Malfunctions - compressed air leaks

[Paul Riley]

After just performing my 2nd deep dive (held at 160m) test in my IIA as I am approaching my patrol in AN26 I blew twice on the compressed air,the first blow reduced the air to about 3/4 approx,yet the 2nd blow reduced ALL the air.I immediately noted this down and concluded there must be a serious malfunction with the valves somewhere,either a slow leak or complete valve failure (obviously the latter).

Now what I am asking is this , "is that rate of drain normal for such a malfunction"? I am not complaining mind you,after all makes the game more realistic :03: , and is there a chance it can be repaired at some point in the patrol?,does the game model that?.

Well,looks like we will be relying solely on the planes on this patrol to surface :yawn: ,unless in absolutely critical situations.

Also,would somone be kind enough to give me a short list of other malfunctions to watch out for?,other than gear problems,fuel leaks,rudder problems,dive plane problems etc.

Thanks!

[TarJak]

Are you running with SH3 commander? If so it may you have malfunctions and sabotage on. This randomly adds damage or disability to certain systems in the sub or not.

Running repairs are not modelled and the only ways to fix the problem are to shut down the game and reload using commander or return to base and start a new patrol.

I normally run a test dive and systems check not far out from port then return if I find a problem that is likely to endanger my crew.

I can't say I've really tested the compressed air capacity in a IIA but you may find that you only have enough for two blows. Does anyone know how many times you can blow ballast in a IIA normally?

[Paul Riley]

I'm running Commander 3.2 yes.I actually like the malfunctions option,gives me a bit more to think about,making the patrol less tedious.I have never tried the sabotage option,but may do someday.I don't fancy the idea of grubby little commies or their supporters getting their hands on my equipment/crew,let alone being allowed to get that close in the first place :damn:

I remember in stock game in a VIIC I usually had about 4 blows until it ran out,so it may be normal to have only 2 in a IIA.As I said,the 1st blow depleted about 1/4,then the 2nd blew all the lot!

No problem,I can live with it :smug:

[sharkbit]

I didn't enable sabatoge until I was in France for a while and with my careers in the Med, I've had it enabled since I started there. I try to give the boat a good shaking out on the first day out to make sure everything is working. I have been caught by suprise a few times though and even had to return to port a couple of days out.

Can't speak for a IIA, but in a VIIC, I had enough air for 3 blows, but I was flooded pretty bad and around 225m on the last one but it got me to the surface.....briefly.:dead:

:)

[Leandros]

Running repairs are not modelled and the only ways to fix the problem are to shut down the game and reload using commander or return to base and start a new patrol.
Do you mean this is general or just for the problem related to here..? I once had a malfunction - couldn't get full speed on either diesel or electric. Each time this was selected speed went to zero. This continued for a large part of the patrol but after a prolonged still-submerged period it suddenly worked again...

[TarJak]

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that repairs are modelled. IIRC Commander sets up the malfucntion from the start of the patrol/reload of the game and it is with you until you go back to base or reload again.

If it does permit fixes then that's great! JScones may be able to shed some light on this

[Leandros]

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that repairs are modelled. IIRC Commander sets up the malfucntion from the start of the patrol/reload of the game and it is with you until you go back to base or reload again.

If it does permit fixes then that's great! JScones may be able to shed some light on this
Nothing was repaired in the real sense as no malfunctions were indicated other than the factual situation. Which I find is a flaw. It would have been nice, as the malfuntion was detected, if information was given on what was wrong.....if it could be repaired or not.

[Jimbuna]

I'm unaware of any mid patrol 'fixes'.

The one I find most annoying is the refusal of the engines to answer the Full Ahead order.

[Paul Riley]

Well after my recent resurrection of Willie Werner to the ranks,I just did another deep dive test,with a normal compressor (patrol restart),blew twice and the current level is at about 3.9 (I take it that is 390 litres?),meaning that there WAS a serious leak in the other patrol,and also means that a IIA has more than 2 blasts on the air,as was previously thought.

[Leandros]

Well after my recent resurrection of Willie Werner to the ranks,I just did another deep dive test,with a normal compressor (patrol restart),blew twice and the current level is at about 3.9 (I take it that is 390 litres?)
I believe that is a nomer for pressure in the air tanks: 3.9 kg./sq.cm. It is air pressure that drives the water out of the ballast tanks. Less pressure, less power to empty the ballast tanks....No pressure, the water stays in the tanks - no updrift....:oops:....

[Paul Riley]

I believe that is a nomer for pressure in the air tanks: 3.9 kg./sq.cm.

Sounds about right :yep:

[Captain Birdseye]

I had a malfunction on my sub in '42 in the Med. I only discovered it when being depth charged, the malfunction was that the sub couldn't stay level at over 140 metres. Resulting in sinking unless the engines were at ahead standard or we blew ballast.
My depth test was at 120m :down:

[Paul Riley]

Interesting Capt. , I never knew about that one.So,this would simulate problems with the trim tanks I expect.I know that when at depths greater than 200m (noticed this in stock game ages ago) the UBoat appears to show problems holding depth (probably due to the extreme weight of water above the UBoat) , unless when faster than 1/3.Not very useful when trying to sneak away from a pursuer.

[Captain Birdseye]

Hi Paul, I think you could be right, those Ruski POW's must have been tinkering with the trim tanks, I expect a dead cat in there or something :haha:. Anyway, it gave me another thing to think about while being DC'ed. Enjoyed it, funnily enough, timing between blowing ballast when trying to run at silent speed, then going flank speed to rise again and deploying decoys.

