Favorite sub?

[Bubblehead1980]

Sure there has been a thread like this before but always curious as to which class of subs other skippers prefer in SH 4.

I have to say that the Gato remains my favorite, followed by Balao and then Porpoise. The Gato takes the cake as it seems a bit more speedy(Gato reaches 21 knots much easier than Balao I have noticed while running away from escorts after night surface attacks) and responsive(seems to turn a bit easier) than the Balao and can go pretty deep if need to, not as deep as the Balao but still rather deep.

Porpoise class, maybe I am a glutton for punishment but enjoy the P boat, especially in 1943/44.While outdated, with modern equipment and working torpedoes(although only 16 of them) can create some chaos around convoys.I managed to survive staying at 250/300 feet some how.Although some flooding after a depth charging forced me to 420 feet and i was just waiting for her damaged hull(from depth charges) to give way, managed to evade escorts eventually and make it home.

[c13Garrison]

For illogical reasons, I think I've decided I most enjoy the S boats, simply because every achievement feels that much more special. The damn things should be patroling the west coast as training ships, or cut up for scrap. I feel it takes a little extra nerve with them.

After my Narwhal career, I'm going to dedicate myself to taking an 'S' through the whole war.

[grislyatoms]

Narwhal with a "tin can crossover" gunnery guy can be a hoot during surface engagements!

I have a certain inexplicable love for the Tambor class boats. Don't know what it is about them...

[Kaleun]

Salmon class - none of the Plucky Little B*ggers got sunk in ww2.

Still old enough to give you a sense of achievement but not too old that they should be retired like the s-boats!

[fireftr18]

I like to start with the S-boats, then progress to the bigger, better, faster boats. Ultimately, I like the Balao. I've never gotten a Tench yet.

:lurk:

[Bubblehead1980]

Salmon class - none of the Plucky Little B*ggers got sunk in ww2.

Still old enough to give you a sense of achievement but not too old that they should be retired like the s-boats!

The beating the Salmon took in October 1944 is something amazing.Plus . surfacing about 50 yards from escort, shooting up said escort with her 20mm guns, killing/wounding everyone topside so they could escape.Definitely one of the "wilder" actions I have read about.

[pabbi]

S-boat, they give you so much joy when you hit something. I never use the TDC when on S-boat.

[HertogJan]

Have to say Porpoise.. just not to empty the Oceane's in one pass :D


Side Note:
Next career I'll start with a S class and when offered a new sub I'll go all 'crew management' and start with a rookie crew with one officer per compartment with or without special abilities (don't know yet).

threat hijack...:oops:
Do you keep the crew when offered a new Sub or do you get a new one?

[Armistead]

I mostly use the Tambor.

You want some fun, try taking an S boat to the Formosa shipping lanes in 44.

[Admiral Halsey]

The Narwhal.(Those 6"/53 caliber guns do wonders against enemy shipping.)

[TorpX]

For illogical reasons, I think I've decided I most enjoy the S boats, simply because every achievement feels that much more special.

S-boat, they give you so much joy when you hit something. I never use the TDC when on S-boat.

Me too!

I think the biggest reason I like them is because of the fun I had with them in SHCE. They would be more interesting if Ubi had devoted more attention to them.

[Clean Sweep]

Balao/Gato

[merc4ulfate]

As of today ... I guess it is now the USS Wyoming SSBN-742

My son was just assigned to her as a Torpedoman, eventhough now a days they call them Machinist Mates and not TM's. The exact classification is MMW which is Machinist Mate weapons. MMA would be what normal navy guys would say is a regular MM.

I just wish the dumb lug would have picked a better duty station than Kings Bay Ga. .... nothing but a huge swamp but I am very proud that he is doing what he wants and is on one big ass boat.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/USS_Wyoming_(SSBN-742).jpg

http://www.ssbn.pl/wp-content/gallery/uss-wyoming-ssbn-742-cwiczyl-z-v-22-osprey/ssbn-742_v-22_3.jpg

[Bubblehead1980]

As of today ... I guess it is now the USS Wyoming SSBN-742

My son was just assigned to her as a Torpedoman, eventhough now a days they call them Machinist Mates and not TM's. The exact classification is MMW which is Machinist Mate weapons. MMA would be what normal navy guys would say is a regular MM.

