge runs and some pinging. This is in area AM 53. I had the whirlwind tour of 3-days of action (actual tour lasted one week) in transiting from Wil. to Lorient. I ran into FOUR convoys, each thick with a couple of tankers or large merchants. While I missed an ammunition ship (really ticked about that one, shot two torps at it and wanted to see it/hear it blow!!), I nailed 80K of shipping. This is in November of 1940. The escorts strangely only responded with a single ship joining in, which no doubt helped me escape each time by diving to 40M (once) and 160M+ (3x) then creeping along at 2 knots. Typically the escort charged in, dropped a string of depth charges, sometimes pinged, then proceed to drop less and less accurate strings (the 40M got in a good 2nd run, but then lost me). Strangely enough, each convoy had a massive screening escort of 4-6 ships in each time. My tactics were to get in front of the convoy, or to come in from the side (that resulted in long-range shots), take my shots, then immediately go to flank speed and dive for deeper depths while running away from my position. After a minute or so, I'd cut speed and turn another 90 degrees. That got me out of the area quickly, but didn't give other escorts a lot of time to get a fix on me (I hope). Either that or the rough seas (10-15kt winds) helped me out. I never thought I'd be happy for rough seas! Despite the heavy seas, visibility was generally good, which made the attacks possible (and was more realistic than the super-storms so often encountered). This also worked at the front end of the attacks when I used time compression while waiting in ambush. I realize this doesn't prove anything, but it does disprove the hypothesis that TC close to escorts automatically betrays your position. At this point in the war, with one escort hunting, in heavy seas, in 1940, it's not a guaranteed problem to use time compression when you're close to escorts. I'm at 450K tons now (end of Nov. 1940), so maybe it's time to leave tonnage for a bit and try this TC on some renown-heavy task forces! Yes, overconfidence kills, but fortune favors the bold!