PDA

View Full Version : Estamating tonnage mod?


Weisia
03-23-09, 02:49 AM
One thing I really find annoying is that the ships I have sunk over the past few years all have their exact tonnage listed in my captains log.

Is there a mod around that makes it so that when I sink a ship the tonnage listed in the captains log is for example 'about 9,000' and not '9,151' like it is currently. I find it really unrealistic that commanders are able to 'estimate' the tonnage of a target to the ton accurate.

And now a totally other question: is the life and debris mod compatible with NYGM?

Jimbuna
03-23-09, 06:34 AM
Using SH3 Commander you can vary the tonnage.

Kaleuns, once they had identified their victims could often refer to recognition manuals such as those produced by Lloyds and get a very accurate tonnage amount.

Weisia
03-23-09, 06:57 AM
There are several kaleuns which hardly used the recognition manual because of the huge amount of different ship types. They made an estimation based on the general appearance of the ship (how many funnels, seize of the ship, displacement).

Even when using a recognition manual I find it hard to believe that kaleuns at sea could estimate a ship on 6485 tons for example

irish1958
03-23-09, 08:24 AM
Even when using a recognition manual I find it hard to believe that kaleuns at sea could estimate a ship on 6485 tons for example

It's the same way you get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. :rotfl:

PhantomLord
03-23-09, 09:18 AM
1. Many Kaleuns get the tonnage by asking survivors after the attack.
Of course not in a convoy battle...

2. They get the tonnage from BdU after the patrol. Just combining precise general appearance description from the kaleun, B-Dienst reports (german intelligence service) and confirmed sinking reports from the british...

Sailor Steve
03-23-09, 10:15 AM
One thing I really find annoying is that the ships I have sunk over the past few years all have their exact tonnage listed in my captains log.

Is there a mod around that makes it so that when I sink a ship the tonnage listed in the captains log is for example 'about 9,000' and not '9,151' like it is currently. I find it really unrealistic that commanders are able to 'estimate' the tonnage of a target to the ton accurate.
The ship was listed in the ID manuals, with exact tonnage. They weren't all-inclusive, and they were often wrong, but on the other hand there is the case of SS Empire Explorer. Originally the liner Inanda, she was bombed and sunk in September 1940 while docked at London. She was raised and converted to a freighter and renamed at that time. And yet in spite of the rebuild, she must have retained much of her original appearance, because when Kptl Günther Heydemann of U-575 sank her on July 9, 1942, he specifically radioed in that he had sunk Inanda. This means that he had her listed in his ID book, and in that case he knew exactly what ship he had attacked.

On the one hand you're right: Often they only had a general idea of the ship they attacked, and often they were wrong. Both the Germans and the Americans had a post-war nightmare sorting out who actually sank what, and many claims were disallowed or altered because the ship attacked was completely different than the one they claimed, or it didn't actually sink at all.

On the other, as mentioned by PhantomLord they might get the actual ship's name from questioning survivors or BdU intercepts about ships lost, when and where. Also, any ship travelling alone was certain to put out an SSS distress call when attacked by a submarine. In any of these cases the exact tonnage would then be known.

Thirdly, the 'Captain's Log' in the game has many more problems than that. Treat it as the finished and submitted post-patrol report, and it will make more sense. Or better, use SH3 Commander. Then you'll only get a complete report when the patrol is done, and it will include the ship's name as well. Of course it won't have the real tonnage for that name, but there's only so much we can do with the material at hand.

And now a totally other question: is the life and debris mod compatible with NYGM?
As far as I know, yes; but you might want to ask that on the NYGM thread as well.

Oneshot/Onekill
03-24-09, 09:09 PM
Well i think everyone has just about said all that can be said. So i'll just leave you with this...What all these other guy's said. LOL:D