TACTICAL GUIDE

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION 3
2. BRIDGE 4
Engine Order Telegraph 4
Compass bearings and courses 6
HELM 8
3. THE COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER 10
Radar 11
DRT 12
OSC 16
Contacts 18
Tactical 19
4. SONAR ROOM 20
a. Sonar 20
b. TRR 23
5. GUN DIRECTOR 27
6. LOOKOUTS 29
7. CROSS-REFERENCING DATA BETWEEN STATIONS 30
8. TACTICAL GUIDE 31
a. Attacking enemy U-boats 31
b. Escort tactics 33
9. CONCLUSION AND TIPS 37
Keyboard layout 37

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 1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the manual for Destroyer: The
U-boat Hunter, where you'll swiftly learn the
crucial procedures and tactics to skillfully
command a destroyer during the challenging
Battle of the Atlantic. This guide focuses on
providing you with the knowledge and abilities
necessary to operate a destroyer, employ ship
systems, and engage enemy U-boats. You'll
master game mechanics and anti-submarine
warfare strategies, including controlling
speed, steering, attacking, and utilizing
radar and sonar equipment. However, in
addition to this instruction, we also
encourage you to check out the in-game
tutorial video.

Now, let's embark on this journey to become a

skilled destroyer Captain and safeguard the
convoy against the U-boat threat.
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 2. BRIDGE
In this chapter, we'll dive into the basics of maneuvering this
vessel with finesse. From controlling speed to navigating the
treacherous waters, you'll soon command the seas like a seasoned
sailor.

Engine Order Telegraph

When maneuvering, it is essential to choose the best speed for the

given situation. Sometimes it will be better to slowly stalk a
U-boat while making small corrections for the best attack
approach, and sometimes you will be steaming frantically from one
flank of the convoy to the other in order to save the day. Let’s
take a look at the benefits and limitations of the speed options
at your disposal.

Ahead ⅓, ⅔, ahead standard

Ahead ⅓ is the slowest speed option. It is

recommended when you are searching for a contact
and making depth charge attacks (due to higher
accuracy, especially in case of head-on attacks).

Here, it is vital to remember that the faster you approach your

target, the less time it has for evasive maneuvers, BUT at the
same time you have a much smaller margin for error as far as the
timing of your depth charge barrage is concerned. Ahead ⅓ is also
good for maneuvering within the convoy or in proximity to
icebergs, as it will give you more time to react if you end up on
a collision course with an obstacle.

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Ahead standard, on the other hand, is the fastest speed that
still allows you to use the sonar, and will often be your speed
of choice when you need to close the distance between you and the
enemy without losing sonar contact. It will make it much more
difficult to make an accurate attack at this speed, especially
against U-boats operating deeper, but will leave the U-boat
captain much less time for evasive maneuvers. In the above
circumstances, it is worthwhile to consider using a distracting
(broad) depth charge pattern: while potentially less lethal, it
covers a larger area and has a higher probability of forcing the
U-boat to abandon its attack.

Last, but not least, ahead ⅔ is an intermediate option which

combines some advantages and disadvantages of ahead ⅓ and
standard. It should be chosen whenever you think an intermediate
solution will best suit the given situation.

Ahead full, ahead flank

These speed options are perfect for quick

repositioning, especially over long distances. Bear
in mind, however, that they may prove to be
immensely dangerous in case the threat of collision
should arise, giving you little to no time for
evasive maneuvers.

What is more, you will immediately lose sonar contact when going
faster than ahead standard. That being said, it is worth
remembering that you can continue to obtain target data from
another escort, even at high speeds. Therefore, if you decide to
quickly relocate to a different position to assist an escort that
is struggling to keep a U-boat at bay, you can rely on its sonar
reports while hastily making your way to the rescue.

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Back ⅓, back full

Let’s face it: going into reverse means that you

have made a serious maneuvering mistake, but
sometimes there is no other way of saving the ship
from collision. When you find yourself in such a
situation, hit the reverse immediately and hope that
the other ship (or iceberg) wasn’t close enough for
the inertia to push you to your doom.