I just wish the dumb lug would have picked a better duty station than Kings Bay Ga. .... nothing but a huge swamp but I am very proud that he is doing what he wants and is on one big ass boat.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/USS_Wyoming_(SSBN-742).jpg

http://www.ssbn.pl/wp-content/gallery/uss-wyoming-ssbn-742-cwiczyl-z-v-22-osprey/ssbn-742_v-22_3.jpg

That is awesome. Kings Bay is not that far from Savannah, he could have some good times there lol.

[TorpX]

Nifty pics! :up:

[Rockin Robbins]

I also have to say I enjoy the S boats. Unfortunately, it is because in our game they are brand new and don't break down and aren't half rusted through like the real ones were in WWII.

One of the reasons I like the S-Boat is that they were designed for underwater performance at the expense of surface handling and speed. People love to credit the Type XXI U-Boats as being the first underwater optimized sub. Sorry, beat to the punch by 30 years by the venerable S-Boat. She's as fast underwater as she is on the surface and super-quiet, so I can use a significant portion of that speed while stalking the enemy.

With the S-Boat there is no locating a random convoy and doing the high speed end-around because.........THERE IS NO HIGH SPEED! :haha: You have to be at a narrow range of AoB on detection in order to be able to maneuver to attack position. If you're abeam of them when you spot 'em just wave because they're gone.

But that underwater handling makes the S-Boat a joy to fight.:arrgh!:

[merc4ulfate]

Bubblehead ... I have been to Savannah and I loved it there.

[Bubblehead1980]

Bubblehead ... I have been to Savannah and I loved it there.

Same here, St Patricks Day is a blast there, as well as Oktoberfest.I have family there, it's been a second home for many years.

[Capt_Morgan]

Me in a GATO

Gerry and Japs beware..

[andycts]

From what you guys have posted,I'm going to to give the S boat a try but need a bit more experience first.Driving a porpoise at the moment and finding this enough of a challenge.

[TorpX]

With the S-Boat there is no locating a random convoy and doing the high speed end-around because.........THERE IS NO HIGH SPEED! :haha: You have to be at a narrow range of AoB on detection in order to be able to maneuver to attack position. If you're abeam of them when you spot 'em just wave because they're gone.

But that underwater handling makes the S-Boat a joy to fight. :arrgh!:
You're not kidding! It was even more pronounced in SHCE. I remember "flank" speed for the S-class in heavy seas was less than 3 knots! I was like you were sailing through cold molasses. Good luck catching up to a fast target.

The turning ability was better though. I don't know if that is realistic or just a game variance, but with SH4/RFB, they can hardly turn submerged. They were pretty agile in SHCE.

[Capt_Morgan]

From what you guys have posted,I'm going to to give the S boat a try but need a bit more experience first.Driving a porpoise at the moment and finding this enough of a challenge.

They are named 'S boat' for a reason. 3 guess what the S stands for, and its not submarine.

Actual Play Test Data
S-18: Top Speed 13, NO Aft Torpedoes, 4 Fore with 8 extras NO AA Guns :down:
S-42 (not much better) as above but top speed 17

Gotta love in the "help" and the "Museum" they say 19 an 21 repectivly.

---

[CalolinaCoyote]

The S Boats get AA guns, in 1943, lol

[Sailor Steve]

They are named 'S boat' for a reason. 3 guess what the S stands for, and its not submarine.
They were called the 'S' class because they came after the 'R' class.

Actual Play Test Data
S-18: Top Speed 13, NO Aft Torpedoes, 4 Fore with 8 extras NO AA Guns :down:
S-42 (not much better) as above but top speed 17

Gotta love in the "help" and the "Museum" they say 19 an 21 repectivly.

---
Then something's wrong, because the S-42 class made 14.5 knots in real life.

