Are small ships worth torpedoing?

anthrax · 09-14-06, 11:27 AM

My situation is as follows. What would a experianced captian do? Do you think its time to leave this convoy and hunt for other targets around the british coast or should i use my last torpedos to finish off the rest of the small ships?

My situation is below.

Time & Date : 18:00 in April 1940
Location: AMxx of the Western Coast of the UK.
Weather : 12 m/s no fog. (but also no deck gun)
Uboat: VII b with 100% intergrity. > 75% Fuel.
Torpedo Load remaining:
Bow: 3 x G7e T2 and 1 G7e x T2 external reload
Stern: 1 x G7e external reload.

Convoy Targets sunk: ~ 57,000T
1 x Flower Covette (900T)
1 x V&W Destroyer (1300T)
1 x T3 Tanker (11000T)
1 x T2 Tanker (10000T)
5 x C2 Cargo (~ 6200T)

Convoy Targets left: ~ 16,000T
3 x small merchants.
4 x costal merchants.

_Seth_ · 09-14-06, 11:52 AM

Hi anthrax!

You got a good catch already, so i dont think you should waste those torps on those dinghy's.. But thats just my opinion.. Go and seek out å battleship or something similar, and keep in mind that you should have some ammo on the return trip to base...

Happy hunting, herr kaleun!

STEED · 09-14-06, 01:04 PM

Are small ships worth torpedoing?

NO, but on saying that I must admit I sunk a coastal vessel in the Med after eight days of dreadful weather. I suspect I did it out of boredom.

SteamWake · 09-15-06, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEED

Are small ships worth torpedoing?

NO, but on saying that I must admit I sunk a coastal vessel in the Med after eight days of dreadful weather. I suspect I did it out of boredom.

Ditto,

After weeks at sea and seeing not much more than a tug boat those lil flower corvettes look like an ocean liner :p

Rose · 09-15-06, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Ditto,

After weeks at sea and seeing not much more than a tug boat those lil flower corvettes look like an ocean liner :p

I call this phenomena "long-patrol goggles."

Yahoshua · 09-15-06, 06:38 PM

I remember when I sank my first C2 cargo.......I was in the English channel at night in a type II sub.

I had 1 torp left and so I took a chance on magnetic det. under her keel.

It blew her in half and a great fireworks display ensued.

It was glorious.

catar M · 09-15-06, 06:47 PM

All I want to know how the hell did you sunk 9 ships and still have torps left:hmm:

Takeda Shingen · 09-17-06, 07:15 AM

I always sink the merchants, regarless of size. For a real captain, he would have to answer to BdU for passing up targets in search of 'better' options. This means that you may not get 80k tons in every patrol (what boat had those kinds of numbers?), but you will be acting in accordance to operational reality.

In the same vein, I leave fishing boats, trawlers, coastal boats and escorts unmolested, as per Kriegsmarine standing orders. The only variant to these operations is in the late war, where the T-V was instituted specifically as an escort-killer. Then, and only then will I attack a destroyer or corvette.

Dantenoc · 09-14-06, 01:50 PM

You would've gotten more tonnage out sinking the smaller merchants than the escorts you took the time to sink, so why pretend to be picky now?

It's a shame you don't have the deck gun, but unescorted ships are still worth torpedoeing, any day. No decent kaleun -I beleive- would have left that kind of a chance pass by.

CWorth · 09-14-06, 01:56 PM

Sink 'em
Any Uboat captain worth his position would blow those merchants away.Your mission is to starve Britain of supplies and any merchant you sink does that.

You wasted the torpedos going after the destroyers when you would have been better off going after the merchants.

mookiemookie · 09-14-06, 02:55 PM

Heck of a patrol already! I'd say go ahead and sink 'em. I'd imagine a real life Kaleun would puff thoughtfully on his pipe and say something along the lines of "Eat now, you don't know when you'll get the chance to again."

EDIT: The U-Boat Commander's Handbook backs us up on this one: "Never delude yourself by assuming that it is right not to attack on the instant, or not to hold on to the enemy with the utmost determination, because there may be reason to hope and believe that there will be a better target subsequently found elsewhere. What you have got, you have got."

bigboywooly · 09-14-06, 02:58 PM

The smaller merchants left were the the uboats bread and butter
Heaps more of them on the seas than the big targets
Make the most of an unguarded convoy and sink em

Why no DG BTW ?

Biggles · 09-14-06, 03:43 PM

I say blow up the lot o' them. You have nothing to lose. If you meet a ship on the way back, just dive and rig for silent running, and just go away, you can't always engage targets, how good position you may be in, but finnish them off I say.

Hylander_1314 · 09-14-06, 03:49 PM

You've got enough torps left to darn near sink the entire convoy. If aimed right, you can get five more and only leave 2 to reach their destination.

Think of the glory and medals, and Frauleins. You'll be a national hero! T.V. commercials, toothpaste endorsements, strasse named after you!

And when you return to base, Uncle Karl will smile, and give all of you a warm welcome.

melnibonian · 09-15-06, 05:31 AM

Hello

It’s just my opinion but I never let any target get by, no matter how small or big it is. The reason why BdU have you out there in the miserable mist, cold and rain is to track down and sink ships!!!!

On a serious note though, I do understand your concern. Try to think how you will feel if you let those ‘small’ targets go by, and never find anything bigger or better until your return to home base.

That’s of course just my opinion, you're the captain of the boat

so................................................ ......

