Scapa Flow in GWX

[joho]

I entered Scapa on Okt 22 -39 a week after Prien went in.
Only to find the bay devoided of heavy naval vessels all there was to be found was a bunch of destroyers (10-12) some stationary some patroling the entrance.
Are Priens raid implemented in the game or why the absense of larger ships.
Is there ever going to be pray to be found in Scapa Flow?

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

Take a look in there before the RN takes on the Bismark but after the the sinking of the HMS Hood.

[FIREWALL]

Hi joho :sunny: I've had the same experience even on the date he did it.

Mabe one of our mission builders can recreat this part of history for Single Missions.

I play some of the GREAT GWX Single Missions more than my Career for Training and Experience.

That way I can try different attack and evasion methods without screwing up my Career.

[HuskerNlincoln]

I understand the frustration, but be patient.

I apologize for not remembering exact dates, but I have been in Scapa a few times the most recent was just a few days ago, I believe Oct or Nov of 1940, I was fearful of nets blocking my path, but as I entered from the west, and then took the southern most route, I got in with no problem. Just have to remember to set your torpedo depth to zero. Its fun to watch the path of the torpedo as it clears the nets.

It was just getting dark, weather was okay (for once in Scapa) and I saw off to the right, an Aux cruiser, which promptly sank...oops, and then 3000 meters beyond that an Illustrious Class carrier,....somehow that sank too. Then I started deeper into the port towards the actual docks and there was a Troop Transport, which mysteriously blew up in the harbor!

On another occasion, about six months ago, I got into Scapa undetected, early on again, roughly Oct or Nov, and low and behold there was the Hood, sitting just as pretty as you please. I almost wet myself. I remember, I saved the game right there, then I went to external view and spent 30 minutes or so looking at the ship from every possible angle. When I started my attacked, I would watch that too from every angle. Then I would exit, and reload the game again, I think I did this for a couple hours. Keep in mind that in the few years of playing not once have I seen the Hood nor any Battleship on the open seas, never once ran into a task force, I have seen them only in port. I have been given reports of task forces, but have never been in the right location to intercept a one of them. It is my ultimate goal to see the Rodney, or Royal Oak, or Hood in the open sea and get em.

Hell, I'll be happy to see the Biz or Adm Hipper too. May end up facing a firing squad due to sinking one of my own just to say "I've sank a battle ship"!

Oh, and another time I was on my way into Scapa, and I damn near got ran over because there was a task force coming into port at the same time. Scared the hell out of me to only have a few feet under your keel while submerged and then to have a few cruisers, battlewagons, and a carrier go right over you. But it was amazing to watch, and the sound was amazing!

Hope this gives you something to look forward to.

[joho]

Ill probably return later next year. Silent Hunter Rules.

[Shadowblade]

Hi, Yes, it is possible to find big ships in Scapa.

at September 13, 1939 I have infiltrated Scapa Flow through east side & sunked :

- HMS Hood
- Renown Class
- Modern Tanker, Floating Dock, Tugboat

nice 141K tons for my U-99 :arrgh!:
I wish you more luck on your next raid on Scapa ...

[roadhogg]

Little tip of the day for anyone interested.

The Hood leaves Scapa alone (unescorted) at 10am on the 14th Sept 39 and heads west (destination unknown) or north west towards the Faroes in GWX 2.1 :up:

Best to be hanging around on the west side of scapa island by about 11am and track her on your sonar.

Happy hunting.

Edit:
Oh and the Renown mentioned in the previous post often comes out of Scapa around the same time escorted by destroyers (if you fancy some depth charge dodging) and heads towards the Faroes.
But even if they do, the Hood always seems to sail alone.

[Piggy]

I havent snuck into Scapa in GWX... But I did remember a posting a while back about a task force that leaves Loch Ewe around late October 39 :D ... which includes the Hood and two other heavys.

So in one of my Careers I just happened to be near that area at a certain time :hmm: , my heart was racing, and so were the ships (not used to those fast ones)... As such I couldnt get a shot at the hood but I did sink a BB, cant remember the class... Its the one with the 3 big turrets at the front. Had to dodge the DC's for quite a while after. Surfaced and headed west to my patrol area, about 30mins later I hear the ship spotted, a quick look on the bridge shows another task force, this one is coming straight at me. Dive to PD and and wait, to my glee its a Fleet class carrier, Illustrious... I only had to turn 90 degrees and wait, down she goes....:rock:

It was like christmas... I mean what are the chances. Okay the BB was cheating because I knew it would be there, but the carrier was a totally unexpected bonus.

Ive also run into the Hood with two BB's and 8 DD's off Rockall in another career, again totally unplanned. I just happened to get the TF contact report and they were headed right for me, down goes the hood. Of coarse I thought I was toast after 8 DD's spit at me for hours.... somehow they didnt even damage me. :arrgh!: ( I think that this many DD's was actually an advantage for me, they were constantly getting in each others way... they would have been better off using 3 or 4 instead of all 8 escorts)

Guess I was really lucky with that last encounter because usually you have no chance of intercepting a TF unless you know its going to be there.

