Tactics: How to sneak into a harbour?

[TwoGamers]

Ok at the moment i carefully botttom out then crawl across the bottom. When I reach my target I raise of the seabed and aim using the periscope. Then I fire. Alot of the time this results in them hitting the bottom, breaching the water or prematurely blowing up. Any tips?:salute:

[Hinrich Schwab]

Bottoming does not work well in any of the SH games. All it really does is ding up your boat. Don't do it. Also, pick a deep-water port to raid so you can remain at periscope depth without worrying about rearranging the ocean floor with your keel. Melekeok is a good spot as there is either no protection or one lazy destroyer. I do not know about TMO, but in RFB, many ports on the Japanese mainland are either poorly defended or wide open. Kushiro and Ishinomaki make good targets. Tsurusaki can be rewarding if you are willing to run the Bungo Straits.

[doulos05]

If you've got realistic dud rates on, that might be the cause too. Davao is a great place to raid as well, I usually get tonnage there. I've sent 2 Takaos and 3 or 4 tankers to the bottom there. Often times, you don't even need to get into the slips because they park the large-tonnage ships in the bay.

[WernherVonTrapp]

There's no need to bottom-out your boat, unless you're in broad daylight, which is not the best time to raid a harbor. Enter during the night through the narrowest point at slightly below "decks awash" and once you're safely past any potential shore batteries, return to "decks awash" to conserve batteries. When approaching your targets, return to "decks awash" to reduce your chances of being spotted. Don't worry about the star shells, just stay focused on your targets.
Your torps should be fine down to the depths (keel) of your target, unless of course, there's a shallow land obstruction between you and the target. In that case, just adjust your point of attack.
On the other hand, if you have "Dud Torpedoes" selected, you may also be experiencing premature detonation or faulty depth settings. In that case, you just have to live with it until the problems with the torps are ironed out, in late 1943 (I think).:hmm2:

Oh yeah, one more thing:
http://i1045.photobucket.com/albums/b456/archangel501/Smileys/89ad3696.gif

[Armistead]

Harbor raiding for the most part is so easy that many don't do it, but that being said I did my fair share for the first year I played the game. If you're using a mod like TMO, it can be a lil harder.

If you're playing stock you can stay out of gun range, I think 3000 yards of escorts at night and sink them with your DG, if they can't see you, they won't react to being shelled...

M14's generally run 9 ft deeper until 1943 and have a failure rate of about 50%.

[TwoGamers]

Thanks I found that Bangkok is rather easy to sneak into early in the war and only has a gun boat or subchaser defending it. :salute:

[merc4ulfate]

I have always found harbors easy pickings

[boonie]

Sneaked into Saipan while on the way from Midway to Luzon. Was disappointed to find only 1 merchant and 1 destroyer. which are the busier ports with better content?

While slow speed crawling towards the harbor, discovered that the destroyer patrol do indeed follow a fixed track, just mark out their path by passive sonar detection, slowboat to 1000m from the path and kill them on their next pass then u own the harbor.

note: using FOTRS mod.

[TwoGamers]

Singapore is good early war but i recommend sitting around new guinea later on heaps of ammo and troop ships go through there. Ive decided to only attack ports when im failing to get enoughtonnage cause they are really eay in this game. In Sh3 it was a bit harder
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[boonie]

Singapore is good early war but i recommend sitting around new guinea later on heaps of ammo and troop ships go through there. Ive decided to only attack ports when im failing to get enoughtonnage cause they are really eay in this game. In Sh3 it was a bit harder
\

Haven't been to SG harbor while its under IJN control. Shallow waters make me grow white hair.. They did gave me a mission to do a photo recon on SG harbor when its still under allied control though :D free renown is hard to turn down.

[HW3]

I just completed a patrol through Truk harbor in April 1943. Lots of ships in there including big warships. Funny Saipan only had 2 ships, when I go there, there are usually around a dozen or so, and it is easy to get in and out.

[TwoGamers]

I found two convoys heading into Tokyo. Used all my torps and 50 deck gun rounds to finish em all up. over 70000 tons all up

[b34856]

I generally don't harbor-raid, but the other day I went into a one (I can't remember the name at the moment :hmmm: ) and found a large stationary task force with the Yamoto. Bagged me the Yamoto, a carrier and a light cruiser :yeah:

Don't know how realistic that is, might be Time tO get RSRD... It was quite a sight though, should have taken a screenie, Cruiser slipping beneath the waves, Yamoto on fire with Decks awash on the seafloor, and a carrier inverted with the hull above the water.

As for strategy, though, I usually get closeish at night/evening, submerge, and get in the port about 4:30 in the morning to make my attack, right at sunrise

[doulos05]

I generally don't harbor-raid, but the other day I went into a one (I can't remember the name at the moment :hmmm: ) and found a large stationary task force with the Yamoto. Bagged me the Yamoto, a carrier and a light cruiser :yeah:

Don't know how realistic that is, might be Time tO get RSRD... It was quite a sight though, should have taken a screenie, Cruiser slipping beneath the waves, Yamoto on fire with Decks awash on the seafloor, and a carrier inverted with the hull above the water.

