Convoy attack surface or submerged?

July, 1940. Grid BE67. Enemy convoy reported. Visual contact estimated around 1800, a couple of hours before sunset. Sea flat, wind 1 m/s, visibility clear. Dive and attack submerged or waiting for darkness and hit'em on the surface? Which way would YOU prefer???

[RConch]

Track them and wait for dark. No radar involved. Attack at 7m depth.

Enjoy the feast!

[Father Goose]

Originally Posted by Rconch

Track them and wait for dark. No radar involved. Attack at 7m depth.

Enjoy the feast!

Patience.

[Tupolev]

I highly agree.

If you're in the proper position you can also determine the escorts' patrol pattern. Then you can time your night attack run when one is far away and ineffective.

[desertstriker]

always wait till darkness. have snuck by several Destroyers that way and at a range of 1000-2000 meteres

Thank you for the quick answers! Well, I'm going to shadow the convoy till sunset and then strike decks awash as Rconch advised. By the way, I was worried about the calm weather in which escorts can detect the boat easier even at night. So do you make ONLY night surface attacks against convoys before radar-fitted escorts appear in '41 and submerged attacks come into question after that?

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by allievo

July, 1940. Grid BE67. Enemy convoy reported. Visual contact estimated around 1800, a couple of hours before sunset. Sea flat, wind 1 m/s, visibility clear. Dive and attack submerged or waiting for darkness and hit'em on the surface? Which way would YOU prefer???

With the sea flat and no wind, go in submerged, scope at the water line as you are highly visible. Preheat your eels and take the Libertys in the stern so they sink stern first which generally stops them for leisurely deck gun disposal when the convoy passes. After dark, if no moon, surface, transfer spare eels and pursue, taking any stragglers and close the convoy astern, decks awash. Destroyers cannot use passsive sonar from the rear. Remember to beacon BDU so other boats can converge. One ship one eel. Get inside the convoy, its safer there as the engine noises confuses the escorts. Viel gluck kaleun

[sharkbit]

This early in the war, I'd go in surfaced with decks awash(7m), probably no faster than ahead 1/3. Just make sure you are ahead of the convoy before you start making your attack run. Don't get greedy though. Get in, pick your targets, fire, and get out. Rinse and repeat. You keep the initiative when you can remain on the surface. Dive and you lose that initiative. If sucessful, you can probably make two or three attacks that night.

Probably the most satisfying feeling in SH3 is a sucessful night surface attack when you are creeping away on the surface with a couple of ships burning behind you and the escorts are off looking for you and firing starshells in the wrong area.

Enjoy the feast while you can. Late '42 and on, it becomes very difficult to attack on the surface when there are more and better escorts equipped with radar. By '43, it feels as if surface attacks are next to impossible against convoys.