[roadhogg]

There's batleships and task forces all over the place round the top of the British Isles just after the war starts :)

My first real patrol in GWX 2.1 (after the shakedown patrol) assigns me grid BF16, and i'm in my grid for Sept 3rd, so i decide to go looking for trouble by coming home via the Irish Channel, up past Loch Ewe and via Scapa.

I found a convoy coming up the Irish Channel between Swansea and liverpool travelling at 6 knots with a Revenge class in the middle of it, thankyou very much i thought as she went down :up: .

Coming past Loch Ewe on the morning of the 13th i receive a report of a warship travelling SW at 25 knots from AF78 (i think), 400 or so km's north, possibly towards Loch Ewe, so i set an intercept course for it north side of the Loch and it turns out to be a task force with HMS Warspite in it.

Then i head for Scapa, and around half ten am i'm approaching the mouth of the island. I pick up multiple contacts coming from scapa at high speed which turns out to be a task force with the Renown in it but i can't move fast enough to intercept.

So i head back towards Scapa and pick up another contact which through the sonar is either a carrier, frigate or battleship.
Low and behold it's the Hood.

I have of course re-played that save a number of times and therefore i know the Hood doesn't always take the same course, but always leaves Scapa harbour at 10am, the task force reports north of Loch Ewe vary, as does their destination (sometimes i wait for nothing cos the report is not headed for Loch Ewe), and sometimes the task force out of Scapa contains more than one battleship.

Hope this info is of some use to someone.

[Brag]

So in one of my Careers I just happened to be near that area at a certain time :hmm: , my heart was racing, and so were the ships (not used to those fast ones)... As such I couldnt get a shot at the hood but I did sink a BB, cant remember the class... Its the one with the 3 big turrets at the front. :rock:

.

That would be the Nelson,

[Shadowblade]

Little tip of the day for anyone interested.

The Hood leaves Scapa alone (unescorted) at 10am on the 14th Sept 39 and heads west (destination unknown) or north west towards the Faroes in GWX 2.1 :up:

Best to be hanging around on the west side of scapa island by about 11am and track her on your sonar.



Destination is known: Loch Ewe - on the 14th Sept 39 I was heading west fom Scapa Flow and was surprised when my watch crew reported lonely HMS Hood heading same direction (after anson air-strike I was awaiting rather some destroyers...), bad luck for her :arrgh!:

[TarJak]

A quick search using the word scapa found this thread from a while ago which outlines when you can "expect" to see ships in scapa: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=108114

Note there are no guarantees as the dates are approximate and there is a level of randomness in the appearance of ships built into the campaign files to prevent thingsw from getting too predictable. Thanks to the hard work of bigboywooly.

[Jimbuna]

A small pointer....but subjected to random change due scripting....as explained by TarJak

1939/09/15 - 1939/10/10, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1939/10/04 - 1939/10/14, Battleship Revenge, Scapa Flow
1939/11/01 - 1940/01/05, Battleship Nelson, Loch Ewe
1940/03/01 - 1940/05/01, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/03/07 - 1940/04/25, Aircraft Carrier Illustrious, Scapa Flow
1940/04/01 - 1940/06/01, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/05/17 - End of war, Fiji Light Cruiser, Loch Ewe
1940/05/24 - 1940/06/30, Dido Light Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/12/11 - 1940/12/31, Battleship King George V, Scapa Flow
1941/02/01 - 1941/02/17, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1941/02/10 - 1941/03/20, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1942/02/03 - 1942/02/28, Battleship King George V, Scapa Flow

[bigboywooly]

A small pointer....but subjected to random change due scripting....as explained by TarJak

1939/09/15 - 1939/10/10, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1939/10/04 - 1939/10/14, Battleship Revenge, Scapa Flow
1939/11/01 - 1940/01/05, Battleship Nelson, Loch Ewe
1940/03/01 - 1940/05/01, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/03/07 - 1940/04/25, Aircraft Carrier Illustrious, Scapa Flow
1940/04/01 - 1940/06/01, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/05/17 - End of war, Fiji Light Cruiser, Loch Ewe
1940/05/24 - 1940/06/30, Dido Light Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1940/12/11 - 1940/12/31, Battleship King George V, Scapa Flow
1941/02/01 - 1941/02/17, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1941/02/10 - 1941/03/20, Auxiliary Cruiser, Scapa Flow
1942/02/03 - 1942/02/28, Battleship King George V, Scapa Flow

Stock IIRC ?

GWX 2.1 for 1939 Scapa

HMS Hood..............6 Sept 39 to 8th Sept 39
HMS Renown............6 Sept 39 to 8th Sept 39
HMS Hood.............12 Sept 39 to 14th Sept 39
HMS Renown...........12 Sept 39 to 14th Sept 39
Auxiliary Cruiser.......15 Sept 39 to 10th Oct 39
HMS Hood.............21 Sept 39 to 22nd Sept 39
HMS Hood.............23 Sept 39 to 25th Sept 39
HMS Hood.............27 Sept 39 to 1st Oct 39
HMS Nelson...........27 Sept 39 to 1st Oct 39
HMS Hood..............6 Oct 39 to 8th Oct 39
HMS Nelson............6 Oct 39 to 8th Oct 39
HMS Royal Oak.........1 Oct 39 to 14th Oct 39

Fleet moved to Loch Ewe after Royal Oak sinking till early 40