Hello and Welcome to what I hope will be the Definitive Destroyer U-Boat Hunter Tutorial; DTUBH for short.
I will split this tutorial into chapters, so feel free to skip to the bit you need help with.
A little about me:
I have spent many happy hours playing this game and I love it, having sunk 10 U-Boats in my first 2 days of playing the game I couldn’t help notice that despite it having been released a YEAR before I bought it a mere 3% of players have managed to achieve that same achievement; so I thought I would put together this tutorial to help players to understand, improve and enjoy this game as much as I do.
A few caveats & recommendations;
• Watch the movie Greyhound with To hanks in it…it is a fantastic movie and although you might need to watch it more than once to be able to keep up (it is incredibly full-on), it does an excellent job of showing what the experience is like…Fast paced, hectic and very challenging….You WILL lose convoy ships & sinking U-Boats is NOT easy.
• I have read many books, listened to many audiobooks all relating to ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) in WW2; the same era we are playing in DTUBH, which like the movie does not include Hedgehogs. These arrived a little later and were an absolute game-changer as they helped eliminate one of the key limitations of the time.
• So Having watched the movie multiple times, & listened to real world captains reflect on their active ASW careers I have a pretty clear and concise understanding of the difficulties and best practices you should be following, & I will try my best to convey them to you here.
• One final recommendation is to get a copy of VoiceAttack. I find it helps so much, and adds a huge amount to the immersion because on a real Destroyer the Captain would be issuing orders and not actually doing the tracking, plotting, steering etc..

WW2 Convey escorts across the Atlantic had two jobs:
• RN expected their captains to protect the convoy at all costs…this meant chasing away U-Boats was as acceptable as sinking them.
• The USN expected captains to sink U-Boats and provide evidence to confirm a kill before awarding said kill to the escort in question.
You need to decide which of these you want to follow, either way the general consensus is upon detecting a U-Boat ALWAYS to act fast and be aggressive (never wait and see what they are going to do next): Be warned trying to sink one U-Boat can open the door for others to get through your defences and get clean shots on the convoy & in DTUBH each enemy U-boat behaves differently; some aggressive, some passive, some relentless (some are decoys).
It is key to understand that a submerged U-Boat cannot travel as fast as a convoy, so if you do manage to force a U-Boat to submerge deep it will allow the convoy to get ahead of them; your priority should always be U-Boat sightings ahead or close to the convoy and those lagging behind are less of a threat (but still an absolute threat).
The only way a fully submerged U-Boat can catch up with the convoy again is by surfacing the U-Boat & chasing whilst above the water…this allows YOU to spot them using radar allowing you to quickly and accurately close and fire on them with your deck guns (a very good way to get a U-Boat kill).
Firing at a surfaced U-Boat can also cause it to submerge; and if you follow up with accurate depth charges you can either sink them or force them deeper; thus giving your convoy more chance to gain distance.
Remember that as good as DTUBH is it is NOT a simulator, one example of this is the unlimited number of depth charges you have…So don’t hold back! Let at least 3 salvo’s go with each attack!

You have 2 weapons at your disposal (sadly we cannot ram U-Boat’s in DTUBH).
We have deck guns and we have Depth Charges (Hedgehogs were not available until a little later).
To get a decent shot on a U-Boat with your deck guns;
1. Make sure you have the correct enemy selected.
2. Instruct your gunner to track that target
3. and make sure you have them broadside (so that none of your guns are obstructed from firing)
4. don’t fire until you are 2000 yards or less for maximum impact
a. 3 or 4 good broadside shots should be enough to sink a U-Boat.
Depth charges are fired off the back and aft sides of your destroyer and can be set to shallow, Medium or deep timing (which dictates how deep they are when they explode). So with this knowledge it is fair to say that you need to drop the charges somewhere in-front of the U-Boat with enough time to sink to the required depth.
They can also be set to tight or wide formation:
1. Tight tends to provide a better chance of sinking a U-Boat, but only if accurate.
2. Equally wide formation increases your chances of damaging or scaring a U-Boat
a. Especially useful if you’re not 100% sure where the U-boat is or is going to be.

Chapter 3 Radar Brief Explanation
Radar only detects a U-Boat if they are surfaced, but it is accurate and provides a 360degree scan at all times.
Any U-Boat caught on Radar should be attacked immediately with deck guns and forced to submerge, then you should follow up with depth charges if at all possible. To do this accurately you need to understand how the sonar works and how to use it to your advantage.
Chapter 4 Sonar Brief Explanation
Early WW2 Sonar was limited in many ways; thankfully only one of those limitations is actually in DTUBH.
Sonar cannot scan directly downwards, which means there is a 200-300 yard blind spot all around & underneath your destroyer. What does that mean exactly? Well if you are tracking a U-Boat North and neither of you change course, then when you get to within 200-300 yards of the U-Boat you will lose the Sonar signal…he will in effect vanish.
A good habit to get into is reversing your sonar direction when passing over a U-Boat…BUT be patient as your own propeller and the noise of the depth charges will make it useless for almost a full minute or more; whilst there are other techniques you can us to help you, if attacking alone immediately tracking the location where you think the U-Boat should be is excellent advice…just be a little patient you should regain contact (or better still hear the sound of the U-Boat breaking up).
If the U-Boat is submerged to a shallow depth, you must simply use your skill, knowledge and good old timing to ascertain when to drop your depth charges & with practice you will get pretty good at this; BUT if the U-Boat has submerged to a medium or deep depth then you should use the TRR to help you time when to fire.
Chapter 5 TRR Brief Explanation
The TRR relies on Sonar pings to draw lines onto a piece of scrolling paper; it will lose contact at the exact same time the sonar does.
The TRR calculates the depth charge timing required to ensure you allow enough time for the depth charges to sink to the desired depth giving you a much better chance of hitting the U-Boat or forcing them to dive deeper.
If the U-Boat is shallow the TRR can help give you a guide as to when to drop, but ultimately it is still going to require you to figure out the missing bits and is only accurate IF you are heading directly towards the U-Boat.
If approaching from the side or from behind the TRR is not accurate; without the TRR though you are working entirely on guesswork so it is useful regardless of your attack.
Some captains never used the TRR and relied on their own natural calculations gained from experience.
A brief example:
• Depth Charges set to shallow will explode within 10seconds.
• Depth Charges set to Medium will explode within 20seconds.
• Depth Charges set to Deep will explode within 30seconds.
So the depth of your enemy dictates when you should fire your depth charges: A good U-Boat captain will change course all the time, sporadically or at the very moment you sail over the top of them (meaning as soon as you lose Sonar they will likely turn). So you need to quickly identify your enemy and act accordingly.

1) Optimal approach speed is dependant on Sub depth. General rule of thumb is attack fast and be aggressive.

o It is immeasurably easier to sink a ship on the surface with your guns, attacking at a 30degree angle so you can unload all guns at once within 2,000yrds.

o Shallow vessels are next up with a 10second lead, you can safely roll right over the top of them and drop and have a good chance of hitting them (although having hit a sub and seen debris & double oil slick - the blighter still came back and sunk one of mine). At this depth direction is not as important, but a really good sub captain can avoid you very easily regardless.

o Medium and deep depth is far more about timing, precision and luck (good sub captains change course all the time so do you guess, predict or drop based on calculations....always up to you at the time).

Regardless of approach speed (aggressive and fast is recommended - don't give the U-Boat any time to manoeuvre) I like to drop to 1/3 just before I drop, this means i can drop more DC in the vicinity and do more damage (potentially).



2) Once within 1,00yrds slow to half speed so you can catch his sonar and track his movements (give you some idea what kind of captain he is). Once I am within 300yards I tend to slow right down to 1/3 and get a lot of DC on the expected point & ideal turn hard to port or starboard to cut off his escape, if you guess right and he turns into you...Almost certain kill at shallow depths.


3) Two barrel settings. Tight and loose. Tight is good for anything 0-100yrds and loose is for everything 100-250yrds. Anything beyond that is out of range.


4) The faster you travel the further apart the depth charges will be (hard turn either way keeps you more in the area though so use that technique). If you have No idea where the sub is, keep your speed up, and drop whilst searching....if nothing else it will keep him under.


5) Yes. Attack subs in shallow water far more easily (you don't even need the TRR because it becomes instinctual - true to real life captains actually).

Use the TRR to calculate best drop times based on 3 things: Depth of the sub. Your Speed & closing speed on the target (all done in the TRR).

There is such a huge delay at medium and deep depths that even if your calculations are precise, the sub only needs to make a 5 degree turn, or slow down and you will miss.

Best tip I can give is use your support vessels to track the sonar of the sub, this will help you keep a good track of his position relative to your own.

I'm no expert BTW, I have only been playing for a few weeks but I regularly get kills using these techniques and I read a lot of books about ASW in WW2 and try to adhere to their advice.

The TRR is a bit of a pain because details are scarce at best. My understanding is that attacking a sub from behind is not as useful for calculations as it is attacking head on (ideal) or from a side angle....But this is something I am looking to research more.

I hope that helps a bit?