What got you interested in WWII submarines?

DrewC · 07-02-13, 01:31 PM

Hey everyone!
I'm 19 years old and would like to regard myself as a WWII history buff. Without a doubt the main thing that got me interested in WWII at a young age (9 or 10) was the constant watching all the old war movies with my dad and brothers- Run Silent Run Deep, The Enemy Below, The Great Escape, Stalag 17, The Desert Rats, Patton, Guadacanal Diaries, Kelly's Heroes, etc, etc. This led to discovering for myself a ton of great war books as well: Das Boot, multiple books by Ambrose, etc. My favorite has got to be Robert Sherrod's account of the Battle of Tarawa. However, the submarine scene has always captivated me the most, and I have to say that I can trace the roots of that back to when my father came home with a awesome surprise for me back in the day: Silent Hunter II.
I guess my question to the subsim community is this. What got you interested in WWII history, and submarines in particular?

SilentPrey · 07-02-13, 02:41 PM

I'm 29, just FYI. First real book I read was Shirer's Sinking of the Bismark. I repeated it and an Edwin Hoyt book about PT Boats called Deadly Craft so many times that both of them are just covers holding loose pages now. Those and a copy of the Reader's Digest World War II in Europe video cassettes and I was thoroughly hooked on WWII.

For submarines, Tom Clancy's books and movies. WWII submarines because that's the last time they were actually in combat and the games for WWII are so much more refined than the modern ones are. Also, almost everything about the WWII subs is declassified. I'm a purist and it irks me to know that what I'm reading or playing is intentionally altered away from reality whether it's for a good cause or not.

Sailor Steve · 07-02-13, 03:34 PM

Watching Silent Service on TV in the '50s.

Red October1984 · 07-02-13, 04:11 PM

Silent Hunter 2 and Subsim.

I started playing an old copy of SH2 on my old Windows 98 Desktop in my basement about two years ago...

I haven't looked back yet.

u crank · 07-02-13, 05:05 PM

Funny you should mention SH2 Red.

Actually I came at it from the other end. I was always interested in all things naval, especially WW2 and the Battle of the Atlantic, but from the Royal Navy and RCN point of view. One day I saw this

on sale and bought it mainly for IL2. I tried SH2 and was hooked.

I've been under water ever since.

razark · 07-02-13, 05:19 PM

It's been so long I don't even remember. My first subsim was 1983's Gato, followed by Silent Service a few years later.

Damn, I've been subsimming for 30 years?!?

Red October1984 · 07-02-13, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u crank

Funny you should mention SH2 Red.

Actually I came at it from the other end. I was always interested in all things naval, especially WW2 and the Battle of the Atlantic, but from the Royal Navy and RCN point of view. One day I saw this

on sale and bought it mainly for IL2. I tried SH2 and was hooked.

I've been under water ever since.

Similar Story. I have the exact same Commander's Pack thing.

I started getting into SH2 about 2.5 years ago and now I'm a Wolf of the Pacific.

raymond6751 · 07-04-13, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Watching Silent Service on TV in the '50s.

Me too, Sailor Steve. In fact, I ordered a set of DVDs and am enjoying watching those old black and white shows again. Boy, has broadcast quality come a long way?

torpedobait · 07-05-13, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymond6751

Me too, Sailor Steve. In fact, I ordered a set of DVDs and am enjoying watching those old black and white shows again. Boy, has broadcast quality come a long way?

That was my intro too. I had the books WWII in Pictures (a 3 volume set) and the one picture that really stood out to me was one of a sinking Japanese destroyer. The picture was taken through a periscope, and it just grabbed me. When I got to watch "The Silent Service" I was hooked forever. Once the games started coming I was in heaven. Hunt for Red October; 688i, you name it. I bought it. But what keeps me in it now is SHIV, modded with TMO2.5 and RSRD, with as many small mods as I can apply without crashing.