Good Luck and Good Shooting

09-14-06, 11:27 AM	#1
anthrax Watch Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Are small ships worth torpedoing? My situation is as follows. What would a experianced captian do? Do you think its time to leave this convoy and hunt for other targets around the british coast or should i use my last torpedos to finish off the rest of the small ships? My situation is below. Time & Date : 18:00 in April 1940 Location: AMxx of the Western Coast of the UK. Weather : 12 m/s no fog. (but also no deck gun) Uboat: VII b with 100% intergrity. > 75% Fuel. Torpedo Load remaining: Bow: 3 x G7e T2 and 1 G7e x T2 external reload Stern: 1 x G7e external reload. Convoy Targets sunk: ~ 57,000T 1 x Flower Covette (900T) 1 x V&W Destroyer (1300T) 1 x T3 Tanker (11000T) 1 x T2 Tanker (10000T) 5 x C2 Cargo (~ 6200T) Convoy Targets left: ~ 16,000T 3 x small merchants. 4 x costal merchants.

09-14-06, 11:52 AM	#2
_Seth_ Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: In Tromsoe, @Tirpitz' final resting place.. Posts: 3,277 Downloads: 94 Uploads: 0	Hi anthrax! You got a good catch already, so i dont think you should waste those torps on those dinghy's.. But thats just my opinion.. Go and seek out å battleship or something similar, and keep in mind that you should have some ammo on the return trip to base... Happy hunting, herr kaleun! __________________

09-14-06, 01:04 PM	#3
STEED Lucky Jack Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Down Town UK Posts: 27,695 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 48	Are small ships worth torpedoing? NO, but on saying that I must admit I sunk a coastal vessel in the Med after eight days of dreadful weather. I suspect I did it out of boredom. __________________ Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT!

09-15-06, 06:38 PM	#6
Yahoshua The Old Man Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,493 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I remember when I sank my first C2 cargo.......I was in the English channel at night in a type II sub. I had 1 torp left and so I took a chance on magnetic det. under her keel. It blew her in half and a great fireworks display ensued. It was glorious. __________________ Science is the organized unpredictability that strives not to set limits to mans' capabilities, but is the engine by which the limits of mans' understanding is defined-Yahoshua

09-14-06, 02:55 PM	#11
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	Heck of a patrol already! I'd say go ahead and sink 'em. I'd imagine a real life Kaleun would puff thoughtfully on his pipe and say something along the lines of "Eat now, you don't know when you'll get the chance to again." EDIT: The U-Boat Commander's Handbook backs us up on this one: "Never delude yourself by assuming that it is right not to attack on the instant, or not to hold on to the enemy with the utmost determination, because there may be reason to hope and believe that there will be a better target subsequently found elsewhere. What you have got, you have got." Last edited by mookiemookie; 09-14-06 at 06:47 PM.

09-15-06, 06:47 PM	#7
catar M Torpedoman Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Perth W.A Posts: 118 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	All I want to know how the hell did you sunk 9 ships and still have torps left:hmm:

09-17-06, 07:15 AM	#8
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	I always sink the merchants, regarless of size. For a real captain, he would have to answer to BdU for passing up targets in search of 'better' options. This means that you may not get 80k tons in every patrol (what boat had those kinds of numbers?), but you will be acting in accordance to operational reality. In the same vein, I leave fishing boats, trawlers, coastal boats and escorts unmolested, as per Kriegsmarine standing orders. The only variant to these operations is in the late war, where the T-V was instituted specifically as an escort-killer. Then, and only then will I attack a destroyer or corvette.

09-14-06, 01:50 PM	#9
Dantenoc Captain Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ensenada, B.C., Mexico Posts: 504 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	You would've gotten more tonnage out sinking the smaller merchants than the escorts you took the time to sink, so why pretend to be picky now? It's a shame you don't have the deck gun, but unescorted ships are still worth torpedoeing, any day. No decent kaleun -I beleive- would have left that kind of a chance pass by.

09-14-06, 01:56 PM	#10
CWorth Grey Wolf Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gettysburg PA Posts: 845 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Sink 'em Any Uboat captain worth his position would blow those merchants away.Your mission is to starve Britain of supplies and any merchant you sink does that. You wasted the torpedos going after the destroyers when you would have been better off going after the merchants.

09-14-06, 02:58 PM	#12
bigboywooly Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Swindon, England Posts: 10,151 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	The smaller merchants left were the the uboats bread and butter Heaps more of them on the seas than the big targets Make the most of an unguarded convoy and sink em Why no DG BTW ? __________________ My mediafire page http://www.mediafire.com/?11eoq19bq9r41

09-14-06, 03:43 PM	#13
Biggles Silent Hunter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sweden (I'm not a Viking...) Posts: 3,529 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	I say blow up the lot o' them. You have nothing to lose. If you meet a ship on the way back, just dive and rig for silent running, and just go away, you can't always engage targets, how good position you may be in, but finnish them off I say.

09-14-06, 03:49 PM	#14
Hylander_1314 Sea Lord Join Date: May 2006 Location: 5 Miles Inland West Of Lake Huron Posts: 1,936 Downloads: 139 Uploads: 0	You've got enough torps left to darn near sink the entire convoy. If aimed right, you can get five more and only leave 2 to reach their destination. Think of the glory and medals, and Frauleins. You'll be a national hero! T.V. commercials, toothpaste endorsements, strasse named after you! And when you return to base, Uncle Karl will smile, and give all of you a warm welcome. __________________ A legislative act contrary to the Constitution is not law. -John Marshall Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ---------------------

09-15-06, 05:31 AM	#15
melnibonian Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Reading UK Posts: 3,473 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Hello It’s just my opinion but I never let any target get by, no matter how small or big it is. The reason why BdU have you out there in the miserable mist, cold and rain is to track down and sink ships!!!! On a serious note though, I do understand your concern. Try to think how you will feel if you let those ‘small’ targets go by, and never find anything bigger or better until your return to home base. That’s of course just my opinion, you're the captain of the boat so................................................ ...... Good Luck and Good Shooting