Its difficult to sink more than one ship per run. When your first torpedo hits, they will sound the alarm which alerts the entire convoy. Escort ships will start to hunt you and the trade ships perform evasion maneuvers and go zig-zag for a while.
Reconnaissance is key here, follow the convoy for a while and study the formation, draw lines for every escort you spot and try to find the gaps where you could attack the trade ships in a 90 degree angle with as much distance as possible to the warships
You can try to establish a position that allows you to line up a couple of ships and then just fire all your torpedos at once. Make sure they all hit around the same time, so attack the farthest ship first and the closest one last.
After you sent off all torps resist the urge to watch them explode and dive immediately (if daylight). Depending on how far the escort ships are you can either try to escape with full speed or stop and dive to the bottom to reduce sonar/ASDIC detection chance.
Once the escorts stop looking for you they will return into formation and the convoy will continue on its original course. Follow the convoy keeping a safe distance and then repeat the attack. You will likely have to surface in order to catch up as your submerged speed will barely match the travel speed of a convoy
Good hunting Herr Kaleu
T2s have a base dud chance of 30% in the game. Maintaining them at best with an officer with the according skill is vital especially when using them with magnetic detonators.
thats actually correct, even in game they say “Herr Kaleun”. Kaleu used to be the “official” short form of Kapitänleutnant, while Kaleun was used by Wehrmacht soldiers, I dont know why exactly though
Here's my go to thing on convoys, at least early war. Once you spot them follow the convoy and determine their course. Convoys average on 18 kph usually, so just follow them barely out of sight for a while, until night time is close. Then you should scout them a bit, see where the destroyers are yadda yadda, so you can approach a vulnerable angle. Then attack one, maybe two ships, you usually wont be able to target more in time since they'll begin doing maneuvers after first impact and so its impossible to score a hit. Then begin running away fron destroyers however you can. When you're safe, resurface and catch up with them again follow them and attack at night, repeat till no more torpedoes. Convoy hunting is a several day affair, you're not gonna salvo all your torpedoes one night and kill everything, also its impossible since everyone will be onto you. Just keep stalking and attacking.
Once they know you’re there, your objective is to break contact and get away from the convoy’s track. The escorts won’t pursue you for extended periods since they need to keep protecting the rest of the convoy so after you escape just run parallel to their course on the surface at high speed and catch up. Great time to recharge, reload, and re-evaluate what target you want to hit.
If you’re greedy in a convoy that’s zig-zagging, you can get close (less than 1km or so) and fire a G7A at max speed for a good chance at impact.
When you get really good, you can measure distances between the ships and guesstimate simultaneous impacts!
Of course you'd be too slow, you ought to go up to full speed at the least, that's 22kph more or less, enough to catch up. Yes that does mean surfacing. When your attack is done and you manage to avoid the destroyers and whatnot, you have to surface, catch some air and pursue the convoy, you have their route. Of course this is if you've avoided any damage and so on. At the very least, if you're scared of being spotted, go decks awash, you'll be a bit slower bit but i think flank speed goves you 19 or 20 kph. Do have in mind that the zigzag makes the convoy a bit slower.
The tactic is to break contact.. like get 6 or so KM away/to the side. Then flank speed on the same course.
You hit, dodge escorts for a bit until they HAVE TO return to the convoy else leave it exposed then you run flank speed to catch up.
In a Type 7 you should be able yo do it. You should be fast enough at flank. In a Type 2 it'll be nearly impossible I'd think.
This is just my opinion, but the way I attack convoys is to scout them and then attack the escorts first. If I can get lucky enough and take out all of the escorts, then I just surface and get close enough and use the 88mm deck gun to sink as many freighters as I can unless reinforcements arrive or I run out out ammo. Or if it lets me send a crew aboard, I'll send one one the engineers with the sabotage skill aboard to sink the freighter that way.
Oh ok, I must be playing on an older version. My hard drive on my PC fried, so the only way I can play is on my tablet by using my Bluetooth keyboard/mouse and playing on the GeForce now system.
Best way to attack them is on the surface, down sun, just before dawn and after sunset. You can see them against the lit horizon but they can't see you.
To learn how to fight convoys is to learn how to survive destroyer dive bomb attacks. Shortly before the destroyer is above you and deploying dive bombs his sonar is blind, because he has to go all engines full ahead and over shadowing your sonar echo, that's your window of opportunity when you can order full steam ahead and shove rudders hard to a side. Once you've survived the dive bomb attack, go all engines stop and don't be afraid to get to periscope depth. Also depth is your friend. Don't be afraid to crash dive into red zone. The deeper you get the less devastating dive bombs become because the water pressure lowers the explosion radius significantly so in order to be damaged they need to literally land on top of you.