Compass bearings and courses

Compass bearings translate to directions, and using them is the

fastest way to understand where the enemy is located. In addition,
when sailing, you always follow a course which goes along a given
bearing. Therefore, if enemy bearing is, say, 249, then you can go
towards the enemy by following course 249. However, because both
you and the enemy constantly change position, it is vital to
understand that this data will also be changing with the passage
of time, and it can change quite abruptly, especially when the
enemy is near. The most convenient way to build a picture of the
situation is by tracking your own, as well as enemy movement, by
using the DRT station. This station is explained in the ‘Combat
Information Center’ section of this manual.

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True vs Relative

Bearings can be calculated in two different ways: either

true or relative.

True bearings are measured with magnetic north as the 000.

Therefore, 090 is east, 180 is south, 270 is west, and so on.
Relative bearings, on the other hand, use the bow of your ship as
the 000. The latter variant is used much less often, but is very
practical during the final stages of approach on target. When
using relative bearings, you can immediately translate the
reports from the sonarman to maneuvers, without even knowing
which exact course you are going along at any given moment.

Therefore, If the bearing being reported is 359 relative or

below, you need to turn left. If it is 001 relative or above, you
need to turn right. It requires some getting used to, but with
repeated practice, it can make your life a lot easier. Remember
that you can change bearings from true to relative by clicking on
the true/relative icon in the sonar station or in the pause menu.

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 HELM

There are a couple of different ways to control the helm, and

almost all of them are available from every station in the game.
The most natural of them all is using the helm on the bridge. It
is quite convenient for careful maneuvering within the convoy or
making precise adjustments upon closing in on the enemy. Another
good reason for steering from the bridge is the presence of the
enemy bearing indicator (top-left corner of the screen) which
always shows you the position of the enemy in relation to your
destroyer.

The second option is the helm indicator, which quickly allows you
to go into a left or right turn at a precise angle. This way, you
can opt to keep turning at a predicted radius, which will allow
you to open or close your turns whenever the situation calls for
it. This option is available from all stations.

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 Last, but not least, is the compass. This option
is also available from all stations, and aside
from displaying your current course, it also
allows you to type in the desired course or choose
it by clicking on the outer circumference of the
compass.
Typing in the course allows you to quickly decide which direction
you want to go so that you can focus on other important tasks at
hand. You can type in the course by clicking on the current
course, entering three digits, and pressing ‘enter’. You can also
press ‘enter’ instead of clicking on the current course.

Clicking on the outer circumference of the compass is a very

quick way to cross-reference with all the instruments and
displays that make use of the bearing system. This way, e.g. when
referencing the tactical station in Combat, you can decide that
you wish to go, say, to the northeast, and you can issue a
command to change course in that direction via a single click of
the mouse.

Once you get to know the game a little better, you can develop
your own style of maneuvering by using all the above tools where
they seem most appropriate.

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 3. COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER

Nowadays, warships of all navies around the world have a combat

information center, but in the 1940s, the concept was still
relatively new and had just made its way into ship design. The CIC
(or ‘combat’, for short) is the place where all the information on
enemy contacts is gathered and processed in order to provide the
ship’s captain with optimal tactical solutions. As the U-boat’s
most dangerous weapon is stealth and the element of surprise,
combat is mostly concerned with detection and tracking. Remember:
as long as you can detect, track and intercept the enemy before
they assume a good firing position, you will prevail in most
battles. Here are the tools that the CIC has at its disposal.

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 Radar
The radar is your primary tool of detection for surfaced U-boats.
Due to technological limitations, as well as lack of awareness of
the Allied technological advantage, a lot of U-boat captains will
attempt to approach the convoy on the surface and will,
consequently, be detected by your radar. They will, of course,
dive before closing in, but you will be able to detect them and
begin tracking their movement while they are still far away.

The most typical function of the radar, though, is to give you an

almost real-time picture of the situation on the surface. The
radar display is refreshed much more often than the tactical
station, and can therefore provide you with more up-to-date
information on how to maneuver against the convoy or among the
icebergs. Its biggest drawback is the lack of differentiation
among objects, which all appear as bright dots. In spite of that,
the usefulness of radar cannot be overstated, especially in low
visibility conditions.

