Can fog and rain help against surface vessels like it can against aircraft?

[Paul Riley]

I was just wondering about fog and rain and its effects on certain units in the game.I know that fog helps a great deal against aircraft as I have experienced no air attacks during these conditions,but against surface vessels can it also aid us?.I expect that it will of course affect his visibility,just like it does with us,and that his radar will no doubt penetrate his blindness,and that our Metox will warn us of incoming radar signals allowing us to make a dive just in time.Am I correct in thinking all this?.
If it does help in the way i'm thinking it does,it would definitely increase our range by allowing us to cruise on the surface more,instead of having to dive all the time.
If someone can give any figures or info on actual vis.range in such conditions,effectiveness of sea borne radar etc it would be appreciated.

:up:

[Contact]

Hehe, fog and rain conditions is the most nerve thriling experience I guess :) Before the development of radar watch crew had to trust on their eyes only and believe me it had to be not the most pleaseant feeling see warship or merchant bow starting to appear from a fog straight at you :D

You should feel safer while in the fog but your mind keeps telling you to be even more cautious. :up:

So in short poor visibility can help you sneak past through warships undetected (if you are not too loud) but also can end your career by surprise.

[mookiemookie]

I am pretty sure it does, however I remember being attacked in the fog by destroyers that I had no clue were there. I think they cheat. :nope:

[Mittelwaechter]

Once in the early war I was pinged by an escort while attacking a convoy by hydrophones only in thick fog.
After his first attempt to sink me he turned into the fog and I surfaced and simply sailed away at flank speed. They don't hear you when surfaced.

Even with radar a corvette can't catch you at flank speed and due to the fog they don't shoot.

Fog is your friend!

[Synthfg]

Running around on the surface in the middle of a convoy in 1941 with 350m max vis,
Knowing there is a big warship and several escorts in there, somewhere,
Some of the best fun I've had with the game

Right up to the point where the large shaddow ahead turned out to be a Southampton class that saw me the same time I did him :salute:

[nikbear]

As has been mentioned,Fog can be a real boon when attacking a convoy,but a nightmare when they come out of the mist by suprise:timeout: In one patrol I had to surface cause everything was running low,right into a fog bank,"no aircraft shall bother me now" I thought,unfortunately a DD did:o Straight out of the gloom at full pelt straight over my bow:doh: If it hadn't of been for the high winds and sea state dropping my bow under at that moment the damage would have been catastrophic,as it was the damage was minor but it scared the beejesus out of me :doh::88):oops:

[Lt.Fillipidis]

I remember sinking a battleship by accident under such conditions.
Thick fog, somewhat choppy seas, 300m max view distance.
Thank god i was sailing with decks awash and when that BB run over me i didnt recieved much damage. The BB itself though sunk a few minutes later.
That was on stock. Now colliding even with a trawler isnt enough to sink it... :down:

[Jimbuna]

Fog is an excellent ally in wacking the escorts sensors and a great boon when you can see the escort.....but a PITA when you can't :hmmm:

[Paul Riley]

Well,for the last 3-4hrs tonight (real time) I took a risk and managed to traverse the entire bay of biscay on the surface unmolested by aircraft or DDs,other than further out on the edge of the bay we detected radar signals,dived for 2 hrs,then they were gone.If it were not for the fog and heavy rain I know I would have been forced under every 30mins or so by air attacks,it happened loads of times when breaking out of the bay at the beginning of my patrol.

Storms are my trusted companion from now on :ping::smug: