So far I haven't outwitted any of them, altho I have taken a couple out in previous careers. Usually by getting inpatient with trying to get away from them, so I say WTH and come to p-depth and find one of them 500 m behind me coming in at ramming speed. Stern shot for FTW!

From what I've read, once they know you're there somewhere, about the only way to get them is to make them chase you, let them get close, and fire the stern tube. I really thought this one was chasing me, but it turned out otherwise. And I lost my nerve when it came to letting her get close enough.

March 40

entered a port last night, and "drew" a frigate from inside the port to the shore by running noisily.
when the bugger was almost beached, i stuck my pericope out of the water, right next to it, looking at the crew.

oh!

there were two subs shooting our way, hitting the frigate hard... it sank within a minute, almost on top of my brandspanking new VII/b...
reverse gear, full power got me out of trouble.

Torpedoed both british subs, surfaced, and got me two cargoes and 5 fisherboats with torps, cannonshells and ack-ack

:haha:

The whole event lasted no more than 5 minutes... i probably killed 50 sailors and at least a dozen fishermen, plus the two submarine crews.

got the iron cross second class for getting out again. But a good spanking for entering that damn port oin the first place!

I r still not ded!
 

Sept 9 1939, 03:58
U-35, U-Flotilla Saltzwedel
Oblt. Peter Schmidt, Commander
Patrol 3
Departed: Wilhelmshaven
Mission Orders: patrol grid BE31

Oct 3 1939, 11:23
Grid AN14: ship sunk, MV Boy Peter, small coal tender, 314 tons

Oct 3 1939, 18:52
Grid AN11: ship sunk, Q ship HMS Chatsgrove, small freighter, 1974 tons

Oct 4 1939, 12:36
Grid AM34: aircraft destroyed, Anson

Oct 4 1939, 15:34
Grid AM33: aircraft destroyed, Anson

Oct 6 1939, 13:32
Frid AM52: ship sunk, Q ship HMS Brutus, small freighter, 2364 tons

Oct 7 1939, 03:52
Grid AM52: ship sunk, SS Elmbay, coastal freighter, 1869 tons

Oct 7 1939, 09:49
Grid AM52: ship sunk, SS Tresillian, Granville-type freighter, 4708 tons

Oct 8 1939, 01:58
Grid AM54: ship sunk, SS Wray Castle, Granville-type freighter, 4710 tons

Oct 8 1939, 12:18
Grid AM54: ship sunk, SS Clan Ferguson, large merchant, 11484 tons

Oct 16 1939, 14:40
Grid AM51: ship sunk, SS City of Brisbane, large merchant, 11485 tons

Oct 22 1939, 09:07
Returned: Wilhelmshaven
Crew losses: 0
Ships sunk: 8
Aircraft destroyed: 2
Patrol tonnage: 38908 tons

Everybody but the three n00bs on board got the U-Boat War Badge as this marked the completion of our second combat patrol.

Career tonnage to date: 61447 tons

U37 IX(A). 2. Flotilla. Patrol 3.
 

D. 19.dec.39. 01.05.
Underway from Wilhelmshaven for Patrol Grid AM41.

D. 21.dec.39. AN34.
03.02. Ship spotted. VCS (Variouse Courses and Speeds).
07.10. Coastal Merchant (2.003 GRT) Sunk. Course 280. 8 Knots.
Night Surface Attack. 1 x G7A Torpedo.

D. 27.dec.39. AE95.
17.27. ALARM! Crash Dive for Aircraft.

D. 29.dec.39. AE89.
18.23. Sound Contact. Merchant. VCS.
19.17. Coastal Vessel Sighted. Wind 14 M/S. No attack made.

D. 31.dec.39. AM16.
06.18. Radio Report. Convoy. AM17. East. 6 Knots.

D. 1.jan.40. AM01.
05.35. Convoy Unfounded.

D. 2.jan.40. AM41.
04.00. Arrive On Station.

D. 4.jan.40. AM41.
11.24. Radio Report. Convoy. AL39. East. 6 Knots.

D. 6.jan.40. AM29.
19.14. Convoy Unfounded. Heavy Fog. Remaining in area.

D. 18.jan.40. AM29.
22.43. Radio Report. Convoy. AM01. East. 6 Knots.

D. 19.jan.40. AM43.
05.31. Coastal Merchant (2.045 GRT) Sunk. Deck Gun. (Unrelated to Convoy).

Convoy Unfounded AGAIN! (3 times now!)
Enrout to AM53 and The North Channel.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
He has to go there, and we WILL be waiting.