[Rockin Robbins]

And our S Boats are fresh out of the factory--No defects! No breakdowns! The real crews dealt with multiple crippling breakdowns per cruise and sometimes per day. And the hulls were corroded so thin nobody knew what a safe dive depth was. Nobody alive anyway.

[Bubblehead1980]

And our S Boats are fresh out of the factory--No defects! No breakdowns! The real crews dealt with multiple crippling breakdowns per cruise and sometimes per day. And the hulls were corroded so thin nobody knew what a safe dive depth was. Nobody alive anyway.


Try WEbster's S class mod, it definitely makes the s boat fragile.

[Armistead]

Yea, you'll really like it...

[TorpX]

And our S Boats are fresh out of the factory--No defects! No breakdowns!
Well, yes, but ALL our game boats are "fresh out of the factory--No defects"... come to think of it, our crews are the same way--always brave! No breakdowns! :haha:

[Armistead]

Well, yes, but ALL our game boats are "fresh out of the factory--No defects"... come to think of it, our crews are the same way--always brave! No breakdowns! :haha:


I have a few crew members that break down. For instance, Wern has very low ratings and often panics, being an officer, it has great impact on his station.

[c13Garrison]

There's a mod that would greatly overcomplicate the game, the PsychProfile Mod. Watch your crew curl up into balls and scream, ...yeah. ...second thought, forget I mentioned it.

[Bubblehead1980]

Yea I just noticed recently, after a bad depth charge attack, esp if compartment took damage, look at morale of some of the crew, it will say "shaken" or in some cases "broken". I usually transfer them off the boat after as would have happened in RL if someone flipped out while on patrol.

[TorpX]

Hmmm.....

Then how come my crews are so brave? Very strange......

[Rammstein0991]

Balao and type IX definitely

[20000 Leagues]

The Narwhal. Being an IX man in SH3, the Narwhal was like coming home. One of the things I always wished I had was a second 105mm deck gun on my IX. The two 6" 53 deck guns on the Narwhal are insane!! Sure it's relatively slow, doesn't turn well and the fastest way to dive is to blow it up with a cannon, but it goes far, carries lots of ordnance and can pound it out with a destroyer on the surface.

[TCD]

SH4 1.4 - 1941 Career - Sargo class (still waiting for my ordered Gold v1.5)

1) I understand the attraction for a S-class boat. I have the same, as well for the type II U-boat in SH3. They are both thrilling variants to bigger boats. :cool:

2) About crewmen having breakdowns etc..., the fatigue level (FL) is crucial.
Not only for the efficiency, but also for keeping a good moral up. And consequently better put up with highly tenses situations like undergoing long deepcharge time.

So in normal patrol times, for instance, we have in the crew management panel (CMP):

Watch I : "Watch standing"
Watch II : "Sleeping"
Watch III: "Maintenance"

I apply those crew management rules:

a) "If they sleep, let them sleep". :zzz:

b) "If they don't sleep while they should, force them to sleep".

Talking here about my ^Watch II (WII). From time to time when cheeking my CMP, they are (all or part of) not sleeping (even if tired like FL = 27/100). So when the watches shift occurs, my WII (all or part of) goes on duty while not fully rested.

This has 2 consequences:

- The max efficiency of WII crewmen falls drastically while on duty.
- As patrol keeps on going, not well enough rested crewmen will be more subject to low moral problems.

So:

After hard time work like combat situations, I make sure after releasing from battle station that who's supposed to sleep actually does. If not, click and drag crewman to an empty spot, then put him back (he will go to sleep).
Also, I check at the immediate next Watch shift, that all is ok with normal FL (= sometime for x reasons, all are for example at 22/100 FL but some are at higher one.

NB:
Crewmen will go to sleep at > 30/100 FL for those in the "sleeping watch".

Otherwise, except when on "Watch standing" (they never sleep), crewmen will go to sleep at > 50/100 FL (like in non active damage control crew slots). That means they're really exhausted ( = not good)!

[merc4ulfate]

Balao

[U505995]

IXD2
Long range, plenty of torpedoes, and strong surface armament.