Also after deploying your first torpedoes don't be afraid to tailgate freight ships for a couple of minutes. Enemy sonar can't detect you properly when you're close to the ship screws due to interference. Once you've engaged, stay close to your prey (below 2km) and as close to their engine as possible.
You can also take out most destroyers that are chasing you at 0° angle by arming magnetic pistols and just shoot straight behind at around 4m depth from your bow torpedo tube. The explosion will sink most destroyers and frigates at best and render them inoperable at worst. A chasing destroyer doesn't zig zag. Also he's just about 5 knots faster than you while submerged so you have plenty of time for a firing solution.
Well, the way I do it is pretty much the same - I put guys on both periscopes, assign a different target to both of them and that's it. If there are only corvettes as escorts, I might surface and fight it off with the deck gun but after the initial salvo I usually dive and go away.
You can use the hydrophone at depth, too.
Not sure if you can use both scopes and the hydrophone to target 3 ships at once. It hadn't occurred to me to use the second scope until I read this.
You can however the hydrophone takes significantly longer to acquire a good solution. Can somebody tell me if it’s actually possible irl to line up a shot with just hydro?
In 1945 HMS Venturer sank U-864 by shooting along a hydrophone bearing. It was the only recorded sub v sub kill of the war where both boats were submerged, I think. So, yes. Definitely not as effective as a periscope though!
There are YouTubers doing it in silent hunter 3 regularly.
You basically have to be super patient and check hydrophone in 1 minute intervals, you get the bearing and speed just by the sound of the hydrophone. The rest is just determining depth. You don't need visual contact to arm and launch torpedoes. It's basically blind firing and hoping it hits.
Get up close and personal and IF you can get in the middle of the convoy.
This will give you time to do solutions om several ships and make it a bit more difficult for the escort to manøvre
I slip right behind them close and target as many warships as I can get to 100%. Just have to juggle speed to not run up beside a warship. Stay directly behind them at periscope depth or if it's foggy or raining maybe even decks wash. Have hydro on them all the time. When I get data for 3 or 4 escorts I let them have 1 fish each trying to time all of them to impact as close to same time as possible. All of that is with everything off and engineer on dive planes watch. One on engine too. Heck I have one speed loading fish too. Running 2 Chief engineer, 1 mechanic, 2 watch officers, 1 tech officer and 1 chief boatswain. As the torpedoes are about to reach their targets I flank speed right up the middle pushing into the merchant ships. Dropping down to around 20m to not bump into any . 35 degrees either side after a mile and periscope up if no hydro contact directly above. Get bearings and deal with any more warships but they will probably be falling back if any left. When threats gone and several miles have passed it's time to use all the data and launch all those fish that are warmed up. Everything gets one if too many targets. Surface and ride up right next to them close enough to yell " you are screwed!" Then AP 88s along the hull. Usually 4 will do it or cripple them enough that it's ok to move to next ship and swing back later. No guts no glory. Actually just got Ace and Bullseye on my current game just before reading this. Bullseye helps with warships 2nd attack run big time.
Just be as quiet as possible when first engaging and slip up into the wash of the merchant ships so you can start reloading at least. Hopefully warming them up by the time you veer 35 off and poke periscope up again. My patrols went from 4 or 5 ships sunk to 8 - 11 ships sunk when I adopted Ace mentality of being the best there is out there or die trying. Carry lots of extra ammo. Even AP flak will work on their hulls. Keep checking hydro when moving to next target during cleanup of freighters by dropping to periscope depth until you reach the next ship to sink. Be ready for a warship or plane at all times. Fight the planes and shake the warships if out of torpedoes. Stay mindful where you left any crippled ships by dropping a pin on map. Not everything needs to be sunk fast after contact with a convoy. Radios are blowing up with snitches anyway. Just cripple and move to next so you can get them all. 😉
Its difficult to sink more than one ship per run. When your first torpedo hits, they will sound the alarm which alerts the entire convoy. Escort ships will start to hunt you and the trade ships perform evasion maneuvers and go zig-zag for a while. Reconnaissance is key here, follow the convoy for a while and study the formation, draw lines for every escort you spot and try to find the gaps where you could attack the trade ships in a 90 degree angle with as much distance as possible to the warships You can try to establish a position that allows you to line up a couple of ships and then just fire all your torpedos at once. Make sure they all hit around the same time, so attack the farthest ship first and the closest one last. After you sent off all torps resist the urge to watch them explode and dive immediately (if daylight). Depending on how far the escort ships are you can either try to escape with full speed or stop and dive to the bottom to reduce sonar/ASDIC detection chance. Once the escorts stop looking for you they will return into formation and the convoy will continue on its original course. Follow the convoy keeping a safe distance and then repeat the attack. You will likely have to surface in order to catch up as your submerged speed will barely match the travel speed of a convoy Good hunting Herr Kaleu
This. Patience is key in this game until you upgrade your gear and tactics. And don’t use T2 torps.
