Tanker with super-sight?

[GoDeep]

Hey everyone,

I just started a new career in 1939 (using GWX for the first time, GREAT WORK! :rock:), got myself a "nice" Type IIA and just departed on my first war patrol. So of course my crew is still pretty green and everything. I had something strange happen to me.

I was assigned a patrol grid in the middle of The English Channel, grid square AN81, I believe (not at my own PC right now...). So I am happily cruising along on the surface, doing 7 knots. Dive every so often to listen for ships. Sure enough, there are contacts but most of them turn out to be neutrals.

Then, on September 6, I get a contact report from BdU about a lone ship sailing directly towards me, very close as well. So I turn to intercept the contact to see what it is. I put fresh crew up on the conning tower, including someone with the watchman skill. However, it is slightly foggy, so visibility is limited.
I dive to acquire the target, and sure enough, the hydrophone picks it up. I change course slightly so I would sail past the target at some distance. I need to identify it first, of course.

Sailing slowly forward at 4 knots, my crew is scanning the horizon for the contact. Nothing....still nothing...still nothing...odd, he should have been here by now. Then, I notice the stealth indicator is quickly changing from green to red! Huh? Aircraft? Nope, nothing to see...
Still someone must be seeing me. So I grab the binocs myself and start scanning the horizon. Nothing. Weird...

I scan the horizon again, slowly. Then, very, very faintly I make out the outline of my target in the fog. She's seen me and turning away from me at high speed, dissappearing into the fog. Hm.... :hmm: Not a peep from my watchcrew? But the tanker has seen me??

I turn my boat around, speed ahead of the contact's reported course, hoping to catch them again. And sure enough, I do catch them again...but the same thing happens. She spots me before my watchcrew spots her. I finally decided to let her slip by, because I am starting to burn too much fuel.

What's so weird about this, is that I am pointing my bow almost directly towards her, I am in a Type IIA (very small) and still her bridgecrew spots me before I spot them. I should be very difficult to spot, running slowly, being so small and having such a low profile. Is my watchcrew having problems with their eye-sight or did that tanker have crew with super-vision or something? Or is something else going on?

Any thoughts, anyone?

[TarJak]

They may have heard your engines rather than seen you.

[OuNiS]

Any thoughts, anyone?

Turn on "GWX - 16km atmosphere" mod in JGSME?
Maybe it helps your crew...

[GoDeep]

Turn on "GWX - 16km atmosphere" mod in JGSME?
Maybe it helps your crew...

Don't think my PC can handle that...getting pretty old... :oops:

But my boat and the ship passed each other at less than 2000 meters, like I said in a bit of fog.

[GoDeep]

They may have heard your engines rather than seen you.

That could be...but then they could not have been sure I was a hostile. So no reason to run like that.

[andylegate]

I can't remember if I've run into this myself.....

I guess it would be good to understand exactly how the stealth meter works. I would say maybe it does not take fog into consideration, but that wouldn't make any sense.

[bigboywooly]

The stealth meter is only AN INDICATION of your danger
Doesnt mean you have been spotted or heard just that you can be

For that and many other reasons I never use it

[minute]

Well, a sailor looking down from 15 or 20 meters high above the waterline in a large ship's command room will have far better chances of seeing your sub from afar than your lookouts sitting 2 meters above the water in the freezing cold. This is explained in the GWX manual. Your sub speed will also matter as a larger wake and splash created will make you more visible.

That being said, it sometimes happens that it takes a while for your crew to report a sighting, even if you can clearly see it yourself. I also find it interesting that the ship changed direction and ran away from you. Merchants usually just start zig-zagging but continue in the same direction, which makes intercept quite trivial in the end... Maybe it was just a coincidence?

[Brag]

When on the bridge in fog, I have often spotted ships long before the lookouts announce the sighting. It is a little better with the watch officer on deck. (Using GWX)

[madmike81]

Yeah...turn that stealth meter off. I used to depend on it....but it just limits what you think you can get away with.

[GoDeep]

Well, a sailor looking down from 15 or 20 meters high above the waterline in a large ship's command room will have far better chances of seeing your sub from afar than your lookouts sitting 2 meters above the water in the freezing cold. This is explained in the GWX manual. Your sub speed will also matter as a larger wake and splash created will make you more visible.

That being said, it sometimes happens that it takes a while for your crew to report a sighting, even if you can clearly see it yourself. I also find it interesting that the ship changed direction and ran away from you. Merchants usually just start zig-zagging but continue in the same direction, which makes intercept quite trivial in the end... Maybe it was just a coincidence?

I know my wake matters, so that's why I said that I was going slow, one third ahead. But you do have a point there. The seas were very calm, no wind at all. And the lookouts on the merchant were a lot higher up than my poor crew. It was IIA, so can't be more than three, four meters above the water.

Perhaps the ship did start zig-zagging, but due to the fog I only saw it zig but missed the zag... :D
She did continue on in the same general direction, that's why I could intercept her a second time. Next time, I just need to remember to dive in such weather conditions... :oops:

[TarJak]

1/3 ahead is NOT slow. Depending on conditions your wake from that speed is 3-4 times as likely to get spotted as at ahead slow.

[Capt. Shark Bait]

GoDeep, lemme know if you have any probs with your fish reloading. i had a prob with the IIA:damn:

[GoDeep]

GoDeep, lemme know if you have any probs with your fish reloading. i had a prob with the IIA:damn:

None except my crew take too long to load them. Lazy dogs.... ;)
I read there were some problems with reloading on the IIA, but fortunately haven't had any problem myself.

[Capt. Shark Bait]

GoDeep, lemme know if you have any probs with your fish reloading. i had a prob with the IIA:damn:

None except my crew take too long to load them. Lazy dogs.... ;)
I read there were some problems with reloading on the IIA, but fortunately haven't had any problem myself.

:hmm: , well atleast it's not my install. prolly something in the game itself that interferes with reloading

[Brag]

anti poll bump