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I would love to know where this sub ranks as far as "overall power rankings" as far as available US subs in game
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The Narwhal was designed at a time when the US Navy still had not a clear idea of what really was required. On one hand, the doctrine of the traditional commercial raider that the germans had so well applied in WW1 was quite respected due to its practical results, and as such a big firepower when surfaced was required in order not to waste the precious torpedoes in merchants. On the other hand, the "fleet submarine" doctrine was slowly making its way, and called for fast surface ships that could scout ahead of the fleet and eventually torpedo big enemy ships from surfaced conditions.
The Narwhal (And several other inter-war designs) was another unsuccesful attempt to have both things: The size (Required for long range patrols) and surfaced firepower (6 inch guns, equivalent to a destroyer) was unmatched and gave the sub excellent commerce raiding abilities, but it was largely underpowered with unreliable engines and also maneuvered like a pig, which excluded it from scouting the fleet effectively. In the end, it was a big risk to raid armed merchants when surfaced, and it was a challenge to evade enemy escorts when submerged, so it was soon relegated to special missions. Read: minelaying, inserting spec op teams and eventually some surface gunning raid on coastal installantions.
I think that, when comparing it to the other subs in the game, it will be more or less on par with the S-Boats. It outclasses them by far in range and gun power, but when it comes to evading escorts and operating in shallow waters, the S-class has the upper hand. Honestly, under normal operational conditions, you probably have more chances of surviving in an S-class. The Narwhal calls for special ops and careful surface riding of lone enemy merchants outside their gunnery range. Your guns can get it from larger distances, but remember that a sub is a rather bad gunnery platform, so in real life it wasn't that clear either.
In the end, you gotta love these large, fat, pig beasts for what they are. It's entirely irrational, but so is pure love