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 DRT

The dead reckoning tracer (DRT for short) plays a crucial role in
planning your maneuvers against the enemy. It is, without a
doubt, the most helpful station for tracking enemy U-boats and
for making search plans should you lose track of a sonar contact.
The following section explains how to use the DRT with the
‘auto-plot’ deactivated, and discusses all its additional
functions.

The moving light on the DRT represents our destroyer and has
compass bearings on its outer circumference to help you determine
the course to take when intercepting the enemy. You can click in
the center of the moving light to mark your current position, or
click and drag the light to scroll the plot around. This is
especially useful if the light reaches the edge of the table. You
can also click on the pencil button on the right to disengage the
automatic pencil function for a clearer view of the situation.

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You can zoom in and out with the mouse wheel, and you can scroll
the camera around with the mouse wheel pressed. The mouse cursor
is contextual and will turn into a hand (whenever you can click
and drag objects), or a pencil (whenever you can draw dots,
crosses or lines).

To mark the enemy position, first listen to reports from radar or

sonar which tell you the bearing and distance from the U-boat.
First, you need to click in the center of the moving light to
mark the current destroyer position. Then, quickly click and drag
the disc to snap the ruler’s zero point to the destroyer position
that you have just marked. After that, click and drag the ruler
so that you pivot to the enemy bearing on the disc. Finally,
click next to the ruler at the appropriate distance to mark the
U-boat position with an ‘X’. Each enemy and destroyer position
will have time marked next to it to give you a better
understanding of enemy maneuvers, and your maneuvers in relation
to theirs.

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You can also snap the ruler to previous destroyer positions, as
well as the two most recent U-boat positions. After snapping the
ruler to a point of reference, you can draw lines by clicking and
dragging the mouse from the zero point along the ruler.

This allows you to estimate both destroyer and U-boat courses.

After drawing a line that connects two U-boat positions, a box
will appear, containing information on the U-boat's course and
speed. Once you have drawn one or more lines, you can use the
compass icon on the right to make time, distance and speed
calculations.

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 The two available scales are 1:1000 yds and 1:100 yds,
and can be changed by using the topmost icon on the
right.
Make sure to use the 1:100 scale whenever the enemy is at 1000
yds or closer. If the plotting space becomes too crowded, you can
erase everything by clicking on the ‘erase all’ button. If you
wish to erase particular dots and crosses, click on the ‘eraser’
button, and then click on the point you wish to erase. The cursor
will change into an eraser whenever you mouse over an erasable
mark.

Also, whenever you drop depth charges, the position where you
dropped them will be marked with the letters ‘DC’ (dropped
charges). This way, you can easily see where you last attacked
the enemy and you can search more efficiently if you have lost
contact (which occurs quite often right before or after the
attack).

Lastly, the elbow joint of the protractor arm ever gets in the
way, you can click on it to move it to the other side. Please
remember that if you find manual plotting too difficult, you can
always activate 'auto-plot' in the pause menu.

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 OSC

The own ship’s course and enemy bearing projector (OSC for short)
is very useful when you are closing in for a depth charge attack.
This plot table displays your ship’s silhouette, as well as the
direction where the sonar head is facing. The following section
explains how to use it with the ‘auto-plot’ deactivated.

The OSC is similar to the bearing indicator on the Bridge, but

its advantage is that it allows you to track the contact minute
by minute and paint an overall picture of enemy maneuvers just
before the attack. Once you begin closing in, it is advisable to
observe the OSC plot in order to correct your approach.

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Typically, after tracking the U-boat’s maneuvers with the DRT for
a while, you will have a good idea of how you want to attack.
Now, you will need to maneuver in a way which will position you
ahead of the U-boat’s bow to allow you to attack with a depth
charge barrage. The OSC projector will facilitate that final part
of the approach for you by displaying your ship's silhouette,
together with enemy bearing.

The controls for the OSC Projector are much simpler than the DRT,
but have a lot in common. You can use the mouse wheel to zoom in
and out, and keep the mouse wheel pressed to scroll the camera
around. You can mark the enemy position by clicking anywhere on
the table, or clear the plot by clicking on the eraser button.
The easiest way to mark the enemy position is by listening to the
distance given by the sonarman, and then clicking along the line
extending from the destroyer’s silhouette at the given distance.

The OSC does not have a fixed scale, and you can calculate
distances in a way that suits you best.

The easiest way is to treat each dotted ring as 100 yards, and
using the bearing rings as a reference for 600 yards, but that is
not obligatory. Therefore, if you decide to treat each ring as
1000 yards and use the OSC at longer distances, then it is fine,
as long as it works for you.

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It is also very useful to compare data between the OSC and the
DRT, bearing in mind that the latter presents your destroyer as a
moving object, while the OSC displays your ship’s position always
in the center. Bear that in mind when comparing the data between
the two plots.

Contacts

This station lists all the enemy contacts that have been detected
in the current battle, and, even more importantly, allows you to
choose your currently engaged target. It gives you the most
important information for each contact, i.e. its bearing (BRG),
range, time, course, and speed (SPD). A quick look at this data
will provide you with a whole new perspective on the situation in
battle. Which contacts are currently engaged by which escorts?
Which have been lost, and at what time? Which of them are the
nearest or farthest to you? This station will provide all the
answers to the above, and should help you when deciding which
enemy U-boat to go after at any given time.

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 Tactical

The tactical board is the closest to what could be called your

map. Its role is to give you the big picture of the situation,
and also allow you to give orders to all the assets protecting
the convoy. It is important to remember that this station is
refreshed only once every minute in order to simulate that it
required a person to draw all the positions by hand. Therefore,
while it may not always be strictly up-to-date, then again, it is
the only way you can control the formation of the escort screen
and make sure that all ships are following their sonar
responsibility.

This station, together with the radar, is one of the best ways to
gain situational awareness regarding your position against the
convoy, as well as the positions and tasks of the remaining
escorts. It is worth using it to determine the course that you
need to take when you change stations around the convoy, or you
wish to cover long distances. It is also practical to use it in
conjunction with the function that allows you to choose your
course by clicking on the outer circumference of the compass.
This way, you can quickly and intuitively issue orders to change
to a new course (just don’t forget to take the convoy movement
into consideration).

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 4. SONAR ROOM

Ahead ⅓, ⅔, ahead standard

a. Sonar
The sonar is the submariner’s bane, and although the early 1940s
sonar had many limitations, its introduction was one of the
milestones that ultimately led to Allied victory in the Battle of
the Atlantic. In Destroyer, using the sonar efficiently will make
the difference between victory and defeat, so make sure that you
understand how it works in order to gain the upper hand against
the enemy.

As soon as a U-boat submerges, it can no longer be tracked by

radar. However, in order to detect and track such a U-boat, the
sonar has to be pointed in the direction of the target (often
referred to as ‘sonar contact’). This is the reason why this early
kind of sonar was often referred to as ‘searchlight sonar’: the
beam, or actually the sound impulse, had to be sent in a
particular direction and hit the target in order to bounce back
and be heard by the operator. Therefore, one of the most important
skills in the game is to find and track the enemy with
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sonar, as using it is the only way to make an aimed depth charge
attack against a submerged U-boat.

Another important fact about the sonar is that it has a dead zone
right under your destroyer, which is clearly shown in the ASW 101
video before the tutorial starts. What is also crucial to
understand, is that the deeper the U-boat is located, the farther
away you will lose contact (as the sonar beam is directed
diagonally). Therefore, if the U-boat is located at medium or
deep, it is certain that, when approaching, you will lose contact
much earlier than you would if it were located at shallow depth.

As regards searching for enemy U-boats, it is always worth

considering a few factors. First of all, analyze any and all
information that you have gathered on the contact thus far. The
DRT and the markings on the tactical board will help you a lot,
although the DRT is always a more accurate point of reference, so
prioritize it whenever possible. What is more, the DRT has the
function to calculate time, distance and speed, so after you have
drawn a line between two U-boat positions, you can click the
compass icon and you will see where the U-boat could be located

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at a given time (provided it kept the same speed and course). The
contacts station is another useful source of information, although
please bear in mind the time when the last report on a given
contact was provided (the more time has passed, the less
up-to-date the information will be).

On top of that, please remember that the sonar also has another
dead zone right behind the stern of your destroyer due to the
turbulence generated by the propeller. Therefore, whenever you
search there, or when you turn your stern towards a tracked
contact, you won’t receive any sonar echoes from there. Lastly, in
all situations when you search for an enemy located to your side,
remember that it is absolutely crucial to search from stern to
bow. This important remark comes straight from an authentic 1940s
sonar manual and it will help you to avoid searching the very same
spot multiple times while neglecting the rest. It is worth noting
that while the direction of the sonar beam changes during search
(i.e. when you select a search arc in the sonar station), so does
your position, and this may result in the sonar pinging the same
spot multiple times. Therefore, always begin from the stern and
move up towards the bow, and you will have a much better chance of
finding the enemy.

It is also worth explaining why there is no hydrophone station in

Destroyer. The fact is that US Navy sonar operators were actually
trained in the use of hydrophone (which was integrated with the
sonar most of the time), but it saw very limited use. Post-war
reports detailing the efficiency and use of the hydrophone reveal
that attempts to employ it effectively were indeed taken, but due
to the limitations that hydrophone had for surface vessels, US
Navy sonar operators very rarely relied on what they referred to
as ‘listening’. One of the remarks that can be found in the
reports says: ‘they (i.e. submariners) can hear us very well,
while we can barely hear them’. It might also stem from the fact
that by the time the US Navy joined the Battle for the Atlantic,
German submarine crews were already well-trained on how to avoid
the hydrophone (using the so-called ‘silent running’), while the
sonar was relatively new to them. The fact that a surface vessel
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had to almost stop in order to effectively use the hydrophone
(due to the friction of water against the hull of a moving ship)
was probably another factor that contributed to the fact that
sonar was favored over the hydrophone and that the latter was
used mostly as a supplementary source of information, just like
in our game.
b. TRR
The TRR is a targeting device which calculates the optimal time
to drop depth charges. It receives echoes from the sonar and
transforms them into electric impulses which mobilize a stylus
that burns black traces on special paper rolling through the
device. The following section explains how to use the TRR with
the ‘auto-settings’ deactivated.

The graph drawn by the TRR is a time-range plot, and the angle of
the graph translates to the so-called range rate (which is the
speed of closing the distance to the target). The closer the
horizontal traces appear to the left edge of the window, the
closer the enemy is (please note the distance scales above the
window). The easiest way to think about it is to treat it as a
coordinate system where the X axis represents distance, and the Y
axis represents time.

Therefore, as you close the distance, you will observe that the
graph starts leaning to the left. The faster you approach the
target, the more heavily it will lean. If you start going away
from the target, it will begin to lean right, and will be
completely vertical if you keep the same distance. You do not
need to calculate the exact U-boat speed, as it is inherent in
the range rate.
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In order to set the TRR right, you need to know the speed of the
destroyer (left hand side of the screen), and the current depth
of the U-boat (given by the sonarman). Once you check these two
variables, you need to adjust the settings by moving the pointer
on the scale located in the bottom/right corner of the device.
Click and drag to set the pointer vertically (depth) and
horizontally (destroyer speed) so that it matches the actual
data.

The vertical lines on the scale represent the destroyer's speed

in knots, while the horizontal lines refer to the sinking time of
depth charges in seconds. Please note the reminder above the
scale that gives the sinking time for shallow (10), medium (30),
and deep (50). After setting the pointer on the scale, you must
click and drag to rotate the transparent plexiglass piece to
align the red lines on its surface with the angle of the graph.
It is, therefore, not recommended to change your own speed too
frequently while approaching, as each speed change will translate
to a different angle of the graph, as well as the need to change
the setting on the TRR scale.

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Also, please note that the deeper the target is located and the
faster your destroyer is moving, the lower the chance of hitting
the target will be. For that reason, it is worth considering
dropping broad (more scattered) depth charge barrages if you find
it difficult to hit a U-boat that is submerged to ‘medium’ or
‘deep’.

