Rockin Robbins
03-07-08, 10:27 PM
Well, I can't find the head or read any of these foreign inscriptions on all the instruments, but figured it was time to take my frustration out on a target somewhere. I know that somehow the periscope is directly hooked up to the TDC, and as an American skipper my first task was to unhook it!:arrgh!: You should know that's how I sink targets anyway. In the Fleet Boat I unhooked the PK, so you'll have to excuse me, I'm keeping tradition here.
Next deal was to find a target. I sent planes all over and found lots of Japanese and German ships (where were they when I was on the American sub!) and finally, after delivering the soda pop (or whatever) to Taiwan I was free to hunt. Spent some time getting used to distances and then discovered the Attack Map lets you manually input TDC parameters and unhook the funky German periscope from the TDC. Now we're talkin'.:arrgh!:
This isn't ready to be a tutorial yet, but lets take a look:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_211036_133.jpg
Start from the top right. I've pressed tube #1, a good old fashioned steam torpedo, hits fast and hard. I hope they see it coming so they can dread a bit.
Just below that I've set fast speed, selected magnetic pistol and set the depth for about 12½ meters, just below the keel of my T3 Tanker victim. You just click on the needle and drag it where you need it. Same with the knobs. The little knob lets you fire one torpedo (T) or a spread (S). If you don't want to click the light for the torp you want you can twist the knob there.
I decided it would be justice to execute a Dick O'Kane attack from a U-Boat! With all manual settings it should be easy. My target was coming at 9 kt, so I knew from experience that with a fast American torpedo I'd fire at about 350º. Notice that the German bearing setting is in degrees starboard (recht) and port (links), not a 360º plot. I'm going to fire 10º before he gets to bearing zero and in this case it's 10º left. See it there?
Next I don't care too much about the range because it cancels out of the solution, we've all been there. I set it for 1000 meters, pretty close to the truth and it lets me read off the rough number of seconds the torpedo will run before the boom.
Since my course is 90º from the target, the AoB will be 90 - my shooting bearing of 10º or 80º. It will be 80º recht because that's the side of the target I'm looking at. Grab the knob and set it for 80º bug recht, whatever that means.:rotfl:
Heck we almost forgot the only knob we really know well, the speed knob, where the Germans admit that imperial measurements are king:up:, even on a U-Boat. Gives you that warm feeling right in the intestines, don't it? Twist that little knot to 9 knobs. Whatever.
Ok, set yourself at 90º to the track about 1000 yards off at slow speed and notice the hellacious sea we're running here.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-06_181906_390.jpg
Took this pic earlier while we were trying to do our end around. The tanker could do 12 all day and all I could get was 17 knots. Where's my good American submarine when I need it? But hooooo doggy! Look at those seas! Pretty rough. Back to business.
You remember with the Dick O'Kane attack we just point the scope at the bearing that we plan to shoot and squeeze off shots as the delicious parts of the ship go by the crosshairs. Let's make trouble!:arrgh!:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_212609_478.jpg
Kaboom! Really! I know the periscope is all washed out but there's a kaboom there somewhere. Lousy cameraman missed the crucial instant taking his scope for a swim there. Maybe we can't see the kaboom, lets look at the results after the second hit.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213023_903.jpg
My first two manually targeted German torps and two hits. This foreign contraption could be fun yet if I ever find the head! But you can see that this unloaded tanker isn't any more inclined to sink than a Japanese one with only two American torpedoes in it would. It needs a little help.
We'll sneak up for a fanny shot. AoB 180, speed, who cares, range, who cares, torpedo los! or is it feur! Beats me, it's all foreign mumbo-jumbo to this sub jockey! (humor impared need not apply) What's up?
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213652_210.jpg
OOOO he seems to have a bit of a problem. Oh, I missed a shot I didn't tell you about. Think about what you're doing and don't just move suggestive lines around to intersect a ship and expect to hit it. The voice of experience speaks, but it's three hits from four torps, as good as I expect from the Kraken. Is it Miller time?
Surface. Battle stations deck gun!
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213850_070.jpg
Or maybe not. I'm so used to NSM that I expect reality! I forgot that there's a little guy on each ship counting hit points and when he hits the magic number he just blows the scuttle charges. She went down in under a minute. Most unsatisfying. WernerSobe, help your new countryman!!!!!:up: Ich bin ein Berliner, and all that!
So there you go how I got this foreign bucket of rusty nails to actually sink an empty American tanker with three hits out of four. And I hope you can do it too.
I realize this is a gross perversion of how you're supposed to shoot with one of these things, using the Dick O'Kane method but it was fun. Hope you enjoyed it too and I helped you put some good old American steel on the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
There, did I redeem myself? Neal, you gonna let me live? Do show signs of actual redeemable human qualities? I was in bad shape there but I feel much better now!
