Some escorts more 'easy' than others?

[bgey]

Hi,

I've been wondering, are all types of escorts equally dangerous to ones health? Or is it that Hunts are much more deadly than Flower Corvettes?

And more importantly, why? Better weaponry / detection / easier to sink / ...?

Cheers,

Benny

[HundertzehnGustav]

LOLLLL

Maybe its a friday night thing,

but i think *all* escorts are deadly if they have aids and you no condom...

Hundertzehngustav aka Horny Toad

[frau kaleun]

Some escorts more 'easy' than others?

Oh, absolutely. If you toss enough Hershey bars and silk stockings at a Flower Corvette, she'll go down almost immediately.


Sorry couldn't resist.

[HundertzehnGustav]

but she will take you down with her!



Oh YEA!
*roar*

[Jimbuna]

Each escort has its own clearly defined array of weaponry and characteristics, depending on date and vessel type.

As the war progresses some are fitted with hedgehog and K guns (side throwing mortars/depth charges) making them even more capable of destroying you....the crew gain more experience and expertise also.

From mid 44 onwards there is hardly an escort existing that is not capable of matching you in a cat and mouse engagement....should you make an error of judgement.

[Iranon]

generally, bigger means less dangerous.


Torpedo boats can be destroyed just with flak, but they'll shoot you up in the process, scoring deck gun hits isn't easy and they can take for more hits than they should be able to, at least in GWX.
Bloody nuisance, fortunately they aren't good at tracking you when submerged.

Armed trawlers are awkward. Their underwater shape is a pain for both contact and magnetic detonators and they pack enough firepower to make a surface battle costly; this should usually be avoided but it's possible (if you have to take them out in close combat, I recommend disarming them with heavy flak).
They aren't as good at detecting you as true military vessels, and the low speed of most means you can simply outrun them if you don't want to play.

Corvettes are escort vessels built to civilian standards, often as dedicated anti-submarine vessels. Worse performance than destroyers, but generally have more trash cans.

Destroyers are fast and become quite deadly later in the war (early on, you can bait them and blow them up as they approach). They usually have more depth charges than they should, but few enough that them running out is a realistic option.

*

Durability doesn't matter too much: Any vessel that's a threat to you while submerged will sink after taking 1 eel the vast majority of the time. Bigger vessels are harmless targets when submerged and deadly when surfaced.

Auxillary cruisers are a bit of a special case... many small guns, poor fire control and both seems modeled in game. They are a menace at close range, but take a long time to find their range at a distance... it's possible to sink them with your deck gun before they score a hit. Usual caveat: just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[frau kaleun]

Good info to have, danke!

[Synthfg]

Some of those old American DD's have rotten bottoms,
Had a few ram my conning tower when I was hovering just below the surface, not healthy for the CT, or any scope still up, however it turns out to be even worse for the DD which stops and sinks,

[Bosje]

it's the frigates and sloops which you'll learn to fear
(river class, captain class and black swan class, bastards all of em)

[bgey]

Originally Posted by HundertzehnGustav

LOLLLL

Maybe its a friday night thing,

but i think *all* escorts are deadly if they have aids and you no condom...

Hundertzehngustav aka Horny Toad

Well, at least I know where the rum supply disappeared to...

Originally Posted by Bosje

it's the frigates and sloops which you'll learn to fear
(river class, captain class and black swan class, bastards all of em)

Actually, I'm taking a very democratic approach to this. I fear them all without discrimination.

And thanks Iranon for the good info!

Benny

[Obltn Strand]

Originally Posted by Iranon

generally, bigger means less dangerous.

Armed trawlers are awkward. Their underwater shape is a pain for both contact and magnetic detonators and they pack enough firepower to make a surface battle costly; this should usually be avoided but it's possible (if you have to take them out in close combat, I recommend disarming them with heavy flak).
They aren't as good at detecting you as true military vessels, and the low speed of most means you can simply outrun them if you don't want to play.

Very odd. To me armed trawlers are easy prey with deck gun. Just keep bow towards the enemy and wo shouting ranges. Calm weather also helps.
I start pounding them at 4000m and sometimes score two or three hits before it even spots me. Less than than 2000m away it begins to turn revealing larger target profile. Very bad choise for poor trawler.

I have managed to sink several of them with torpedo too with both impact and magnetic detonators although I don't consider it to be worth one. Maybe aft tube if firing position allows.

[Iranon]

Oh, I don't question that you will win gun fights against trawlers.
The question is whether it's worth it. Gun battles carry some risk despite a hypercompetent WO's range estimates (which I don't use) and surprising deck gun power at long range (DD sunk immediately after 2nd hit? Eek!); they can occasionally hit from several km away.
Playing DiD and trying my best to get my crew and boat back in perfect condition, I dislike unnecessary risks... things go pear-shaped on their own accord often enough.

I can kill armed trawlers with 1 torpedo the vast majority of times, but I don't have the near-perfect success rate I do against corvettes and destroyers.
Since the small fry is hardly worth an eel in the first place, this is annoying.

[Obltn Strand]

I too stopped surface attacks against armed trawlers and flower corvettes. Too easy prey.

Maybe wo without laser rangefinder makes surface battles more challenging. I like to take risks and it's rare occasion if I return to port with full hull integrity.

Does anyone know what kind of rangefinder WO used real in world?

[BulSoldier]

it is possible to destroy DDs or DEs with one two shots of the deck gun.I myself (IRC) sunk town class destroyer with 1-2 hits.Then it was rocked with few explosions and sunk.Though prolonged surface engagements are definetly unhealthy.

[floundericiousWA]

Originally Posted by Obltn Strand

I too stopped surface attacks against armed trawlers and flower corvettes. Too easy prey.

Maybe wo without laser rangefinder makes surface battles more challenging. I like to take risks and it's rare occasion if I return to port with full hull integrity.

Does anyone know what kind of rangefinder WO used real in world?

Identification manual and scale markings in the UZO? If you have to do that trigonometry in your head often enough, it becomes second nature.