(PS: noticed you are a Sheffield chap, i'm from Huddersfield myself!)

[Paul Riley]

Hi Paul, I think you could be right, those Ruski POW's must have been tinkering with the trim tanks, I expect a dead cat in there or something :haha:. Anyway, it gave me another thing to think about while being DC'ed. Enjoyed it, funnily enough, timing between blowing ballast when trying to run at silent speed, then going flank speed to rise again and deploying decoys.

(PS: noticed you are a Sheffield chap, i'm from Huddersfield myself!)

Sure am mate,glad to see another Yorkshire man upholding the UBoats.Its all for the greater good in the end :up:
Huddersfield eh,thats more or less down the road from me so to speak,quite comforting to know :yep:
Or,up the road the more I think about it.

Glad to meet you Capt,and good luck out there! :salute:

[Captain Birdseye]

And you fellow kaleun :yeah:

Good hunting :salute:

[Leandros]

Interesting Capt. , I never knew about that one.So,this would simulate problems with the trim tanks I expect.I know that when at depths greater than 200m (noticed this in stock game ages ago) the UBoat appears to show problems holding depth (probably due to the extreme weight of water above the UBoat) , unless when faster than 1/3.Not very useful when trying to sneak away from a pursuer.
As I understand it this might really reflect RL, not necessarily a technical failure. Due to various factors one couldn't keep the boot at exactly the same depth without any speed/rudder inputs....

[sharkbit]

I had a malfunction on my sub in '42 in the Med. I only discovered it when being depth charged, the malfunction was that the sub couldn't stay level at over 140 metres. Resulting in sinking unless the engines were at ahead standard or we blew ballast.
My depth test was at 120m :down:

Did you crash dive while submerged?

I've noticed a couple times that if you hit C and crash dive while submerged, depth control is impossible at slow speeds. I have to go at about 3-4 knots to stay at the level I want.

Very annoying when trying to be quiet and sneak away from the destroyer coming at you and caused you to panic and crash dive from periscope depth in the first place.
I've tried not to ever do that, but I forgot a couple of days ago and had the issue again.

:)

[Kapt Z]

The worst 'malfunction' I've encountered was a severe fuel leak. I normally check my range at present speed not far out into Biscay and it came back at almost half of what I was used to. I suppose I should have returned to base just because I must have been leaving a trail of diesel oil as wide as the interstate behind me, but since I knew that wasn't modelled in the game I just went out anyway. Short patrol with low score.

[Paul Riley]

I dont think I have experienced a fuel leak,at least that I am aware of.
What I normally do to keep a check on my fuel is -

1 - get max range as soon as I start the patrol,at cruising speed.I ask for 5 reports,then take an average.
2 - I then work out my fuel consumption for 24hrs,usually ends up around 520km worth.I then do another fuel check in 24hrs time.The fuel should fluctuate (+ -) no more than around 50-100km,depending on sea conditions.
3 - I then repeat fuel checks at 12:00 each day.

[Paul Riley]

Do we also get lens problems with malfunctions on?,fogging etc,or even cracks?

[Jimbuna]

Do we also get lens problems with malfunctions on?,fogging etc,or even cracks?

Yep....that's another of the malfunction possibilities.

[Kapt Z]

I dont think I have experienced a fuel leak,at least that I am aware of.
What I normally do to keep a check on my fuel is -

1 - get max range as soon as I start the patrol,at cruising speed.I ask for 5 reports,then take an average.
2 - I then work out my fuel consumption for 24hrs,usually ends up around 520km worth.I then do another fuel check in 24hrs time.The fuel should fluctuate (+ -) no more than around 50-100km,depending on sea conditions.
3 - I then repeat fuel checks at 12:00 each day.

I'm not normally quite as thorough as that. On the patrol in question I had a VIIC out of St Nazaire and as is my habit I ran about three 'max range estimates' as soon as I was up to about 8kts on a glassy sea. I expected, from past experience with type VIIs, to see a max range of over 20,000km. The results all came back at around 13,000km! I continued to monitor the fuel throughout the patrol, but it never rose above those first three estimates. I finally had to throw in the towel after only a couple weeks and return to base before I ran out of fuel.

I've always played with 'malfunctions/sabotage' and never saw that before or since.

[Warhawk]

Did you crash dive while submerged?

I've noticed a couple times that if you hit C and crash dive while submerged, depth control is impossible at slow speeds. I have to go at about 3-4 knots to stay at the level I want.

Very annoying when trying to be quiet and sneak away from the destroyer coming at you and caused you to panic and crash dive from periscope depth in the first place.
I've tried not to ever do that, but I forgot a couple of days ago and had the issue again.

:)

I find that if I crash dive..but before I get to 75 meters at full speed, I hit a to stop at a specific depth..if you slow to silent speed you will sink 10-15 meters below until the sub re-balances the trim tanks and restores buoyancy...remember a crash dive..they flood the tanks to get underwater asap!

1. Crash dive, full throttle
2. Hit a 2x at say 50 meters [7 knots]
3. Hit ahead slow (#1)
4. Sub takes on surfacing posture (nose up) [2 knots]
5. Depth gauge keeps sinking about 10-15 meters then slowly climbs back to 50 meter mark

I don't think I could handle malfunctions...damn planes are pissing me off enough as it is....now to have a damn busted boat! grrrr