Next deal was to find a target. I sent planes all over and found lots of Japanese and German ships (where were they when I was on the American sub!) and finally, after delivering the soda pop (or whatever) to Taiwan I was free to hunt. Spent some time getting used to distances and then discovered the Attack Map lets you manually input TDC parameters and unhook the funky German periscope from the TDC. Now we're talkin'.:arrgh!:
This isn't ready to be a tutorial yet, but lets take a look:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_211036_133.jpg
Start from the top right. I've pressed tube #1, a good old fashioned steam torpedo, hits fast and hard. I hope they see it coming so they can dread a bit.
Just below that I've set fast speed, selected magnetic pistol and set the depth for about 12½ meters, just below the keel of my T3 Tanker victim. You just click on the needle and drag it where you need it. Same with the knobs. The little knob lets you fire one torpedo (T) or a spread (S). If you don't want to click the light for the torp you want you can twist the knob there.
I decided it would be justice to execute a Dick O'Kane attack from a U-Boat! With all manual settings it should be easy. My target was coming at 9 kt, so I knew from experience that with a fast American torpedo I'd fire at about 350º. Notice that the German bearing setting is in degrees starboard (recht) and port (links), not a 360º plot. I'm going to fire 10º before he gets to bearing zero and in this case it's 10º left. See it there?
Next I don't care too much about the range because it cancels out of the solution, we've all been there. I set it for 1000 meters, pretty close to the truth and it lets me read off the rough number of seconds the torpedo will run before the boom.
Since my course is 90º from the target, the AoB will be 90 - my shooting bearing of 10º or 80º. It will be 80º recht because that's the side of the target I'm looking at. Grab the knob and set it for 80º bug recht, whatever that means.:rotfl:
Heck we almost forgot the only knob we really know well, the speed knob, where the Germans admit that imperial measurements are king:up:, even on a U-Boat. Gives you that warm feeling right in the intestines, don't it? Twist that little knot to 9 knobs. Whatever.
Ok, set yourself at 90º to the track about 1000 yards off at slow speed and notice the hellacious sea we're running here.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-06_181906_390.jpg
Took this pic earlier while we were trying to do our end around. The tanker could do 12 all day and all I could get was 17 knots. Where's my good American submarine when I need it? But hooooo doggy! Look at those seas! Pretty rough. Back to business.
You remember with the Dick O'Kane attack we just point the scope at the bearing that we plan to shoot and squeeze off shots as the delicious parts of the ship go by the crosshairs. Let's make trouble!:arrgh!:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_212609_478.jpg
Kaboom! Really! I know the periscope is all washed out but there's a kaboom there somewhere. Lousy cameraman missed the crucial instant taking his scope for a swim there. Maybe we can't see the kaboom, lets look at the results after the second hit.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213023_903.jpg
My first two manually targeted German torps and two hits. This foreign contraption could be fun yet if I ever find the head! But you can see that this unloaded tanker isn't any more inclined to sink than a Japanese one with only two American torpedoes in it would. It needs a little help.
We'll sneak up for a fanny shot. AoB 180, speed, who cares, range, who cares, torpedo los! or is it feur! Beats me, it's all foreign mumbo-jumbo to this sub jockey! (humor impared need not apply) What's up?
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213652_210.jpg
OOOO he seems to have a bit of a problem. Oh, I missed a shot I didn't tell you about. Think about what you're doing and don't just move suggestive lines around to intersect a ship and expect to hit it. The voice of experience speaks, but it's three hits from four torps, as good as I expect from the Kraken. Is it Miller time?
Surface. Battle stations deck gun!
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa293/RockinRobbins13/Silent%20Hunter%204/Hans%20Goebeler%20Cruise%201/SH4Img2008-03-07_213850_070.jpg
Or maybe not. I'm so used to NSM that I expect reality! I forgot that there's a little guy on each ship counting hit points and when he hits the magic number he just blows the scuttle charges. She went down in under a minute. Most unsatisfying. WernerSobe, help your new countryman!!!!!:up: Ich bin ein Berliner, and all that!
So there you go how I got this foreign bucket of rusty nails to actually sink an empty American tanker with three hits out of four. And I hope you can do it too.
I realize this is a gross perversion of how you're supposed to shoot with one of these things, using the Dick O'Kane method but it was fun. Hope you enjoyed it too and I helped you put some good old American steel on the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
There, did I redeem myself? Neal, you gonna let me live? Do show signs of actual redeemable human qualities? I was in bad shape there but I feel much better now!