Convoy Takedown

[Hybris]

I was wondering how most people with GW (though it may apply to just about any mod) attack a convoy.

Do you...

1.Hunt down the escorts and either use the deck gun or torpedos to take out the rest of the convoy.

Or...

2. You go in sink what you can sneak away and come back for seconds later.

If you have something else or stories of unorthodox methods post them.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

You're not going to get very far w/the deckgun in GW w/a convoy.

I like going into and among a convoy in rainy and foggy weather on the surface @ flank speed. If an escort is onto me, I can usually spot it from the bridge, first, and crash dive and go to silent running.

[Hybris]

If your lucky the escort will run in to or get run in to by another ship (A Liner is perfered)

[Ducimus]

Early war, plot track, Night surface attack hitting flanks of convoy, back off, reload, intercept and hit flanks again.

Mid to late war, plot track and firing position, do and "end around", get on firing point at approximated intercept time, lay in wait for convoy, and then depending on escort screen a submerged attack in the flanks, or a submerged attack within the conovy between ship columns.

[Burzum]

I managed to sink the escort first only once; but now as playing with 85% realism...almost impossible.

[GT182]

Depends on the circumstances. There are times I'll try to sneak in for the merchants but the escorts get too close, detect you, and have to be taken out first. If there are too many escorts, the only way is to sneak in past them and get in the middle of the convoy to sink as many merchants as you can. And if there are only 2 or 3 escorts, take them out and have at it on the merchants. Make sure you check and see if the merchants are packing guns. They may and may not, even in mid 1943 from what I've seen.

[Burzum]

Yeah, and they always put the juiciest ships in the middle of convoy

[abel29a]

Ptah just do what I did just now - run up to a convoy (escorted by two corvettes and a destroyer). Lure one of the corvettes to charge you, and use your superior speed to keep him at around 2500m - at that range he wont hit you but you can hit him. 40-50 rounds later he is a burning wreck. Then the destroyer come swooping in to check whats up. Engage him with your deck gun while twisitng and turning - get up close and personal and take out all three of his gun turrets.... He slinkers off away from the convoy the coward (all ablaze) (Mind you, my sub has taken a HEAVy beating at this stage, but apart from a destroyed FLAK gun nothing critical - oh and firing your 88mm into his Depth Charge racks in the rear makes for a very satisfying explosion.)

Then rush the convoy, sink ships at leisure until the second corvette comes close enough to actually hit remotely close to your boat - then engage and destroy him with 30 or so of your deck gun rounds... Then laugh demonically while you sail around the convoy reloading and sinking, reloading and sinking.... 2 corvettes, 1 T3, 1 T2, 3 C3's, 1 C2 later set sail for home..... (To bad I only had 10 torps left when I encountered the convoy...)

Mind you, totally unrealistic and my sub is yellow all over (took two days to finish repairs and my experienced gun crew died..... but still).

This was March '41 with GW and Drifters Realistic Damage mod at 100% realism - so I feel like a battlecruiser kapitän right now

Wont do it again tough - it kinda spoils the immersion. I'll revert back to get in, sink a couple of ships - get out, while avoiding the escorts.

[Hybris]

I guess its mostly preference of the Kaluen in charge. But I didn't mention I'm running a torpedo power/speed mod that also beefs up the deck and flak guns to the point were one shot kills (Harbor infultrateions become Harbor drive bys in most cases). But I have yet to see a mercant with guns except a Troop transport.

[Safe-Keeper]

I voted "get in and do some damage", but I've changed my mind. As GT said, it "depends on the circumstances".

If I'm detected, warships become my priorty target. I fired defensively at them and then try to make a get-away, unless I get lucky and do some damage, giving me incentive to continue.

[d@rk51d3]

Originally Posted by Burzum

Yeah, and they always put the juiciest ships in the middle of convoy

Or on the opposite side that you are attacking from.

It depends upon whether I've intercepted a convoy, or if I've received a contact report, although they're both similar.

I strive very hard to avoid attacks in shallow (less than 100 meters) water. Sometimes that can't be helped, but I'm a lot more cautious in that instance. I also approach to within 1000 meters (400 during bad weather).

Basically I plot the convoy route as close as I can, manuevering my boat to be approximately 1 klick off to the side of the convoy path. Usually I use flank speed to position myself two hours ahead of the intercept, and place my boat (when possible) so that the sun or moon is in front of me (to backlight the ships) and/or so that the wind is behind me (to avoid having rain or wavespray in my scope face).