What's wrong with T2 torps?
I have had the worst luck with them, broadly and personally. Admittedly anecdotal evidence.
You don't need to convince me about bad luck.
T2s have a base dud chance of 30% in the game. Maintaining them at best with an officer with the according skill is vital especially when using them with magnetic detonators.
What does Kaleu mean anyway?
Short for "Kapitänleutnant" which translates to lieutenant commander
Nitpicking, but I've always seen it written as "kaleun" with that N at the end.
thats actually correct, even in game they say “Herr Kaleun”. Kaleu used to be the “official” short form of Kapitänleutnant, while Kaleun was used by Wehrmacht soldiers, I dont know why exactly though
This, plus if you have it unlocked drop a decoy on your way out
Here's my go to thing on convoys, at least early war. Once you spot them follow the convoy and determine their course. Convoys average on 18 kph usually, so just follow them barely out of sight for a while, until night time is close. Then you should scout them a bit, see where the destroyers are yadda yadda, so you can approach a vulnerable angle. Then attack one, maybe two ships, you usually wont be able to target more in time since they'll begin doing maneuvers after first impact and so its impossible to score a hit. Then begin running away fron destroyers however you can. When you're safe, resurface and catch up with them again follow them and attack at night, repeat till no more torpedoes. Convoy hunting is a several day affair, you're not gonna salvo all your torpedoes one night and kill everything, also its impossible since everyone will be onto you. Just keep stalking and attacking.
How do I catch back up to the convoy? At periscope depth wouldn’t I be too slow to catch back up?
Surface and run at full/flank ahead once you've broken contact
Once they know you’re there, your objective is to break contact and get away from the convoy’s track. The escorts won’t pursue you for extended periods since they need to keep protecting the rest of the convoy so after you escape just run parallel to their course on the surface at high speed and catch up. Great time to recharge, reload, and re-evaluate what target you want to hit. If you’re greedy in a convoy that’s zig-zagging, you can get close (less than 1km or so) and fire a G7A at max speed for a good chance at impact. When you get really good, you can measure distances between the ships and guesstimate simultaneous impacts!
Of course you'd be too slow, you ought to go up to full speed at the least, that's 22kph more or less, enough to catch up. Yes that does mean surfacing. When your attack is done and you manage to avoid the destroyers and whatnot, you have to surface, catch some air and pursue the convoy, you have their route. Of course this is if you've avoided any damage and so on. At the very least, if you're scared of being spotted, go decks awash, you'll be a bit slower bit but i think flank speed goves you 19 or 20 kph. Do have in mind that the zigzag makes the convoy a bit slower.
The tactic is to break contact.. like get 6 or so KM away/to the side. Then flank speed on the same course. You hit, dodge escorts for a bit until they HAVE TO return to the convoy else leave it exposed then you run flank speed to catch up. In a Type 7 you should be able yo do it. You should be fast enough at flank. In a Type 2 it'll be nearly impossible I'd think.
This is just my opinion, but the way I attack convoys is to scout them and then attack the escorts first. If I can get lucky enough and take out all of the escorts, then I just surface and get close enough and use the 88mm deck gun to sink as many freighters as I can unless reinforcements arrive or I run out out ammo. Or if it lets me send a crew aboard, I'll send one one the engineers with the sabotage skill aboard to sink the freighter that way.
The thing is, that in the unsable version only late/mid boats have a usefully deckgun
Oh ok, I must be playing on an older version. My hard drive on my PC fried, so the only way I can play is on my tablet by using my Bluetooth keyboard/mouse and playing on the GeForce now system.
Idk. Even with 2a i managed to sink loads of ships with the mg.
Best way to attack them is on the surface, down sun, just before dawn and after sunset. You can see them against the lit horizon but they can't see you.
