Target map Qs

[overandout]

I was told of a TF, but always overshot the capital ships' location upon trying to intercept them. The nav map shows my sub surrounded by blue lines (warships). However, once the map changes to red outlines of different ships, I am in a poor firing position. Two questions:

1. How can I change the nav map to the images?

2. What is the best way to use the nav map to get ahead of targets? I get the bearing notices and travel in that direction, but still over-shoot the targets.

TIA!!

Lee

[Capn_Sinky]

Be forewarned, this is a long winded answer and I may be going into it too deep, but I don’t know your base knowledge so I’m giving you all I know. Sorry I’m and instructional designer by trade. Your actually not to far off, you want to be a little ahead of the TF. To get the blue lines to turn into the images of the ships you have to be within visual range. This exact distance depends upon the time of day weather etc.

Assuming you are on the surface and it is daylight this is how I proceed. I use the pencil to mark the ends of a few of the blue lines to plot the approx position of the ships. Then I accelerate the time maybe to 8X or 16X for just long enough to see the blue lines move. Then I try to mark the ends of the same blue lines again. This will plot a general heading of the TF. Do this several times to get an average heading. Adjust your heading according to run almost parallel with the TF. Now that you have a rough heading of the TF turn slightly in toward to TF until the shortest blue lines turn into images of the ships. Remember the silhouette of a sub is much smaller that that of a DD or DE. You will see him before he sees you (hopefully, use time acceleration carefully here, subs were not meant to ram ships). What you want to do is keep the TF within or slightly outside your visual range and yet be completely outside his visual range. Then increase speed to flank and skirt ahead of the edge of the TF.

Once ahead of the TF gradually keep turning into it until you are running on roughly the same heading but almost directly in front of the TF. Then dive to periscope depth and turn toward the TF and reduce speed to 1/3. Make sure you are running at or below 1/3 speed before raising p scope otherwise your scope will feather (feather is a wake that is caused by the p scope when you raise it while traveling at too high of a speed. This creates a nice big “Drop Ashcans Here!” sign for all the escorts) Now headed into the mouth of the Imperial Navy you want to use your P scope sparingly. Up for a few seconds to get a visual on the capital ships and note their locations on the map with the pencil. DON’T keep the p scope raised for to long. Take a mirror and attach it to a stick and twirl it, a periscope scanning the horizon is basically the same thing. Can be seen at really long distances. The distance to the ships should still be measured in miles, you want time to adjust course.

Once you have marked your targets on the map it’s fun time. Dive for the thermocline and rig for silent running. (Yes Mr. Stinky, even the ice cream maker has to be turned off! Drats.) Using your pencil marks as a guide and the info you collected it’s time to play blind mans bluff. Accounting for your targets speed, take an appropriate lead on your target. When your targets are roughly 2500yds away start your ascent to periscope depth. Now this distance to start ascent will vary depending upon the TF speed, depth to thermocline and your boats performance. Your goal should be to come to periscope depth slightly ahead of but within 1200-1500 yrds from of your main target. Make sure your torpedoes are set to the proper depth and speed before beginning your ascent (Its always a good idea to have at least one stern tube and one bow tube set to a depth of 5 feet and high speed just incase a DD or DE is waiting for you. Also open you tube doors after passing through 100 ft. Wating till firing to open the tube doors results in a lot of misses, espically at close range. The other big issue that causes people to miss is turning or adjusting speed while firing. I know the targeting computer is a “computer”, but the wrist watch you are wearing right now has probably 100 to 1000 times the processing power of a WWII TDC, and it just cannot keep up with rapid changes in direction and speed adjustments. Trust me you want everything set except targeting before the periscope breaks the surface.

Now maybe I’m a little superstitious, paranoid, skitzo etc. but I feel like every time I use the free camera that the computer says “Oh so you want to play that way huh!” and immediately tells the escorts my exact position, speed, depth, and underwear size. Because, every time I have used it in a battle I wind up riding the one way express boat to Davy Jones Locker, because some escort mysteriously knows everything about me ( “Ah, so you arer a Amerikan submariner who is a Sagatarius and rikes pinra karadas and dancring in the rain. Here hava a new ashcan curtsy of Emperor Herahito!”)

Poke up the scope, make a quick sweep and light them up. Don’t use the “L” key. If you lock onto a target and fire without programming a spread in, you will put 5 fish in the same hole before the target will sink. I had to hit a large tanker 6 times to sink it, cause I hit it six times in the exact same spot. If you made the approach right and you are in a sub with four fwd and four aft tubes you should be able to take out at least two capital ships with one or two fish to spare ( unless one of the ships is the Yamamoto or an Ise class BS) so long as you don’t have any torp issues you should be able to rack up some tonnage.

Know that was long winded, but wanted to give you all I had. The informed and educated sailor is the enemy’s worst nightmare. Good Luck and Good Hunting

Capn_Sinky (aka Stinky)
O.I.C.I.C.
Officer In Charge of Ice Cream

USS Drum

[howler93]

( “Ah, so you arer a Amerikan submariner who is a Sagatarius and rikes pinra karadas and dancring in the rain. Here hava a new ashcan curtsy of Emperor Herahito!”)
:rotfl:

Stinky,

an excellent, detailed, and well-written walkthrough! I have the same issue with hitting the free-cam "alarm" if you will. I would add one little tip that I've benefitted from greatly, thanks to the advice from other skippers on this forum: Do NOT use Time Compression when within visual range of warships...it's like popping smoke to mark your position. The same applies for your "post-attack" sneak away. Using TC was my undoing on several TF attacks. Oh, and one other thing...you can get those sonar lines to reveal individual targets by using your SJ radar as well as by spotting them visually. Best of luck!

Good hunting,
Howler :arrgh!: