SubConscious
08-27-11, 12:07 PM
I love to think of inventions. When not playing SH3/GWX, I think about the modifications I would ask for if I was a U-Boat Kaleun. One of the things I'd like in the early war years is the Bachsteize: The Foke-Achgelis FA-330 rotor kite: This helicopter-like observation platform was towed behind the U-boat and allowed the pilot to reach 350-400 feet (107-122 meters) above sea level, significantly increasing the field of view on clear days.
Some things I would ask they consider inventing:
1. A wire-controlled decoy: My thought here is to have a small electrically powered unmanned mini-sub attached outside the pressure hull. When being hunted by escorts, the U-boat Kaleun would order the release this mini-sub which would move well away from the U-Boat and commence a terrible racket, the goal being to disrupt ASDIC return signals. Alternately, it could return a fake ping signal, ideally distracting the escorts.
2. Defensive mines: Have a number of small magnetic mines stored outside the pressure hull which could be released either singly or en masse. The goal here is to slow the escorts down and disrupt their hunting patterns.
3. Oil/Debris decoy: I'd like a container of floating debris and oil affixed outside the pressure hull to simulate a destroyed U-boat.
4. Anti-aircraft rockets: My thought here is to affix rocket tubes vertically around the conning tower. When an aircraft is sighted, the rockets would fire up in a bloom pattern, fanning out in all directions. Each would go up to a prescribed altitude and jettison a parachute and a long thin steel cable with an explosive charge on the end, set with a contact fuse. The end result is that the charge would slowly float downward, but if an aircraft struck one of the cables, it would pull the charge up to the aircraft before detonation. The goal here is to give the boat time to crash dive, forcing the plane to veer off on its initial attack run. I think the British had something similar to this, though I don't know if they deployed it.
5. Smoke screen: If all else fails, I'd like the ability to produce a very rapid and large smoke screen to disrupt aircraft attacks.
6. Variable size dive planes: This might not be practical, but I'm envisioning a segmented dive plane that could be fanned out to make it larger. The intent is to allow for faster depth changes.
7. Retractable deck gun and/or flak guns: Again, this might not be practical or add too much weight to the boat, but my thought is having the deck gun on a mechanism that folds into the forward deck, streamlining the boat for underwater maneuvers.
8. Bow Rudder: It seems to me that the boat could turn faster if it had an additional rudder mounted in the bow.
9. Variable pitch propeller / larger propellers: My hope here is to cut down on cavitation noise and increase the speed & efficiency of the boat.
10. Underwater boosters: These would be one-time use underwater rockets to the hull in such a way that they could be jettisoned after use. The goal is to provide a surge of emergency speed to propel the boat away from a depth charge attack.
Please feel free to constructively criticize these ideas. I'm curious if any of these musings have merit.
Some things I would ask they consider inventing:
1. A wire-controlled decoy: My thought here is to have a small electrically powered unmanned mini-sub attached outside the pressure hull. When being hunted by escorts, the U-boat Kaleun would order the release this mini-sub which would move well away from the U-Boat and commence a terrible racket, the goal being to disrupt ASDIC return signals. Alternately, it could return a fake ping signal, ideally distracting the escorts.
2. Defensive mines: Have a number of small magnetic mines stored outside the pressure hull which could be released either singly or en masse. The goal here is to slow the escorts down and disrupt their hunting patterns.
3. Oil/Debris decoy: I'd like a container of floating debris and oil affixed outside the pressure hull to simulate a destroyed U-boat.
4. Anti-aircraft rockets: My thought here is to affix rocket tubes vertically around the conning tower. When an aircraft is sighted, the rockets would fire up in a bloom pattern, fanning out in all directions. Each would go up to a prescribed altitude and jettison a parachute and a long thin steel cable with an explosive charge on the end, set with a contact fuse. The end result is that the charge would slowly float downward, but if an aircraft struck one of the cables, it would pull the charge up to the aircraft before detonation. The goal here is to give the boat time to crash dive, forcing the plane to veer off on its initial attack run. I think the British had something similar to this, though I don't know if they deployed it.
5. Smoke screen: If all else fails, I'd like the ability to produce a very rapid and large smoke screen to disrupt aircraft attacks.
6. Variable size dive planes: This might not be practical, but I'm envisioning a segmented dive plane that could be fanned out to make it larger. The intent is to allow for faster depth changes.
7. Retractable deck gun and/or flak guns: Again, this might not be practical or add too much weight to the boat, but my thought is having the deck gun on a mechanism that folds into the forward deck, streamlining the boat for underwater maneuvers.
8. Bow Rudder: It seems to me that the boat could turn faster if it had an additional rudder mounted in the bow.
9. Variable pitch propeller / larger propellers: My hope here is to cut down on cavitation noise and increase the speed & efficiency of the boat.
10. Underwater boosters: These would be one-time use underwater rockets to the hull in such a way that they could be jettisoned after use. The goal is to provide a surge of emergency speed to propel the boat away from a depth charge attack.
Please feel free to constructively criticize these ideas. I'm curious if any of these musings have merit.