No VIIC available Dec 1942? What Flotilla?

[panthercules]

Ok - I'm confused. I'm in 2nd Flotilla with my Type IXB out of Lorient, but I just finished my 20th patrol and it's December 1942, so I decided that I would take about a 6-month assignment as an instructor in the U-boat school before heading back to the North Atlantic in a Type VIIC for some convoy battles.

However, I first discovered that SH3 Commander's limit on setting days in port is only 100, so I decide to cut short my instructor's assignment and return to active duty after only 3 months. Then, I discovered that the 2nd Flotilla only gave me the choice to upgrade to a Type IXC or back down to a my old boat, a type VIIB. So, I decided to transfer to another flotilla, and tried the 7th which, before I switched out of it to get my Type IXB, was running Type VIIs out of St. Nazaire. However, much to my surprise, the only choice of boats I was given was a Type VIIB again :hmm: (also tried the same thing with the 10th Flotilla - same result - no VIICs)

What happened to all of the VIICs? What does the U-bootwaffe's leading Ace with over 500,000 BRT to his credit have to do around here to get a measly Type VIIC? I'm running GW 1.0 and have plenty of renown at this point, so I should be able to get one, but I'm not even given the choice. Is there a particular flotilla I need to transfer to in order to get a VIIC at this point in the war?

Frankly, I like the VIIBs better in many ways, but I've never tried a VIIC and at this point in the war I doubt if I could still get a VIIB unless I pulled rank and booted some junior Kaleun out of his, so I'd like to just take a new VIIC and give it a try. Any suggestions on how I can get a VIIC at this point?

[JScones]

Running SH3Cmdr with the "Correct u-boat availability dates" option selected? If so, check the table and detail outlined in the SH3Cmdr help file.

BTW, you can get around SH3Cmdr's 100 day "days spent in base" limitation by editing SH3Cmdr.ini directly. Simply change the DaysInBaseValue entry to whatever you want.

[panthercules]

Originally Posted by JScones

Running SH3Cmdr with the "Correct u-boat availability dates" option selected? If so, check the table and detail outlined in the SH3Cmdr help file.

BTW, you can get around SH3Cmdr's 100 day "days spent in base" limitation by editing SH3Cmdr.ini directly. Simply change the DaysInBaseValue entry to whatever you want.

Yeah - running 2.6 with that option selected - will check the help file - thanks for the tip - also, I was hoping you could edit the time manually but wasn't sure where - as always, I really appreciate the fine support you give our community


[edit] - still confused though - according to the help file, the 7th should have VIICs available beginning Aug 1940, and the 1st should have VIICs available by March 1941, but neither of those flotillas is giving me a choice to swap my Type IXB for a VIIC in December 1942

I guess I'll try un-checking the "Correct u-boat availability dates" option next time I fire up SH3 Commander and see what happens - if that doesn't work, is that editable somewhere manually so I can make sure I'm given a choice for a VIIC in the 7th Flotilla at this point (Dec '42)?

[edit again] - well, unchecking the "Correct u-boat availability dates" option seemed to do the trick - I was able to transfer to the 7th and swap out to a Type VIIC - also, setting the days in port manually seemed to work as well, as it is now June 1943 and I am back from my 6-month Instructor assignment. Although BdU is still reeling from our massive U-boat losses last month and is even contemplating withdrawing our boats from the Atlantic until we can figure out why the enemy has suddenly become so dangerous, I persuaded Onkel Karl to let me make at least one more Atlantic patrol in my new Type VIIC outfitted with all our latest gadgets to see what I can find out about this disastrous turn of events.

[JScones]

OK. I know what happened.

Facts:
1. SH3Cmdr copies in the u-boat availability dates based on the *current* career Flotilla
2. 1, 2 and 7 Flotilla all have *different* u-boat availability dates
3. SH3 only recognises ONE set of availability dates for all Flotillas

When you loaded SH3 via SH3Cmdr, you were in the 2nd Flotilla and hence received the 2nd Flotilla u-boat availability dates.

As SH3 only stores one set of dates, these dates effectively become the dates used by ALL Flotillas.

Hence, when you transferred to the 7th Flotilla, SH3 still used the 2nd Flotilla set of values, and as the 2nd Flotilla did not get VIICs, you wouldn't get them in the 7th Flotilla either.

The solution? Simply exit SH3 and reload via SH3Cmdr. This will "flush" the old dates and replace with the new and correct 7th Flotilla dates. Or yes, just turn the option off in SH3Cmdr and get the dates that are already in the game.