ships disappear

[Sea wolf 7]

I've asked this before and gor=t a reply, but on a re-load it got lost,and I can't find the response in the forum.

A ship or convoy shows up on the plot, but when I get there they disappear from the plot, and I can't locate from the bridge.

Is this a ug and can it be fixed?

SW7

[Armistead]

Have you patched the game?
Are you using any mods?

If what your referring to is contacts that show up far away, they may not be there when you get there. If your trying to chase contacts that show up on the map, notice speed and direction and mark some lines and try to cut them off. If contacts show up far away, it's basically a waste of time chasing them.

Obvious if you have radar make sure you have it set to the longest searching range.

[Stealhead]

What kind of ships? full size or small sanpam/fishing boat types? Small boats are funny like this they will show up on the plot sometimes and not the map. another question do you have map concats on? And version and Mod used would help RFB and TMO make the radar much more "sporadic" at longer ranges.If you think you have something on your radar but get no dice you can always dive and sweep with your hydrophone.

[vanjast]

If the ships are at (or close) to their last waypoint, They might have been programmed to 'dissapear' . This is a setting in the Mission Editor.
:)

[Platapus]

Depending on your settings a ship appearing on the plot could be a result of a radio interception, which can be totally wrong or grossly inaccurate.

Even if the radio intercept is spot on, the speed given and the course are so vague that it may be impossible to accurately predict exactly where they will be at a specific time.

Also, I hope you are not just setting a course directly to where the ship appeared on the plot. That won't work.

[Sea wolf 7]

I am in RFB - a ship is bearing NW at a slow rate (I guess 5 -6 knots). I am located slightly NE of him, about 2 NM north. I immediately head due west to intercept him. I am at 10.9 knots on the surface. When I reach the intercept point - nothing there. He never shows up again. (And the info indicates merchant - no size).

If I missed him, and that's entirely possible, why doesn't the plot pick him up again? Surely I couldn't miss him so far as to be out of phone range?

As it is, I've cruised from south of Tokyo to as far south as Brisbane and never spotted a ship in my crosshairs - not one.

Radio said enemy was operating in and around Rabul. I head to just north of Rabul expecting some intercepts from homeland - nothing.

I posed this problem before, and someone, can't remember who but obvioulsy experienced, gave me a link to a repair mod for the problem. I cannot find that thread. Any suggestions.?

SW7

[Platapus]

I am in RFB - a ship is bearing NW at a slow rate (I guess 5 -6 knots). I am located slightly NE of him, about 2 NM north. I immediately head due west to intercept him. I am at 10.9 knots on the surface. When I reach the intercept point - nothing there. He never shows up again. (And the info indicates merchant - no size).



I think you meant the ship has a heading of NW.

There is a graphical technique I use to intercept ships and it works pretty well.

There is an excellent graphic on this website but I can't seem to search for it.

Here are the steps to take once you have the icon of the ship (target) displayed on your map.

1. Take protractor and place initial point on your sub, the second point on the contact, and the final point in the direction the ship is heading. In your example NW. Make this heading line long.

2. With ruler, measure out along the ships course line a distance which represents the speed of the ship. In your example 5 kts. You can make this line 5km long, 50 km long, 10 km long. Your choice as long as you remember the multiplicative factor you used. Lets say you measured out 50 KM

3. From the 50 KM point, using the compass draw a circle representing the speed of your submarine. Be sure to use the exact same multiplicative factor you used for the ship. Lets say your sub is traveling at 15 kts. In this case the factor is 10 so you would draw a circle 150 KM in radius.

4. Using protractor, put first point on the ship, the second point where the circle intersects the very first line (sub-ship) you drew with the protractor (step 1). If the line intersects twice, use the one closest to the sub, the third point on the 50 km point which is also the center of the circle. Note the angle displayed (say 33 degrees)

5. Using protractor, drag the second point of this last protractor (step 4) line to your sub. Using protractor drag the third point out until the angle (now centered on your sub) matches the angle in Step 4 (33 degrees)

Where this last leg (sub to third point) intersects with your ship's course line is where the two of you will meet based on the two speeds.

Hope this helps. It helped me a lot in my interceptions.

[SteamWake]

Two things may have happened.

You missed the intercept, they may have turned or you miscalculated the intercept or they sank in bad weather, etc.. this is the most likely scenario.

Or they reached the end of their 'route' and poofed. They do that.