Planesmen
 

I've given some thought to the issue of no planesmen being present except at GQ, and I think I've found a good solution:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...145241_774.jpg

In regards to the image above, I've removed six slots from Hogan's Alley and added six slots to the control room (the last two columns). The idea is that, the player can now move two men from each bridge watch to man the dive planes and the rest as described in the manual.

Thoughts, comments?

Regarding the crew in the CR, I have always thought the sailors manning the switchboard and the ballast manifold were never necessary. Why not use their spots for the planesmen. However, now that the switchboard looks like it does something, maybe have one planesman manning the depth controls and leave the guy at the switchboard during normal steaming ops. I must insist that during GQ all stations be manned. (I just love a crowded sub).

Personally I like the idea, need two slots open for dive planes.In stock I remember gar/tambors would have one sailor sitting at dive planes when placed in slots, looked damn silly, very important station that needs to be manned.I always move most of my deck watch into the control room when I dive anyway.Sure it can be a pain but from everything I read the control room was not fully manned on each watch, the OOD and lookouts slid down the ladder and took out.Chief on watch prob began the process by opening vents and all.

Even in current RFB, only diving officer and helm station stays manned, when I dive, order dive and quickly place the deck watch inside, move the OOD to the conning tower.Sounds picky but just how I have always operated, gives something to do since all one has to do in dive is hit the D key.

Great job RFB team a big improvement over the previous version,I think i found an issue with the Terusuki escorts,their dead charges rack in the back of the ship are missing, so they just hover all over unable to attack,this happen in campaign mode march 1943 , a bug maybe ?

@LukeFF and all

RFB2.0 is now ready from SHMF too:
http://www.silenthuntermods.com/foru...php?board=35.0

And you may add this link to the front post.:03:

Thanks!

Are you using any mods other than RFB?

The thing is that there was always a man at the switchboard (typically an Electricians' Mate) and at the ballast controls (typically a Machinist's Mate or Fireman). The Kriegsmarine used a similar setup as well, except that they didn't have a separate EM rating.

I just finished a patrol in the E. China sea in December - I noticed that there was fog/mist pretty much every day, even though the weather was given as clear. I found that the radar operator, even when there are clearly blips to be seen, couldn't report anything.

Pretty much impossible to target anything even though the ship is clearly silhouetted. This also makes convoy attacks nigh on suicidal.

That's pretty much how it worked in reality. From all of my research, this is how I gather the conning tower and control room watches worked:

• Sonar: the WCA sonar unit was typically not manned while on the surface, unless the CO ordered otherwise. When submerged, one man would man the right-hand set of controls. At GQ, a second man would man the left-hand set of controls.
• Radar: SJ radar was manned on the surface only or at radar depth.
• The Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) was stationed either in the conning tower or on the bridge while surfaced. Upon submerging the JOOD would assume the role of diving officer and move to the control room, and the OOD would take his place in the conning tower.
• The helmsman typically steered the boat from the conning tower. From what I can gather, the steering station in the control room was used only in emergencies.
• The chief petty officer of the watch was typically either CPO or 1st class machinist whose watch station was at the Xmas tree in the control room.
• As described above, there was an EM at the switchboard and either a machinist or fireman at the ballast controls.
• The dive planes were manned by the lookouts when either (a) the boat was submerged or (b) the boat was at GQ.

Note that I did not mention anything about the navigator. Contrary to what SH4's interiors show, there was not a chart desk in the control room, at least in the Gato and later boats.

Are you sure about that Luke? I recall having seen pictures of Balaos with the navigation table clearly present, with a glass surface and illuminated below. Was that an after-war addition, when subs spent more time underwater?

See this: http://www.maritime.org/tour/cr.php?pano=fl

Isn't the charts table what is next to the green table with a rounded porthole (I think that green table is the Gyrocompass)?

In any case, where was the assitant officer that made the plot on a maneuvering board based on the captain's range/bearing estimations as called by the guy who readed the scope bearing vernier/stadimeter? I think he was in the CT, but where?

Only RFB :salute:

I keep getting CTDs; german campaign from OM, didn't happen earlier (before RFB 2.0).

Same place (CG82), same time (night 28 Sept '41, campaign Sept '41, moving to Salamis as first patrol objective) and circumstances - large convoy heading north escorted by +/- 4 corvettes (one of them is the only vessel spotted by the crew).
mods:
RFB 2.0
RSRDC v575 + 5xx patch
OM v705 + v720 patch
RUIM (both enlisted ranks & awards)

I have no idea what the reason might be, no difference if I'm inside the boat or on the bridge; seems to CTD just about 30 seconds after I load the game.

edit:
I've left the convoy and since that everything's fine. Must've been the escort... I hope you manage to find the solution, still though, RFB shows a piece of good work you've done, thank you!!!

OK, I returned my Sargo sub to base, loaded RFB 2.0 (Previously running 1.52 with some tweaks) and have checked the radar mod. It seems to work correctly except for the bearing indicator :damn: The true course dial (A repeater of the main ship's Gyrocompass) is stuck, and only the relative bearings dial is rotating. I think that in the instructions from my mod a fix was indicated, but I will check the RFB files directly ASAP.

Other than that, I also miss being able to knock down the masts in the Sampans :D but not the contact icons, as I play without map updates.

The new interior textures and rounded indcators are great, looking forward to see more subs implemented, as I usually play with P, Sargos and S-Class, only rarely with Tambor/Gato/Balao/Tench :up:

I loaded up RFB 2 and started a new campaign with no issues until I went to sea, the interior of the sub never really loaded and most of the UI buttons were just white boxes. I lagged a ton and CTD once i tried to click something.

RFB_2.0
RFB_2.0_Patch1
RSRDC_RFB_V575
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
OpsMonsun_V705
OMv705_to_V720

Turned off OM and had no problems until I went up to the bridge while outside pearl and I almost instantly CTD (this had been happening with 1.52 as well though and only happens around ports).

Hey Luke, sorry for the late response, im on a Tambor class with the stock 50cal gun. Kinda makes a lil sense now that i think about it but wouldnt it still be able to penetrate wood? just a lil hinsight?


Also, i noticed several of my crewmates got specializations, but they seem out of place for their proffession. Torpedomen with radar specialization? Engineers with Sonar/radar? Sonar with Visual specialization etc.

I for one would like to see this mod.

What I meant to say is that the location of the two "chart tables" in the Gato SH4 interior are entirely spurious. Compare the pano view above (specifically the port side forward and starboard aft corners). One doesn't see a chart table in either of those locations in any surviving Balao or Gato class boat.

Probably at the dead reckoning tracer, located at the aft end of the conning tower.

Indeed a strange one. It's the same file as used in RSRDC. May want to PM lurker about it, as I think he may have been the one to edit this ship's weapons file (but don't quote me on that. ;) ).

Yes it should, but there are historical accounts from the patrol reports of sampans and other wooden vessels sucking up a lot of deck gun rounds and not sinking. The 3"/50, FWIW, is not a very powerful anti-ship weapon (it was designed as an AA gun).

It's a quirk in the way the game is coded. I might just get rid of these special skills for the next RFB release, or just limit their distribution more.