Hinrich Schwab · 07-03-13, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrewC

Hey everyone!
I'm 19 years old and would like to regard myself as a WWII history buff. Without a doubt the main thing that got me interested in WWII at a young age (9 or 10) was the constant watching all the old war movies with my dad and brothers- Run Silent Run Deep, The Enemy Below, The Great Escape, Stalag 17, The Desert Rats, Patton, Guadacanal Diaries, Kelly's Heroes, etc, etc. This led to discovering for myself a ton of great war books as well: Das Boot, multiple books by Ambrose, etc. My favorite has got to be Robert Sherrod's account of the Battle of Tarawa. However, the submarine scene has always captivated me the most, and I have to say that I can trace the roots of that back to when my father came home with a awesome surprise for me back in the day: Silent Hunter II.
I guess my question to the subsim community is this. What got you interested in WWII history, and submarines in particular?

I had always been interested in Military History. World War II was a natural focus for me since my grandfather was a WWII vet. He never really talked too much about it and after hearing his stories secondhand from my mother and uncle, I understood why. (For the record, he was on a militarized C2) Despite my own Army background, I found subs fascinating. I vaguely remember playing Silent Service on the NES back in the early 90's. Yep, back in the day, Subsims made it to the Nintendo.

Fast forward about 15 years or so, I decided to go to college for Military History back in 2007. I am halfway to my Master's degree in Military History, now. I remember writing for my Bachelor's capstone, which was about subs of course, and my professor flat out told me he learned something in regards to America's submarine service during the war.

I picked up SH III and SH4 on a good sale from Direct2Drive back in 2010 and I have been crash diving since. To make my own experiences even wilder, I joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary last year and recently completed the Coastal Navigation course. Playing subsims hard core helped with this dramatically

Dead Reckoning? No problem. Fuel Management? No problem.

Speed-Distance calcs? No problem.

Boeing727fan · 07-03-13, 10:56 AM

I grew up in Erie, PA which is a port city on Lake Erie. I have always been interested in shipping and history, but what turned my interest toward submarines, was watching "Down Periscope" when I was 11 years old.

GrafDodiko · 07-03-13, 12:16 PM

To keep it short: I don't know exactly. I come from southern bavaria in germany so I'm pretty close to the alps. But I always was fascinated with ships and navigating on sea. I even considered studying nautical science in hamburg (but then went with material science).

The intriguing thing about submarines/u-boats for me ist, that they are a little bit built like spaceships. Everything is built with redundancy for safty and its narrow and uncomfortable. This is what makes it interesting because it's a challange...

I could go on like this but you get the idea

cdrsubron7 · 07-03-13, 01:15 PM

Like a few other people have mentioned I started out with watching the Silent Service TV show from the 50s. In high school it was anything about the Pacific War that I could find to read.

grislyatoms · 07-09-13, 04:03 PM

My Grandad piloted a PBY Catalina in WWII. His recollections were what got me into naval sims. First sim I played was Gato at my cousin's house. Played Silent Service 1 and 2, AOD, Jane's 688, SHIII GWX (still playing) and now currently SHIV TMO.

Red October1984 · 07-09-13, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grislyatoms

My Grandad piloted a PBY Catalina in WWII. His recollections were what got me into naval sims. First sim I played was Gato at my cousin's house. Played Silent Service 1 and 2, AOD, Jane's 688, SHIII GWX (still playing) and now currently SHIV TMO.

A salute to his service!

The Catalinas are my favorite flying boat. The crews certainly have my respect.

07-02-13, 01:31 PM	#1
DrewC Nub Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Loves South Texas. Also hates South Texas. Posts: 4 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	What got you interested in WWII submarines? Hey everyone! I'm 19 years old and would like to regard myself as a WWII history buff. Without a doubt the main thing that got me interested in WWII at a young age (9 or 10) was the constant watching all the old war movies with my dad and brothers- Run Silent Run Deep, The Enemy Below, The Great Escape, Stalag 17, The Desert Rats, Patton, Guadacanal Diaries, Kelly's Heroes, etc, etc. This led to discovering for myself a ton of great war books as well: Das Boot, multiple books by Ambrose, etc. My favorite has got to be Robert Sherrod's account of the Battle of Tarawa. However, the submarine scene has always captivated me the most, and I have to say that I can trace the roots of that back to when my father came home with a awesome surprise for me back in the day: Silent Hunter II. I guess my question to the subsim community is this. What got you interested in WWII history, and submarines in particular? Last edited by DrewC; 07-02-13 at 02:12 PM.

