Creating 188 missions for SH4

[rjord]

I have started creating the first of many historical missions for Silent hunter 4 using historical data going back to May 36.

However as the editor starts from 1938 the 188 missions from 29 Jul 1938 with Lt. Roland F. Pryce in command of the S-38 (SS-143).

Using the spreadsheet put together from various sources and sorting by the dates of command I am using this along with U.S. WW II Submarine War Patrol Reports (http://www.maritime.org/doc/subreports.htm )to plan each mission.

Details on each war report are enough to recreate the missions with details on course being taken, damage sustained, enemy encounters and so on.

The 188 missions mentioned in the topic header is the minimum as there are more missions likely as many of the reports from the sub commanders had between 2 and 7 war patrols on record.... meaning a lot more missions.

If the war report mentions that the sub was attacked by destroyers or aircraft then these will be added to the mission at given position.

For the missions I am using the microfilm records to create a mission sheet which documents actions the commander must take such as training missions , rescues etc.

Doing some testing and will report back here with more posts as this progresses.

[Aktungbby]

rjord! stuff like this always fascinates keep up the good work!

[rjord]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

rjord! stuff like this always fascinates keep up the good work!

Thanks Aktungbby

Hopefully the last few posts will explain my methods for creating these missions.

[rjord]

This illustration I put together shows the first 10 days of the mission ending with the sub reaching the Lingayen Gulf at the top of the picture and attacking hostile shipping.

She entered the gulf just before dawn on 22 December. At 06:45, she sighted an enemy convoy of four transports escorted by two destroyers.

Waiting for the range to drop to a very short 1,000 yards (910 m), at 07:10, she fired four bow tubes — all misses. As she reloaded, the enemy destroyers closed in, pinging, but no depth charges came. At 07:58, she launched two torpedoes at an anchored enemy cargo ship. Less than a minute later, the 5445-ton Hayo Maru blew up.

Enemy destroyers again closed the submarine, and she went "deep", to 80 ft (24 m), and lay doggo as depth charges fell around the sub.

Of course it will be up to you if the first 4 torpedoes all miss.

[rjord]

Before finishing this mission for SS-143 as listed in last few posts.......

I am going to first recreate the missions for those of the USS S-36 (SS-141) commanded by Lt. Creed C. Burlingame (age 36)

EDIT : this has been changed as Burlingame commanded till February 39.
James R McNaught is the commander of this sub during the time of this mission

With these missions I will be adding in some features to make them more challenging.

- where possible you will have to stick to the timeline as given in the mission and experienced by the original sub crews

- some events may happen which may leave you on the surface when you really need to dive. Example.... with the SS-141 diving was delayed by oil supply failures to the starboard engine, and she was subsequently sighted by a Japanese destroyer.

This first mission recreates what happens in the weeks before the incident with the starboard engine and what happens when the destroyer chases down SS-141.

With these missions you will be forced to operate the sub as per the mission.

Example, the SS-141 experiences an issue with her main motor bearing which began smoking and oil needed to be applied by hand squirt gun. Later her trim pump stalled. The No. 2 main ballast was blown and at 230 feet (70 m) the boat began to rise.

Obviously these issues are not going to be showing in Silent Hunter 4 but I am putting this mission together in a way that when you are told the sub's ballast has blown and the sub is starting to rise..... you need to head to the surface. However venting and flooding was begun and you stop at 90 feet below the surface.

In a critical condition concerning trim and propulsion with the Japanese Destroyer still hunting you need to try and clear the area.

You might think your troubles are over but if a fire broke out in the main motor auxiliary circulating pump you might have to surface the boat.

This is a brief idea of the first mission.

The USS S-36 (SS-141) had 2 war patrols and these will be the first 2 missions I am recreating. Very detailed notes on what happened to the submarine have been taken from the microfilm records to make this mission as close to realism as possible.

Can you guys let me know which is the preferred place for me to start adding these missions so you can try them out as each one is finished?

[rjord]

As the S1 Class submarines are not simulated in SH4 I will have to default to the S-18 class submarines.

[rjord]

The following screenshot from the actual war report on microfilm shows the details that can be added to the mission.

We have the date and time of the report and the positional coordinates I can place the mission.

Weather conditions and the sea conditions will be entered into the mission as well.

The Type of Operations and the Specific Objective will be added to the mission briefing page.

The details for the forces engaged...in this case a Japanese destroyer..... gives a guideline for what I will attempt to recreate such as the 90-degree track straight bow type of attack.

However because of dealing with AI things may not go to plan and as commander you may need to change plans depending on what the destroyer does.

[rjord]

Using the Submarine Action Report in the last post I go to Google Earth and find the coordinates in Google Earth Pro

[rjord]

..... and this would show in SH4 at the time of contact with the Japanese destroyer

[rjord]

However.....before we get to meeting the Japanese Destroyer we are going to go back 8 months prior to that event and add in some more historical encounters for this sub and its crew.

For more detailed information on this sub USS S-38 (SS-143) I then search Wikipedia for USS S-38 (SS-143) which comes up with the following page of details.

Of interest is the first paragraph where the S-38 mistakenly torpedoed and sank Norwegian freighter Hydra II west of Mindoro's Cape Calavite.

To keep this mission historically correct the mission parameters would have your sub S-38 encountering this freighter and sinking it before setting course toward the Luzon coast.