D. 21.jan.40. AM53 (Southeast Corner - AM539)
08.00. Predawn dive. Total Depth 51 Meters.

12.22. Single Torpedo shot at Coastal Merchant. Miss.

15.00. Entering AM61. Total Depth 43 Meters.

23.20. Entering AM64 surfaced. Weather is Calm & Clear.

D. 22.jan.40. AM64.
07.50. Predawn Dive. HEAVY FOG. SW of Firth Of Clyde Naval Base.

07.56. Sound Contacts. Multiple Merchants. Moving Away.

08.10. U-turn.

08.50. Both Stern Tubes fired on inbound merchant. Both miss in the fog.

D. 23.jan.40. AM64. (still)
14.00. Sound Contact. Convoy. (Still HEAVY FOG).

15.18. Little Merchant (2.342 GRT) Sunk. Course 270. 6 Knots. HEAVY FOG.
4 Bow Tubes were emptied in attack. Three at the sunk ship. One independently.

D. 25.jan.40. AM53.
21.51. Status Report Sent. 3 Ships. 6.390 GRT.

D. 29.jan.40. AM01.
13.01. Radio Report. Convoy. AM19. East. 7 Knots.

13.45. Convoy Sighted. (Last 4 Torpedoes. I better make it good this time.)

16.42. C2 Cargo (6.452 GRT) Sunk. T2 Tanker (10.871 GRT) Sunk. Course 100. 7 Knots.

18.11. Status Report Sent. 5 Ships. 23.713 GRT. (Wow. Much better.) Homeward bound.

D. 6.feb.40. AF74.
05.22. Diesel Reserves at 50%.

D. 7.feb.40. AF78.
19.15. ALARM! Crash Dive for Aircraft. No DCs dropped.

D. 13.feb.40. Docked at Wilhelmshaven, after almost 2 months at sea.

Patrol Results: 5 Ships sunk for 23.713 GRT. 100% Hull Integrity. No crew losses.

U37's Totals: 3 patrols. 12 ships sunk. 56.389 GRT.

100% Realism. Manual Targeting. No contacts on chart.

I went and re-installed SH3 and started using GWX 3.0 + WSM 3.0 and started a campaign with a Scharnhorst Class Battlecruisers and just finished my third patrol and I attacked British warships and merchants.
Heres my patrol log from that patrol.