Now, if you set everything correctly on the scale, you need to

rotate the plexiglass piece to match the angle of the graph (use
the red lines to help you). Assuming you got the speed and depth
settings right AND the plotter bar is properly aligned with the
angle of the graph, the time to fire comes when the left edge of
the graph goes beyond (i.e. shows under) the dotted firing line.
Make sure you pay attention to the section of the tutorial that
explains it, and especially the screenshot contained therein.

In the TRR view, you can zoom in and scroll the camera around,
just as you can in the DRT and OSC view. This way, you can apply
settings very precisely, and you should also attempt to align the
plotter bar with the graph as precisely as you can. At the same
time, please remember that while the TRR can give you the optimal
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time to fire, it does not solve the problem of where you need to
be in order to hit. Therefore, make sure to steer in a way that
will allow you to end up in front of the U-boat’s bow, because
the only parameter that the TRR will give you is the optimal time
to fire - you still need to be at the right location to make it
work.

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 5. GUN DIRECTOR

This station enables you to use your destroyer’s main battery

against surface targets. As you already know, you will often be
able to detect U-boats on the surface due to their technological
limitations, as well as their captains’ ignorance of the Allied
technological superiority in the field of radar. Regardless, it is
very difficult to deal substantial damage to U-boats with the use
of 5 inch guns. For one, the U-boat is an extremely small target
for this kind of weapon, and scoring hits above 1,500 yards will
be nigh impossible. However, the guns allow you to force a U-boat
to submerge and thus relinquish its speed advantage. This is
absolutely crucial, because a surfaced U-boat can easily catch up
with the convoy, while a submerged U-boat can’t. Therefore, the
guns are best treated as a means of limiting enemy
maneuverability, and you should use them whenever an opportunity
presents itself.

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The gun director can also launch starshells and engage a powerful
searchlight in order to extend the lookouts’ range of vision.
These options might prove crucial whenever you can establish
neither radar nor sonar contact, but you suspect that a U-boat is
lurking nearby, preparing for an attack. The additional light can
reveal such a U-boat's periscope and save the day at the very
last moment.

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 6. LOOKOUTS

The lookouts’ stations provide a very good perspective of what’s

happening in your immediate vicinity, which is extremely useful
when maneuvering within the convoy, or among icebergs.
Furthermore, the lookouts’ stations allow you to manually spot
periscopes, so whenever you cannot establish contact with a
suspected U-boat, you can try using this option to detect a
nearby enemy. Remember, the U-boat has to either be surfaced, or
at periscope depth to launch its torpedoes, and it has to spend
some time aiming the torpedoes before they can be launched. For
that reason, if you spot a periscope close to the convoy, you can
try approaching at high speed and making a quick deterrent attack
even without sonar contact. If you are fast enough, such a quick
attack made at shallow depth can severely damage a U-boat, or,
with a bit of luck, even send it to the bottom.

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 7. CROSS-REFERENCING DATA
BETWEEN STATIONS
One of the most essential skills you should develop as soon as
possible is the ability to piece together information from
various stations to build a comprehensive picture of the
battlespace. As mentioned in the tutorial, all the instruments
available to you use the same compass bearing system, and
information gathered at one station is often very helpful at
another one. The most prominent example of this would be the
synergy between the DRT and the sonar. Tracking a sonar contact
on the DRT will greatly facilitate your attack approaches, but
using the DRT to come up with a sonar search plan is even more
valuable. Simply imagine that the moving light on the DRT is the
same object as the round plate on the sonar console. Looking at
the DRT plot this way should quickly give you an idea of how to
set up your search arc once you switch stations to sonar. It is
sometimes necessary to do a little back and forth between the two
stations to correct your initial assumptions, but the more you
play, the more you will realize that cross-referencing data
between various stations in the game is one of the keys to
victory.

