My weirdest SH4 ecounter, ever.

[mesql]

So, here I am playing some SH4 U-boat missions, objective was sail dwn to some grid quadrant, and once there, sink 7000 tons of merchant shipping. All in all fairly standard stuff, if a bit unoriginal. So, I reach my grid quadrant and start my "find something to shoot at dance", and get a radar contact of what appears to be a small convoy. Wonderful! I'll track them down, sink a couple of 'em, be home in time for dinner. So, I follow that radar contact for a bit, and eventually think that I should be able to see them now. Head up top for a bit, try to use binoculars, can't see crap. However, it was absolutely pouring down with rain, and foggy as all get out, so I didn't think much of it. Continue tracking this convoy, eventually get the message "Ship spotted.", and at almost the exact same time, a new radar contact, the opposite direction of the ship that had just been spotted.

Go back up top, use binocs again, don't think I see anything... actually that could be a mast of a ship, but it's massive! The only way it could be that size is if I was 20 feet away! And if I'm getting a short-range radar contact, while I'm twenty feet from another ship, that must mean... I'm right in the middle of a convoy aren't I? Thank God these early war convoys weren't known for having very much in the way of defensive weaponry.

Ok, not exactly the best situation to be in, deck gun time. Start firing at the ship I see, eventually bring that down. So I start looking for other ships, considering the level of incompetence my crew has already displayed, I'm not trusting them to find ships ever again. And right on cue, an absolutely massive tanker comes out of the fog, dead ahead. Decide that this one was in a much better position to use torpedoes, launch a couple, they all miss.

Rather than waiting for my tubes to be reloaded, I just make more use of the deck gun, eventually sinking the tanker. However, you know that giant explosion that most ships make after they start sinking? Turns out that can damage your sub, and if you're within spitting distance of each other, like I was, it will damage your sub enough that you will sink, with great velocity, to the bottom.

And thus ends the weirdest encounter with a convoy I have ever had, in hours of playing SH4. I did get the message I would have made a wonderful post-war commander though, so I guess that's nice.

[banryu79]

Originally Posted by mesql

... Rather than waiting for my tubes to be reloaded, I just make more use of the deck gun, eventually sinking the tanker. However, you know that giant explosion that most ships make after they start sinking? Turns out that can damage your sub, and if you're within spitting distance of each other, like I was, it will damage your sub enough that you will sink, with great velocity, to the bottom.

STAY AWAY FROM THINGS THAT COULD GO BOOM!
-- Lesson learned the hard way

[captgeo]

ah yes, a lesson learned the hard way.......leave some distance when shooting targets that go BOOM

[in_vino_vomitus]

Experience - Something you get just after you need it.

Welcome aboard

[Armistead]

For the most part, long as you're a few 100 yards away, you'll be OK, except for ships loaded with things that go boom, fuel, ammo, etc. or large capital ships such as BB's that carry ammo. Loaded ships have a large blast radius and can damage or sink you up to 700 yards depending on which mod you use regarding the damage zones of the sub.

Many convoys are fully loaded with fuel and ammo. You can often see the load they carry on their decks. If you take the time, you can learn what each load out is by how it explodes. Heck, sometime you can torp one ship and the domino explosions from ship to ship can take out several. I think my record is 7 ships with one torp....only you don't get credit for any ship you didn't directly hit, but can be helpful if you time it to take out escorts.

Also be careful about hiding under damaged enemy ships. I torped one and got it stopped, decided to hide under it because of about 12 dd's trying to get me...but US planes came and started bombing it....they finally blew it up and even 300 ft down under it, the explosion blew me up and the ship landed on me....sinking me for good.

[banryu79]

Originally Posted by Armistead

Heck, sometime you can torp one ship and the domino explosions from ship to ship can take out several. I think my record is 7 ships with one torp....

- Holy crap!!!

Originally Posted by Armistead

Also be careful about hiding under damaged enemy ships. I torped one and got it stopped, decided to hide under it because of about 12 dd's trying to get me...but US planes came and started bombing it....they finally blew it up and even 300 ft down under it, the explosion blew me up and the ship landed on me....sinking me for good.

DO NOT USE YOUR VICTIMS AS UMBRELLAS!
-- Lesson learned the hard way... 2

[THEBERBSTER]

A warm welcome ‘mesql’ to the Subsim family.

You will always find someone here to help you.

Link to my SH5 – SH4 posts:

Step By Step Tutorials & How To Do It

Also Included Are Some Useful Download Links

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=211804

[Armistead]

Originally Posted by banryu79

- Holy crap!!!


DO NOT USE YOUR VICTIMS AS UMBRELLAS!
-- Lesson learned the hard way... 2

well, I thought the DD's would go away. Seems this was the Battle of Savo in RSRD. I stopped a Kongo on the water and had to hide under it because of damage I got from the DD's...Things just wouldn't leave that Kongo, circled it throwing charges at me all night, some blowing the Kongo. Then the US planes came attacking that morning...

[captgeo]

I learned this hard lesson a bit back, ......started to hide and move right under a freighter and try to move with it till I could get deep enough to slide off in a different direction

[merc4ulfate]

I have never denied to have been sunk by my own stupidity ... such denial, if indeed it has taken place, is a valuable lesson however.