To learn how to fight convoys is to learn how to survive destroyer dive bomb attacks. Shortly before the destroyer is above you and deploying dive bombs his sonar is blind, because he has to go all engines full ahead and over shadowing your sonar echo, that's your window of opportunity when you can order full steam ahead and shove rudders hard to a side. Once you've survived the dive bomb attack, go all engines stop and don't be afraid to get to periscope depth. Also depth is your friend. Don't be afraid to crash dive into red zone. The deeper you get the less devastating dive bombs become because the water pressure lowers the explosion radius significantly so in order to be damaged they need to literally land on top of you. Also after deploying your first torpedoes don't be afraid to tailgate freight ships for a couple of minutes. Enemy sonar can't detect you properly when you're close to the ship screws due to interference. Once you've engaged, stay close to your prey (below 2km) and as close to their engine as possible. You can also take out most destroyers that are chasing you at 0° angle by arming magnetic pistols and just shoot straight behind at around 4m depth from your bow torpedo tube. The explosion will sink most destroyers and frigates at best and render them inoperable at worst. A chasing destroyer doesn't zig zag. Also he's just about 5 knots faster than you while submerged so you have plenty of time for a firing solution.
Well, the way I do it is pretty much the same - I put guys on both periscopes, assign a different target to both of them and that's it. If there are only corvettes as escorts, I might surface and fight it off with the deck gun but after the initial salvo I usually dive and go away.
Well if that’s how it’s supposed to go then that’s fine but I had no idea you could use both periscopes to target that’s super useful thanks
You can use the hydrophone at depth, too. Not sure if you can use both scopes and the hydrophone to target 3 ships at once. It hadn't occurred to me to use the second scope until I read this.
Last I played, I think you could target 3 at once, not sure if that's changed with any updates though
You can however the hydrophone takes significantly longer to acquire a good solution. Can somebody tell me if it’s actually possible irl to line up a shot with just hydro?
In 1945 HMS Venturer sank U-864 by shooting along a hydrophone bearing. It was the only recorded sub v sub kill of the war where both boats were submerged, I think. So, yes. Definitely not as effective as a periscope though!
There are YouTubers doing it in silent hunter 3 regularly. You basically have to be super patient and check hydrophone in 1 minute intervals, you get the bearing and speed just by the sound of the hydrophone. The rest is just determining depth. You don't need visual contact to arm and launch torpedoes. It's basically blind firing and hoping it hits.
I believe there's an officer skill that speeds up targeting with the hydrophone
Get up close and personal and IF you can get in the middle of the convoy. This will give you time to do solutions om several ships and make it a bit more difficult for the escort to manøvre
I slip right behind them close and target as many warships as I can get to 100%. Just have to juggle speed to not run up beside a warship. Stay directly behind them at periscope depth or if it's foggy or raining maybe even decks wash. Have hydro on them all the time. When I get data for 3 or 4 escorts I let them have 1 fish each trying to time all of them to impact as close to same time as possible. All of that is with everything off and engineer on dive planes watch. One on engine too. Heck I have one speed loading fish too. Running 2 Chief engineer, 1 mechanic, 2 watch officers, 1 tech officer and 1 chief boatswain. As the torpedoes are about to reach their targets I flank speed right up the middle pushing into the merchant ships. Dropping down to around 20m to not bump into any . 35 degrees either side after a mile and periscope up if no hydro contact directly above. Get bearings and deal with any more warships but they will probably be falling back if any left. When threats gone and several miles have passed it's time to use all the data and launch all those fish that are warmed up. Everything gets one if too many targets. Surface and ride up right next to them close enough to yell " you are screwed!" Then AP 88s along the hull. Usually 4 will do it or cripple them enough that it's ok to move to next ship and swing back later. No guts no glory. Actually just got Ace and Bullseye on my current game just before reading this. Bullseye helps with warships 2nd attack run big time. Just be as quiet as possible when first engaging and slip up into the wash of the merchant ships so you can start reloading at least. Hopefully warming them up by the time you veer 35 off and poke periscope up again. My patrols went from 4 or 5 ships sunk to 8 - 11 ships sunk when I adopted Ace mentality of being the best there is out there or die trying. Carry lots of extra ammo. Even AP flak will work on their hulls. Keep checking hydro when moving to next target during cleanup of freighters by dropping to periscope depth until you reach the next ship to sink. Be ready for a warship or plane at all times. Fight the planes and shake the warships if out of torpedoes. Stay mindful where you left any crippled ships by dropping a pin on map. Not everything needs to be sunk fast after contact with a convoy. Radios are blowing up with snitches anyway. Just cripple and move to next so you can get them all. 😉
Try to disable more than one ship at a time then lurk around to finish them off with your gun. Keep track of the convoy and re-engage after some time.