300 M is the distance required to arm. That is, the torpedo must sail at least 300 metres to arm, not be fired from 300 metres. Many new players focus on the second part, not the first. If a target is closing on you and you fire at 300 metres, the torpedo will dud because by the time it hits, the target has moved and brought the running distance under 300 metres. This consideration is of utmost importance, especially if you are trying to kill an escort that is closing on you. Alternatively, you could fire on a target that is under 300 M away if it is moving away from you. If you don't want to calculate time and distance, leave a healthy margin.

In my current campaign I am on patrol 3 of my latest career. I use the realistic career length option in SH3 Cmdr so I have none of this 41 patrols from 39 to 45 and 1.3 millon tons sort of thing. We are in March of '43 and finding those pesky flugzeugen to be a real pain the stern, having to always crash dive. Good thing I have a Biscay Cross, but I don't know how long that will work. I now have the upgraded turm on my VIIC so I have three flak guns and three flak trained gunners. I've only had to engage one plane so far, but that was in a previous career. Our current position is south of the Azores; we torpedoed a passenger/cargo with 2 eels and she still didn't sink, so I left that Greek to live as I did not wish to waste a 3rd. The escorts are becoming real pros now and have a few times frustrated me as I have attempted to get into firing position on a convoy. It is more difficult to get near the convoys due to shipborne radar, but not impossible; it simply requires more skill, patience and time.

LOL :DL

Unless it is a Falke...they require a distance of 400 M

Just when I think I've answered something correctly... :wah:

well hopefully Ill get somethin on this next patrol :) at least better than the last.

Just docked at a milk cow since my patrol was interrupted by 2 b25's dropping bombs on my coning tower destroying the radar, both periscopes and severely flooding all other compartment's. Just when I thought it's safe I surfaced ordered flank speed and a crash dive because a PBY catalina has nothing better to do than waste bombs one me. At least she missed and I slowly went to the closest milk cow.

Pretty much my first encounters with aircraft and now I know what you guys were talking about.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...evil_plane.jpg
Planes are the devil!!

I've had so many planes buzz me the last few patrols it's not even funny :nope: Once I took a dive, then came up too quickly - I quickly went under again with minor flooding and damage all along the hull. Took several days to get everything fixed up again...

Damn straight. But mine was all out blue... like the devil.... in Antarctica... or something :rotfl2:

April 27th, 1943 and I have just returned to Brest. I now have 91,752 in tonnage. My outward transit across Biscay was interrupted several times by aircraft but my return transit was uneventful, thankfully. I suppose I will be shipping out in May, the month of slaughter of the U-boats. I shall be very, very careful from herein. A couple of times over the last few months I have had to break off pursuit of a convoy because the escorts are too dangerous. I hope my current Kaleun can earn a Knight's Cross before he is killed or retired.

Ah yes it's always sad to say good bye to your old Kaleun when his retired... or worse. I still remember my first one... more than 300k and he had loads of medals but then he retired and went on leading his own flotilla. The next two ... weren't so lucky ... Let's see how long this Kaleun will last.

Now heading out for patrol 4 in May 43. Just installed the new flak vierling in addition to my twin 20's. Still, I will dive on sight of any plane. This is the month when things get very hot for us. Also removed the deck gun for historical accuracy. I may not even reload externals from this point on if aircraft become very problematic. I run at max 256 TC in order not to fubar the aircraft settings. I don't like getting jumped by planes, but I'm not playing historically if I exploit the time comrpession settings to avoid them. It's a pain running so slowly over long distances, but I put a movie on and keep one eye on the TV, the other on my boat.

Here's my current campaign:

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=531380

All in all, not going too badly, but it's been a quite few days at the moment, with no merchants spotted in 2 days...

Pretty cool report, and the people at your other site seemed realy cool too.

U64 IXB. Patrol 8.
 

Departed Lorient on 17.JAN.42 with orders to recon Grid DJ13, thence proceed southward along the Freetown-England commerce lanes, and finaly proceed westward to the Caribeane Sea.

Current Date: 19.FEB.42
Current Location: Grid EE85 (East of Port Of Spain).
Fuel: 78%
Torpedoes: 0 Expended. 14 Remaining.
No contacts of any kind thus far.

(Will continue to operate in early war mode, until we learn of aircraft borne radar the hard way. I hope we survive the lesson, but to suddenly begin traveling submerged at night prior to being attacked, would be a non-historic "competitive edge" I shan't employ.)

U 126 IXC
 

Start date: 05 Dec 1939
Current date : 01 Aug 1941
Types used: U 124 IXB
U 126 IXC (current)
Situation : At port after mission Lorient 2nd flottila
Next mission : Grid CF86 SEARCH AND DESTROY (Doom)
Tonnage so far : 855.234 GRT
Patrols : 16 , 408 days at sea.
Objective: Survive the war.
GWX3.0 + SH3 Commander