Randomly selected "Career" records of very successful submarines:
Nautilus 11 patrols 22 ships sunk 70,000 tons
Tang 5 patrols 24 ships sunk 93,000 tons
Wahoo 7 patrols 20 ships sunk 60,000 tons
.....so....Even these Subs
averaged less than 14,000 per patrol.
However, across the fleet of subs, only a miniscule number could claim even a
single patrol of sunk tonnage of 14,000. At this site
http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/ww2sinkings.html you'll find ALL the career totals....
Career totals over several/many patrols each. For example:
USS Paddle 18,798 tons 5 Ships
USS Pampanito 27,332 tons 5 Ships
USS Parche 31,696 tons 8 Ships
USS Pargo 27,983 tons 9 Ships
USS Permit 5,741 tons 3 Ships
USS Peto 29,139 tons 7 Ships
USS Pickerel 6,472 tons 4 Ships
USS Picuda 49,539 tons 12 Ships
USS Pike 2,022 tons 1 Ship
USS Pintado 42,956 tons 8 Ships
USS Pipefish 1,818 tons 2 Ships
USS Piranha 12,277 tons 2 Ships
USS Plaice 2,943 tons 4 Ships
USS Plunger 48,328 tons 12 Ships
USS Pogy 62,633 tons 16 Ships
USS Pollack 30,278 tons 11 Ships
USS Pomfret 20,936 tons 4 Ships
USS Pompano SS 181 21,443 tons 5 Ships
USS Pompon SS 267 8,772 tons 3 Ships
USS Porpoise SS 172 9,741 tons 3 Ships
USS Puffer SS 268 36,392 tons 8 Ships
While frustrating to sail a 'scoreless' SH4 patrol, it still gives some satisfaction and immersion into the Submarine war....and, when you
do finally have a patrol which by luck or skill results in intense combat action, it is exciting to the
nth degeree...enthralling...invigorating...thrilling.. .and ultimately Extremely
rewarding.
Similarly, in Flight-Simming there are many folks who only want to go out and become an Instant Ace in a
single 20-minute dog-fighting sortie, destroying 5 or 6 or 8 or 9 enemy aircraft. BUT, many others are satisfied with just "surviving" an assigned sortie/mission, and going on to survive many sorties/missions of various types, where getting a "kill" is a rarity and a "treat". To those Simmers, becoming an "Ace" during a flight sim
Career is an achievement and
very satisfying....especially when playing such a career in the "
Dead-is-Dead" mode (
NO Replays Allowed...you get shot down/killed, and your Career is OVER).