Date and Time
Location
Occurrences
4.10.39.1203Patrol 3
U-45, U-Flotilla Weddigen
Left at: October 4, 1939, 12:03
From: Wilhelmshaven
Mission Orders: Patrol grid AN666.10.39.1813Grid AN 21Ship sunk! HMS Mohawk (Tribal class), 1850 tons. Crew: 260. Crew lost: 1358.10.39.0037Grid AM 53Ship sunk! HMS Alacrity (Black Swan class), 1250 tons. Crew: 212. Crew lost: 1610039Grid AM 53Ship sunk! HMS Magpie (Black Swan class), 1250 tons. Crew: 182. Crew lost: 250039Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Ocean Telegraph (Medium Cargo), 3988 tons. Cargo: Grain. Crew: 50. Crew lost: 240040Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS American Banker (Medium Cargo), 3986 tons. Cargo: Paper Products. Crew: 43. Crew lost: 70040Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Garesfield (Small Freighter), 1971 tons. Cargo: Wine/Spirits. Crew: 23. Crew lost: 40041Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Velma Lykes (Tramp Steamer), 1623 tons. Cargo: Machinery. Crew: 31. Crew lost: 200041Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Kilissi (Small Merchant), 2258 tons. Cargo: Tobacco. Crew: 37. Crew lost: 110042Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Asperity (Coastal Freighter), 1874 tons. Cargo: Grain. Crew: 33. Crew lost: 20043Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Burwah (Passenger/Cargo), 2259 tons. Cargo: Mail/Packages. Crew: 175. Crew lost: 190043Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Santa Barbara (Medium Cargo), 3987 tons. Cargo: Coffee. Crew: 48. Crew lost: 70044Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Adherity (Coastal Freighter), 1873 tons. Cargo: Coal. Crew: 32. Crew lost: 250044Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Capo Olmo (Granville-type Freighter), 4707 tons. Cargo: Bauxite. Crew: 105. Crew lost: 20045Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Santa Sofia (Medium Cargo), 3985 tons. Cargo: Textiles. Crew: 54. Crew lost: 350046Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Merida (Passenger/Cargo), 2267 tons. Cargo: Passengers. Crew: 66. Crew lost: 570050Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS A. M. Simpson (Coastal Freighter), 1872 tons. Cargo: Phosphates. Crew: 30. Crew lost: 30052Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SS Marie-Louise le Borgne (Coastal Freighter), 1875 tons. Cargo: Military Vehicles. Crew: 35. Crew lost: 210057Grid AM 53Ship sunk! SClass, 767 tons0509Grid AM 61Ship sunk! SS Port Brisbane (Ore Carrier), 8480 tons. Cargo: Phosphates. Crew: 74. Crew lost: 280538Grid AM 61Ship sunk! SS Prominent (Tramp Steamer), 1624 tons. Cargo: Grain. Crew: 34. Crew lost: 80908Grid AM 53Ship sunk! HMCS St. Laurent (C&D classes), 1375 tons. Crew: 162. Crew lost: 1181119Grid AM 52Ship sunk! SS Winona (Coastal Freighter), 1867 tons. Cargo: Scrap Metal. Crew: 22. Crew lost: 1911.10.39.1433Patrol results
Crew losses: 0
Ships sunk: 22
Aircraft destroyed: 0
Patrol tonnage: 56988 tons

I took me a long time, probably a good pocket load o' patrols, before I engaged a destroyer. It only took one eel to knock it out. Before that I had been in the habit of ducking to PD, going silent and waiting till they were BVR before continuing.

They are still tricky, though. When you get them chasing you like all hell's demons, there are those smart DD's that will weave in toward you. Just take your time and when the feeling is right, let that stern eel out. I try to anticipate where the two paths will meet. If it doesn't work, get under as far as you can and evade as the monster begins to roar over top of you.

The dumb destroyers will make a straight run at you. Let the distance close to about 500 and fire your torpedo out under the bow of your pursuer. They won't have time to react. If you miss, however, they will evade and turn back to pursue again. That should give you a little bit of an edge in your evasion efforts.

I still get a rush and a million thoughts of "What if...", which is good. Helps one survive. Just try to keep a level head and plan your next few steps while that ship gets closer and closer.

As far as evasion goes, I spent nearly three hours realtime one night sneaking away from a desron that had pinned me down near Scapa Flow. We took a fair bucket of damage that night, but believe me when I say: Patience Pays Off. :DL

Oh, I get it. When you get news of a convoy in the area, that's a warning to steam full steam away from its track, since there is a 100% chance that you will be detected before you can fire a shot?

That's how it works for me, every time. :nope::wah:

Take it nice and easy to begin with. Get familiar with the convoys, especially keeping an eye on the escorts. Observe how the escorts move around the convoy.

In one of my experiences, I came across a merchant fleet escorted by three destroyers and one Flower corvette. As I tracked the convoy I noticed that the lead and rear destroyers kept course and speed with the main body. The destroyer nearest me (on the right flank of the fleet), however, would be steaming along slowly with the rest of the other ships when, suddenly, it would lurch forward and begin weaving around in different directions, sometimes tracking within two klicks of our boat.

As I watched this happening it dawned on me that the destroyer was performing a protective sweep, and as long as I kept my distance my boat would likely go unnoticed. That turned out to be true. Although we didn't score a major victory, we did manage to inflict some damage.

I used to rush right into a fight, but anymore I tend to relax and get comfortable when I encounter a convoy. Take it slow and get a clear idea of what your enemy is doing, and when the moment is right, strike!

