Supply ships

[Hardigen]

Does any skippers know whether the US navy used supply ships during WWII . With over 75% realism being played you have to keep an eye on the fuel,this will be my second time back to Midway ,the first time I barely got there using the fuel and battery at its most economic .I had about 40% fuel left when I turned for home . This time I,ll carry on until 50% is left ,without me having to bite my nails . Good hunting to all Sub skippers H :smug:

[Arlo]

Ahead 2/3.

[Hardigen]

Thx Arlo will be looking into all of these with relish , Cheers, H

[Arlo]

Just mentioned because for the longest time I was patroling at ahead standard (figuring logic dictates that as the most efficient speed). Fellow SubSimmers brought the 2/3 setting to my attention as the most fuel efficient. Traveling at 10 knots across the Pacific is a bit of a grind but it does give me the range needed.

Regarding re-supply - I believe there's a mod out there for such. Check the downloads. I'm hesitant to add it, currently. It took me a long time to find a decent mod combo that doesn't crash me. (But I'm tempted)

[nikimcbee]

Does any skippers know whether the US navy used supply ships during WWII . With over 75% realism being played you have to keep an eye on the fuel,this will be my second time back to Midway ,the first time I barely got there using the fuel and battery at its most economic .I had about 40% fuel left when I turned for home . This time I,ll carry on until 50% is left ,without me having to bite my nails . Good hunting to all Sub skippers H :smug:


I want to say no, not like the Germans did. They had sub tenders, but they would have been at the base.

[Arlo]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=3539

[ETR3(SS)]

Nope. no resupply ships for the USN at sea. The sub tenders were stationed at places like Guam, Midway, etc. Although if I remember correctly the mileage is completely whacked just like the battery discharge rate. I'm currently reading Submarine! by Capt. Edward L. Beach and it mentions boats running full speed to their patrol zones. :hmmm:

[Sailor Steve]

In real life no, the Americans didn't do that. To counter it they had long range and lots of torpedoes. For the Germans resupplying far from home could be done in out-of-the-way places, even though technically in enemy territory. For the Americans the targets were always deep in enemy territory. It would be like a u-boat trying to resupply in the English Channel.

[Bilge_Rat]

The U.S. Navy did not use supply ships at sea since Fleet Boats were designed with long range in mind.

On the fuel issue, there are game problems, namely:

1. the SH world is flat so many game distances can be as much as 25% farther than in RL;

2. there is a problem with fuel usage, namely ahead standard uses more fuel than in RL and ahead 2/3 uses too little.

Both RFB and TMO try to address this in their own way. Ducimus discusses this in more detail in the TMO manual. As a rule of thumb, I think about heading back to base when I have 35-40% fuel left.

more info here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=196788&page=2

[Hardigen]

Thanks for info Captains, It absolutely took me ages t get back to Midway ,not knowing whether I,d mek it, I was using slow underwater and 2/3 when surfaced ,and its an hell of a way ,I,ll finish this mission then put TMO on the game . It meks you think how those guys managed ,leaving yourself less than 25% battery in enemy waters is a gamble if you get detected . They must have had guts. My greatest respect to em ! H

[BigWalleye]

Most references give US fleet boat endurance in terms of nm at 10 knots. At 10 kts, I've found that SH4 fleet boats will exceed their historical range by about 20%. A good compromise would be to run at 12 kts, which gives close to the documented range and cuts transit times by 17%. Whenever you have the time, using the knotmeter to set speed gives you better control than the telegraph.

It's not hard to refine the estimate of when to turn for home. On the nav map, use the compass to draw a circle from the nearest friendly case to your boat. The radius of the circle is your crow-flies distance from base. Based on what lies between you and home, you will want to add to that distance - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Then use the "Range at current speed" function to see how much range you have remaining. Like the RT guys, you should always add a "Bingo" (10% of your rated cruising range). After that, it's just a matter of how tight you want to pucker.

[Armistead]

Most mods like TMO give you tabs to estimate milage at current speed.

[Arlo]

Most mods like TMO give you tabs to estimate milage at current speed.

Ah! I took for granted that that was just an integral part of the original game (me playing the mods from day one - TMO in particular).

[Hardigen]

Cheers Bigwalleye am gonna try that 12 knots goin home ,at present stationed off the coast of Honshu with about 57% fuel ,I,ll hunt until it gets just below 50 before haulin her round for home ,I.ll try an keep the speed while surfaced but am goin dead slow while under ,then see whats left when the map shows Midway. while on the subject of goin slow submerged I don,t know where I read this or if its correct but if the CO2 gets above 10% does it not effect the crew ( headaches etc!) ? Goin slow while its daylight then surface to recharge at night .

[TorpX]

I don,t know where I read this or if its correct but if the CO2 gets above 10% does it not effect the crew ( headaches etc!) ? Goin slow while its daylight then surface to recharge at night .
Don't worry about the CO2. The values in the game must be based on relative values; i.e. if you get to 100%, your dead. :dead: So you can submerge all day. They are only a problem when they get real high.

About fuel, you can pick out a good spot on the surface and hold still. (If you are skipper of an S-boat, this is almost a necessity.) Cruising back and forth at 10 knots does not improve your chances of making contact as much as you think.

[BigWalleye]

My experience agrees with TorpX. Don't know what the CO@ meter value refers to, but it isn't absolute CO2 concentration. Maybe percent of a lethal level. In any case, you will get ample warning messages from your crew before you get to a fatal level. I don't start worrying till then.

[Capt. Morgan]

Greetings Capt. Hardigen:salute:

...I was using slow underwater and 2/3 when surfaced ,and its an hell of a way...
and...

...I'll try an keep the speed while surfaced but am goin dead slow while under... Are you trying to save fuel by traveling submerged?

If so, this will cause excessive fuel usage. The reason is that when you recharge your batteries, one of your engines will be fully devoted to that task, and that engine will run at flank speed until the charge is complete!

In the SH4 world, only travel submerged if you have good reason, because recharging squanders fuel.