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 8. TACTICAL GUIDE
This chapter will equip you with strategies to effectively handle
various scenarios and outmaneuver enemy U-boats.

a. Attacking enemy U-boats

As you already know, making an accurate depth charge attack is no

easy task. Even with all the help from the TRR, it may be
difficult to place the barrage perfectly so that it obliterates
the enemy U-boat in one fell swoop. Depth charge attacks fall into
a few different categories, as you may approach your target from
various sides and at different speeds. On top of that, most U-boat
captains will attempt to evade your attack attempts, either by
changing course or by going deeper (where you will lose sonar
contact more easily). Below you will find a few hints that will
help you further and hopefully make your anti-submarine efforts
all the more successful.

Head-on attacks (i.e. attacks where your destroyer and the U-boat
are closing in from opposite directions) can be quite tricky, as
it is very easy to make a late drop, thus missing the U-boat
altogether. In such conditions, it is advised to launch the
barrage slightly earlier than the TRR shows rather than slightly
too late, because even the smallest delay can cause the whole
barrage to miss, while making the attack a little too early still
has a fair chance of severely damaging the enemy.

Conversely, coming up from the enemy’s stern will require nerves

of steel, as you will often lose sonar contact some time before
the TRR signals the time to launch the barrage. During those
attacks, you have to keep your cool and wait it out, as dropping
your charges directly over the U-boat will most likely give it
enough time to move out of the kill zone before the charges reach
the required depth. Remember: the deeper the U-boat, the more lead
(and thus, patience) is required.

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Attacking from the side introduces yet another challenge. As
always, you are required to make a lead which will compensate for
both Destroyer and U-boat movement. This time, however, you are
attacking a target that is moving in a vector that is more or less
perpendicular to yours. For that reason, attacks from the side
require very good spatial imagination, as well as frequent
cross-referencing between the DRT and the OSC. Please take into
account that the whole depth charge pattern is fired over a period
of time and requires your destroyer to move from place to place.
Therefore, it is recommended to fire when your enemy is either
right or left of you, but also to fire early enough (and at a
distance far enough from the U-boat) so that the center of the
barrage falls right where the enemy is about to arrive and,
hopefully, meet their doom. This is the most difficult kind of
attack to pull off accurately on a consistent basis.

One point worth reiterating here is the difference between

destructive (narrow) and distracting (broad) depth charge
patterns. The former is intended to deal as much damage to the
target as possible, but its relatively small area of effect makes
it substantially more difficult to hit the target. The latter, on
the other hand, has a much higher chance of dealing minor damage
or scoring close misses, but its probability of sending a U-boat
to the bottom is relatively low. A distracting pattern is
nonetheless worth considering if the U-boat has gone deeper, or
when you just want to make a quick deterrent attack that will make
the enemy abandon further attacks on the convoy, at least for some
time.

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 b. Escort tactics
In Destroyer, success in battle is not confined to your
performance alone - the assets at your disposal are instrumental
in dealing with the U-boat threat, and without their assistance,
the convoy will quickly be overwhelmed by the enemy. That’s why it
is absolutely crucial to make sure that all the escorts are
assigned to their duties at all times - either repelling U-boats
or searching the most probable angles of their approach. The
following section contains advice that should help you in
utilizing your escort assets to the fullest.

At the beginning of each battle, all escorts are in formation and

they are scanning their assigned sectors in accordance with each
escort’s sonar responsibility. As the battle unfolds, however, you
will have to react to the approaching threat and this will often
mean changing stations and sectors. Typically, it is best to fight
U-boats as far away from the convoy as possible, as it decreases
their chances of getting into firing positions should they slip
through the defenses. On the other hand, however, going too far
away from the convoy may make it impossible to react if even a
single U-boat makes it through the escort screen. Thus, you have
to always balance between the desire to keep the enemy as far away
from the convoy as possible, and the ability to protect it up
close in case the escort screen has been penetrated.

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Another kind of threat is the stealthy U-boat captain who will try
to creep within torpedo range under the surface, while avoiding
detection altogether. This is a difficult feat to accomplish for a
U-boat, as the diesel-electric submarines of the 1940s lacked
underwater speed to chase the convoy under the surface. Therefore,
the most likely approach zones for such maneuvers will be the
front of the convoy, extending to its flanks. That’s why a part of
your force should always be scanning these areas, especially if
the situation ever seems suspiciously calm. Most likely, there
will be U-boats lurking somewhere - the fact that you don’t know
where they are probably means you haven’t found them yet.