I hope that helps. ;)

@krashkart:

Thanks for the in-depth reply. That actually makes some sense... I'm probably concentrating too much on getting set up for the big kill, rather than keeping my distance from those gosh darned (dag jimmed? snap daggedy?) DDs.

This last time was so frustrating, because I basically waited for the convoy to surround me, periscope down the whole time listening with hydrophones. I was about ready to finally have a look through the scope when, "The enemy is pinging us, sir." WHAT DID YOU SAY?! Maybe I was too close.

Ahh, well. Tomorrow's another day, thanks again for the tips.

Just out of curiosity, Flopper; are you playing stock or GWX? I'm playing stock, and I've heard that GWX is more challenging. Your experience might differ from mine. :06:

NP btw.:salute:

I havent advanced to the level where i can add in the smarter destroyers of GWX.

Im currently working on my first full realizm with Manual TDC career (bar external cam because i just love those epic screen shot opportunities)

Geting into a convoy like that can be a bit of a trick. If you want to pull it off what you realy need to know is two things. First you need to stay as close to the surface as possible without breaching. Secondly you need to keep as thin a profile twards the nearest escort ship until you are in their blind spot. Only after you are behind that escort can you manuver your self into firing position. It can be a devistatingly effective attack method if you time things just so, but then again you can end up in a world of hurt if things don't go just as planed. With practice you can slip in on a convoy and fire without much truble. I have found sucsess using that tactic and also striking a convoy from the corners.

Shooting from outside the distroyer screen can be quite effective early in the war but I find that it loses effectiveness as the war drags on and the ASW tech catches up to the ability of the u-boat.

GWX & OLC Gold... no map contacts, no solutions, etc. I can't imagine going back to vanilla! It's definitely challenging (the olc mod actually forced me to learn manual targeting, and I'm grateful for that.) :DL

I most likely had presented a large profile to the front escort, as I had already positioned the boat at 90 degrees to the convoy's track, directly in their path. I will definitely be aware of this next time.

Thanks a lot, y'all for the info... when I get off work I'm going to go track down that same convoy and try again. :salute:

Just did my second patrol in my Type IIA as Leutnant (now Oberleutnant) z. See Hugo Stiglitz.

Departed Kiel on the 25th of September and made my way to my assigned grid (AN47). In AN66, I was attacked by a Swordfish, which I was amazed to see out there. Took only minor damage, though, and kept on my heading.

Towards the end of my 24 hours in AN47, picked up a sound contact. Got a rough course and speed through constant bearing, so surfaced and ran until spotting her. She was a coastal freighter, and one magnetic pistol Type I sent her to the bottom in short order.

Heading towards the coast, we spotted another coastal freighter. We shadowed this one at the extreme edge of visual range, getting her course from the Angriffscheibe and her speed from the constant bearing method. She was making 5 knots. As night fell, we overhauled her and turned in. She spotted us at about 2 kilometres (bright night, and we were not decks awash - I hate trying to run decks awash in a Type IIA). We closed to 500 and sent a medium-speed magnetic pistol under her keel, breaking her back.

A small merchant came next. Shadowed her throughout the day, but as it was early and we would have reached the coast by nightfall, I made a submerged attack on her after overhauling. One magnetic pistol and she's at the bottom.

Finally, we lucked out in spotting a large merchant at around midnight on the 3rd of October. The last two torpedoes blew up under her keel and broke her up on the surface.

We docked with roughly 2000 renown, as well as an Iron Cross and a promotion for Hugo Stiglitz.

Just had my first unexpected run-in with a enemy sub :O

11, November 1941

East of ireland, about 04:25 I picked her up on the hydrophone while making a routine dive to about 20m to scan for sound contacts... When i hear the un mistakeable sound of a surfaced submarine...

carefully tracking her for about 40 minutes i had a confident understanding of her course and moved in to aquire a visual.

After about an hour I aquired her at less then 1,500M rocking in rough seas. Carefully checking my TDC I set the torpedo run depth to zero and fired away...
First shot cleared her bow
made a quick dirty adjustment to target speed and fired again from about 900m...
She went down fast.

this is the first time i have EVER seen a lone sub in the waters of SH3.. ever, just kinda wandering about on it's own.

with this endevor completed im headed back to base with only 1 eel in the stern tube