As for strategy, though, I usually get closeish at night/evening, submerge, and get in the port about 4:30 in the morning to make my attack, right at sunrise

TMO w/ RSRD, I found 2 Takaos hanging out at anchor in Davao Bay the other day, same thing. They had to dock someplace...

[WernherVonTrapp]

I generally don't harbor-raid...

Don't know how realistic that is...I'm a stickler for realism, but I do raid harbors on occasion. Let's face it, it may not make for a lot of realism, but it sure makes for a change of pace and a different kind of fun. I sometimes like to use my torps as conversion instruments. For example: When I want to convert a Japanese maritime patrol unit into a Japanese aviation patrol unit.

Japanese PT-Boat:
http://i1045.photobucket.com/albums/b456/archangel501/fb10.jpg

:har: Don't you worry about realism, if it make the game more fun for you.

[bill clarke]

I got in to Honiara last night, after sinking both the DD's patrolling outside.

Once in I sank two 10,000 ton tankers.

On my way to New Britian now.

[TwoGamers]

Ha nice one

[HW3]

I will say there was a nice big flattop, and a heavy cruiser in Truk, that I didn't notice till way too late to change my attack plans.:nope:

[b34856]

They had to dock someplace...
That's true. It's just strange with such a large task force there was no active destroyers guarding it or anything.

I'm a stickler for realism, but I do raid harbors on occasion. Let's face it, it may not make for a lot of realism, but it sure makes for a change of pace and a different kind of fun. I sometimes like to use my torps as conversion instruments. For example: When I want to convert a Japanese maritime patrol unit into a Japanese aviation patrol unit.

Japanese PT-Boat:
[Photo]
:har: Don't you worry about realism, if it make the game more fun for you.

:haha: I've only sunk a PT boat once, in SHIII, got the same results.

[U570]

I will say there was a nice big flattop, and a heavy cruiser in Truk, that I didn't notice till way too late to change my attack plans.:nope:
I had the same line-up, except throw in the Yamato, 2 destroyers and an extra cruiser. same ending as well.:nope:

[Able Brown]

Raiding harbors did happen, so I don't see it as entirely unrealistic.

The USS Barb (SS-220) under Capt. (later Admiral) Fluckey once did it, escaping in broad daylight. Here's how she did it:


Operating in areas suspected of being mined, the submarine maneuvered slowly along the shore and, instead of finding one or two anchored ships, discovered an entire convoy in the lower reaches of Namkwan Harbor. In the early hours of 23 January, she commenced an attack. Fluckey reasoned that, because Barb was so close inshore, she had to create instant confusion if she were to succeed in covering the ensuing hour long seaward run she would need to reach deep water. Hence, from a range of 6,000 yards, the submarine fired 10 torpedoes at the group of 30 ships. The skipper observed eight hits that sank three ships and seriously damaged three others. The smoke from the burning ships rapidly obscured the convoy and prevented further assessment of the damage inflicted. It also provided cover for Barb's escape. She ran at 21 knots through uncharted, mined, and rock-obstructed waters until, an hour and 19 minutes after she fired the first torpedo, the submarine crossed the 20 fathom curve into deep water. To make the best time, she remained on the surface and headed for Midway, where she arrived on 10 February.
http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b2/barb-i.htm


http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=622&pictureid=5780
Note at the bottom of the kill flag: a train! That job was done by Navy Frogmen as the train was probably out of torpedo range.

[doulos05]

Note at the bottom of the kill flag: a train! That job was done by Navy Frogmen as the train was probably out of torpedo range.

Not to mention the faulty depth keeping on the Mk.14s... :D

[TorpX]

Raiding harbors did happen, so I don't see it as entirely unrealistic.

The USS Barb (SS-220) under Capt. (later Admiral) Fluckey once did it, escaping in broad daylight.

Yes, it happened, but it was at night, and it was not a heavily protected anchorage. At least not in the usual sense.

The reason the Japanese ships were there was that they were moving convoys along the China coast, but realising they could not protect them from night-time sub attacks, they moved during the day, close to shore, and turned into one of several anchorages at a night. Fluckey guessed that they were sheltering at night, along the coast somewhere and made an effort to ferret them out. It wasn't in the nature of trying to raid Truk or Tokyo.

[twm47099]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=622&pictureid=5780
Note at the bottom of the kill flag: a train! That job was done by Navy Frogmen as the train was probably out of torpedo range.

In Flucky's book he gives a detailed account of that. They weren't frogmen, just regular crew members. One was an ex railroad worker who explained the best way to destroy a train.

Tom

[Angryson]

Thanks for all the great targets! I plan on running a recon op on some of these tonight, hopefully I'll be able to report some serious tonnage!