Matrix Games Forums

I think Sub are one of the most dangerous ship of the game, it's VERY hard to catch them down......

What are your tactic that gave you the best results?

Try this:

Set some level bombers on ASW search at 100%, altitude 1000ft, or 100ft if they're good. One or two groups is good. Put two more in training for future use.

Train your SC's and PG's. They're worthless otherwise.

Mine your harbors.

Mine all those little islands where the subs tend to hang out.


Works for me, anyway.

You say set your planes to asw. For the Japanese, does it matter which planes you set to asw?
bettys?
nells?
vals?
kates?

I have tried them all, but never caught a sub. american subs wrecked the one tanker my whole PM invasion fleet depended on!
How did they find that one little ship in two whole task forces!

What about an ASW task force?

My preferred way to get the subs is to send Combat Surface TF made on 4-5 PC or SC.
At the beginnig at least every time I lose 1 little ship without attacking the sub.
But the surviving others gain experience and when they get 50 experience, they are far more good, and start at least attacking subs, with good chances of hit.

corbulo,

As the Japanese, I would assign any extra Emily and Mavis AG's you can find. Their range makes them ideal. If you have CS or AV float plane AG's that you aren't using, they work equally well for the job.

Well, don't laugh, but my way of catching those sneaky little bastards is to send one or two empty APs with a two or three DD escort out. The subs attack (hopefully miss) and then are sunk by the DDs. They tend to vanish and not attack at all when I have no "bait" in my subchasing TF...

Ok, now DO laugh!


Mining is also very efficient.

Hartmann

Edit: btw the reason I came up with that desperate (though working!) strategy is that I never had any luck with the ASW a/c. It is imperative, that any hit APs make it back, of course, so you only should do this near a big harbour.

How much are you paying your merchant seaman???:D

I've been having a bad time with subs too. So these are interesting...

I might actually try the 'bait' concept near Noumea. The ASW AC don't seem to accomplish anything (although one of my subs got wacked last night).

Other than a baited task force wandering back and forth looking for a sub, is there any way to actually have your ASW TF patrol? Or do you just park them in likely spots and wait? If I set them on retire, they zip out to where they are going, and zip home before any subs even try anything. Or I have to send them way off away from where the subs are hunting.

Good to know that the DDs, SCs, and what not gain experience in their sub hunting. Is there an entry in their stats that indicates their sub hunting experience?

Hello...

Too bad you can't fill the cargo ships with ping pong balls.

That would be neat...

Michael Wood
________________________________________________

Originally posted by Hartmann
Well, don't laugh, but my way of catching those sneaky little bastards is to send one or two empty APs with a two or three DD escort out. The subs attack (hopefully miss) and then are sunk by the DDs. They tend to vanish and not attack at all when I have no "bait" in my subchasing TF...

Ok, now DO laugh!


Mining is also very efficient.

Hartmann

Edit: btw the reason I came up with that desperate (though working!) strategy is that I never had any luck with the ASW a/c. It is imperative, that any hit APs make it back, of course, so you only should do this near a big harbour.

Originally posted by Mike Wood
Hello...

Too bad you can't fill the cargo ships with ping pong balls.

That would be neat...

Michael Wood
________________________________________________

Oh, you mean like the Q-ship in Run Silent, Run Deep?

Originally posted by neuromancer
Good to know that the DDs, SCs, and what not gain experience in their sub hunting. Is there an entry in their stats that indicates their sub hunting experience?

ASW ship use their "Night Experience" when they had to attack a sub, but if it is under 50 it is near worthless try to hunt them

Might have to reorg some of my task forces.

Except of course all my SCs and PGs have under 50 Night experience...

Figures.

Originally posted by Mike Wood
Hello...

Too bad you can't fill the cargo ships with ping pong balls.

That would be neat...

Michael Wood
________________________________________________

That would be great!

Hartmann

I had two IJN subs sitting of Nomea. First, I sent out the SCs, but their experiance was so low that they tried to engage in gun battles withe IJN subs and got generally got sunk. Then put a ASW DD or two in the SC task forces, and the subs simply submerged and sank the DDs, and the surfaced the next turn and attacked sank another couple of sub chasers. Frustrated, I got together a big taskforce of ASW DDs, with cruiser support, and sent them to hunt these two subs. Result? You guessed it it, another DD torpedoed. Frustrated, I put every plane on the base on ASW patrol (about 35 B-17s, 25 B-25s, 15 Hudsons, and 30 PBYs). Despite doing this for a week, with both subs just a hex or two away from Nomea, they scored no hits.Finally, some damaged cruisers (with their floatplanes and ASW patrol), escorted by several destroyers, limped towards Nomeau. The same IJN subs managed to sneak through all the DDs without a scratch and put three torpedoes in the Australia, sending her to the bottom.

After 2 weeks (game time) of strenuous ASW effort, those two IJN subs are still there and untouched, while all I have to show for it are 4 SCs, 3 DDs, and 1 CA sunk. Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of those subs?

Hmm, they should not have more than 3 torpedoes each = 6. Are you sure these were always the same subs?

For the Allies, I would try to gain night experience with "shakedown cruises" first (though the destroyers should already be ok). Ammassing destroyers and SCs also helps. While you loose some, initially, the experience gains for the survivors help turn the tide later.

Hartmann

In my game, with extensive sub involvbement on both sides, I've seen all of one shot by an ASW air patrol (against one of my boats, of course).

However, after an extensive bit of abuse by subs against both sides, both seem to be getting better at hunting them. I have had several damaged by enemy depth charges and guns.

We have each lost one sub to enemy fire. One of his subs was prowling around Noumea and my destroyers actually managed to drop a couple depth charges on it, it sank a few days later.

Last night I lost a sub at Truk, I had just dropped a torp into a Troop Transport, and a destroyer found the sub and just laid into it. After several hits, the sub imploded.

This is - incidentally - late August of '42, with a game that had started on June 1st.

It seems to take quite awhile for the escorts to learn.

As an amusing side note, the computer has lost a second sub to one of the mines I had been liberally depositing in his shipping lanes.