07-02-13, 03:34 PM	#3
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Watching Silent Service on TV in the '50s. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

07-02-13, 04:11 PM	#4
Red October1984 Airplane Nerd Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 6,241 Downloads: 115 Uploads: 0	Silent Hunter 2 and Subsim. I started playing an old copy of SH2 on my old Windows 98 Desktop in my basement about two years ago... I haven't looked back yet. __________________

07-02-13, 05:05 PM	#5
u crank Old enough to know better Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Prince Edward Island Posts: 11,560 Downloads: 136 Uploads: 0	Funny you should mention SH2 Red. Actually I came at it from the other end. I was always interested in all things naval, especially WW2 and the Battle of the Atlantic, but from the Royal Navy and RCN point of view. One day I saw this on sale and bought it mainly for IL2. I tried SH2 and was hooked. I've been under water ever since. __________________ “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” ― Arthur C. Clarke

07-02-13, 05:19 PM	#6
razark Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 2,725 Downloads: 393 Uploads: 12	It's been so long I don't even remember. My first subsim was 1983's Gato, followed by Silent Service a few years later. Damn, I've been subsimming for 30 years?!? __________________ "Never ask a World War II history buff for a 'final solution' to your problem!"

07-02-13, 02:41 PM	#2
SilentPrey Navy Dude Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 171 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 2	I'm 29, just FYI. First real book I read was Shirer's Sinking of the Bismark. I repeated it and an Edwin Hoyt book about PT Boats called Deadly Craft so many times that both of them are just covers holding loose pages now. Those and a copy of the Reader's Digest World War II in Europe video cassettes and I was thoroughly hooked on WWII. For submarines, Tom Clancy's books and movies. WWII submarines because that's the last time they were actually in combat and the games for WWII are so much more refined than the modern ones are. Also, almost everything about the WWII subs is declassified. I'm a purist and it irks me to know that what I'm reading or playing is intentionally altered away from reality whether it's for a good cause or not.

07-03-13, 10:56 AM	#11
Boeing727fan Bilge Rat Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 1 Downloads: 51 Uploads: 0	Living near water I grew up in Erie, PA which is a port city on Lake Erie. I have always been interested in shipping and history, but what turned my interest toward submarines, was watching "Down Periscope" when I was 11 years old.

07-03-13, 12:16 PM	#12
GrafDodiko Nub Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 3 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	To keep it short: I don't know exactly. I come from southern bavaria in germany so I'm pretty close to the alps. But I always was fascinated with ships and navigating on sea. I even considered studying nautical science in hamburg (but then went with material science). The intriguing thing about submarines/u-boats for me ist, that they are a little bit built like spaceships. Everything is built with redundancy for safty and its narrow and uncomfortable. This is what makes it interesting because it's a challange... I could go on like this but you get the idea

07-03-13, 01:15 PM	#13
cdrsubron7 Sink'em All Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 2,150 Downloads: 305 Uploads: 1	Like a few other people have mentioned I started out with watching the Silent Service TV show from the 50s. In high school it was anything about the Pacific War that I could find to read. __________________ Head Deep and Keep'em Astern" - LtCDR Samuel D Dealy SHIV Guide \| Imperial Japanese Navy \| US Submarines

07-09-13, 04:03 PM	#14
grislyatoms Medic Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 169 Downloads: 31 Uploads: 0	PBY Catalina My Grandad piloted a PBY Catalina in WWII. His recollections were what got me into naval sims. First sim I played was Gato at my cousin's house. Played Silent Service 1 and 2, AOD, Jane's 688, SHIII GWX (still playing) and now currently SHIV TMO. __________________ "Na Männer...alles klar?"