Until radar becomes popular I'll wait on the surface, deck awash, until I make visual contact with the approaching convoy, making range and bearing checks and plotting them on the map to verify their approach (I don't use map updates; my realism is full except for manual TDC entry), making minor corrections to my position if needed to maintain my 60-90 degree, 1 klick position off the convoy track. Once they are within 6 klicks (normally that's the lead escort) I submerge.

Once radar starts appearing on the scene I wait submerged, day or night, a minimum of two hours advanced whenever possible. The escorts normally don't start getting 'frisky', nor does the convoy excessively zig-zag, unless they have a reason to do so, and picking up an unknown radar contact sort of ranks right up there with a 'good reason'.

I track using the hydrophone (manually from the sonar room, as well as asking for reports every so often) and by periodically popping up the scope. I try not to leave the scope up for longer than a minute or two at a time at long and medium ranges. When the weather is rough I don't use the scope, as I'll linger at 15 - 18 meters depth, to avoid possibly broaching. Nothing sucks quite as much as having your conning tower pop up in heavy swells with an escort 800 meters away.

As long as I stay above 20 meters it's very difficult for escorts to passively sound detect me, especially if I run only 1 - 2 knots, and I've actually manuevered by destroyers within 500 meters of me, threading my way and sliding just past them and through behind to the convoy (on patrols as late as late '43, too; not sure how easy that might be in early '45, as I've never played that late yet. I also run SHIII modded with GW 1.1). I keep running very slow (mostly for depth-keeping stability) as the escort keeps chugging past and away and the convoy comes closer. If I've set everything up just right, by the time I'm flushing tubes I'm sitting about in the middle of the convoy, columns fore and aft of me, with between 2 -6 ships within 1 - 2 klick range. I don't fire unless I can visually identify ship flags, or unless I have very good target solutions.

(Which makes me wonder, and ask, just how were the ladder-seeking torps used? It sounds as if you fired them several klicks from the target and, if so, how the heck did you identify nationality at that range? Or was it a case of, by then, everyone was fair game?)

Now, depending on the situation and circumstances (types/numbers of escorts, weather, ship types, distance to ports, etc.) I either target to kill or cripple (especially with the damage mod incorporated in GW :p ). If I want a definite kill at range I'll salvo two tubes, or try targeting the fuel bunker with a single torp. If I want to try and maximize the number of kills, I'll go for crippling shots, firing impact-pistolled torps at mid-depth settings (depending on the draft) and specifically targetting either the engine rooms or the steering/rudder/propulsion areas at their sterns.

Either way, after firing I almost always just go silent running until at 18 meters, then set my speed at 1 knot and just twiddle my thumbs and wait. I very rarely get detected by escorts, even though I clearly can hear them approach and swan around looking for me. It helps that they're trying to pick up a virtually silent boat at a depth their hydrophones don't work well at, whilst surrounded by the churning sounds of lumbering merchants.

I also immediately mark-notate my position at time of firing (you'll see why in a bit)

On those occassions that an esort does detect me (when they start active pinging that's never a good sign) I immediately 'crash-dive' while setting the rudder at around 20 degrees, port or starboard, then set the depth (seafloor permitting) to 160 meters. (As escort-evading is something else I'll just leave it here about that)

Once the closest escort is at long range I'll begin a slow ascent to periscope depth, while coming off of silent running, manning the torpedo rooms and reloading the tubes (if I have internal reloads available, of course). I also set a course that takes me in a wide looping arc back to my firing position, which I'd earlier marked on the map. Trust me, there is nothing more gratifying than to reach your firing position and pop the scope up, and to see three dead-in-the-water big-ass cargo ships bobbing motionless. I just wait until all the tubes are reloaded, and until at least an hour has passed since losing the last escort, then leisurely finish off the cripples.

Albrecht von Hesse

[Hylander_1314]

I like to damage as many as possible and then pick them off as they fall behind the convoy. Anywhere aft of amidship will work, and occasionally I get one to go down with only that one shot.

[andy_311]

I actually do both it depends in what mood am in I use GW I always try to take out the front escort (depending what year it is)and as mentioned before the deck gun is a bit duff in grey wolves unless you aim for the waterline.I try to select random targets at first to confuse the escorts (unless there's a carrier or a BB in the centre of the convoy)then I will try and cut a path to the biggest ship there.

[Dodger01]

Originally Posted by Albrecht Von Hesse

It depends upon whether I've intercepted a convoy, or if I've received a contact report, although they're both similar...

This was brilliant. As I've only just this morning returned from my second patrol and since at this stage convoys are not an issue, I will re-read this and try to commit as much as I can to memory!