As regards changing escort stations around the convoy, the most

crucial decision for you to make will be the relocation of your
assets from one flank to the other. While that sort of decision
doesn’t happen every five minutes, then again, there will be
situations when it can have a decisive effect on the outcome.
Whenever you are faced with that sort of decision, bear in mind
that your ship is the fastest one in the whole escort screen.
Therefore, it is often recommended to consider relocating your
ship rather than any of the remaining escorts. If, however, you
come to a conclusion that relocating one of your assets to the
other flank is necessary, make sure to start executing such a
maneuver well in advance of when you want the ship to start
engaging the enemy. This will become more crucial the bigger the
size of your convoy, 34
although the increased number of escorts will act as a balancing
factor.

One more essential factor to consider is Coordinating your

attacks. Most of the time, the enemy will have advantage in
numbers, yet there will be situations where you can engage one
U-boat with two escorts (either with your destroyer assisted by an
AI-controlled escort, or with two of such escorts). Coordinated
attacks can really pin a U-boat down and deny it any chance of
lining up a torpedo attack, but there are also downsides to this
tactic. Firstly, you are focusing a lot of assets on a single
enemy, and secondly, whenever you hunt with another escort, there
is a high probability of collision. Therefore, in the latter
scenario, you will have to stay on your toes and make sure that
you are aware of that escort’s position at all times.

The last asset at your disposal is the PBY Catalina, codenamed

Black Cat. This is your air support asset and while its
availability is severely limited, then again, it more than makes
up for it with its speed and potential lethality. It also
possesses a considerable fear factor that will make U-boats dive
any time it appears in their vicinity. Therefore, you can use it
to create a zone of denial that will deter U-boat captains from
approaching optimal attack zones. As for its armament, Black Cat
carries a payload of four depth charges (which is enough to carry
out a 35
single attack), and an assortment of machine guns. While the
machine guns do not pose a deadly threat to enemy subs, the depth
charges, conversely, can mean an abrupt end to a sub skipper’s
career, especially if the U-boat is caught by surprise. All in
all, Black Cat is the fastest and the most feared among all
escorts at your disposal, and so should be kept in reserve in case
you need to get out of a sticky situation.

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 9. CONCLUSION AND TIPS
Congratulations, Captain! You have completed this comprehensive
course on Anti-Submarine Warfare and you are now equipped with the
knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the treacherous waters
of anti-submarine warfare. As you embark on your journey, keep
these essential tips in mind to ensure your success and triumph
over the enemy:

● Adjust your speed to the situation.

● The target bearing indicator on the bridge is a valuable
asset.
● Always keep scanning the submerged approach zones with sonar
(yours, or other escorts’).
● The DRT plays a crucial role in tracking and searching for
lost contacts.
● Cross-referencing between the sonar, DRT, radar, and tactical
stations is the key to situational awareness.
● Protecting the convoy flanks is of the utmost importance.
● Coordinate with friendly vessels and air support for enhanced
detection and defensive capabilities.
● Trust the TRR, but add a pinch of your intuition for maximum
effect.
● Engage surfaced U-boats with guns to force them to submerge
and lose their speed advantage.

Keyboard layout

● W, A, S, D: Control vessel movement

● Spacebar: Fire
● ENTER: Entering coordinates, Confirming vessel movement
● 1-6: Switching between stations
● F2: Hide UI

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 Ready to Conquer the Seas?
Armed with these insights and strategies,
you're now poised to take on the challenging
world of Anti-Submarine Warfare. Every
decision you make, every depth charge you
deploy, and every maneuver you execute will
shape the outcome of the battle. Remember
that mastery takes practice. Every engagement
is an opportunity to refine your skills and
tactics. Lead the escorts with confidence,
adapt to evolving situations, and emerge
victorious against the U-boat threat. Stay
patient, stay focused, and keep pushing your
limits to become an elite Captain.

May your skills shine as brightly as the sun

reflecting off the ocean waves.

Best of luck, Captain!

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