What is wrong with my chief engineer?

[DirtyHarry3033]

He's having trouble maintaining periscope depth. My preferred attack method is to get in position, go to periscope depth, then stop engines and wait for the target to cross my path. I figure if I'm not moving, there's no periscope wake to be seen...

...but - seems in anything other than calm seas, my engineer is letting the boat settle deeper over time, until by the time I've got a good firing angle the scope is under water 90% of the time :( No problem right after submerging, but later on it's a BIG problem...

I've tried over and over, to order say a 3 meter rise in depth so I can see the target, and nothing happens, the CE just sits there with his thumb corked firmly where the sun don't shine, depth stays the same, and I can't see nothing...

Is this because I've got no forward momentum? Any help appreciated, I'm right in the middle of a juicy convoy right now and it's next to impossible to get a solution on anything!

[Kalach]

The boat will rise very slowly if you tell him to surface while not moving.
I normally keep moving at 2knots and haven't really had this happen. Are your dive-planes/ballast tank in working condition?

[DirtyHarry3033]

Everything's in good working order, no damage. I'll try your suggestion of giving order to surface tonight - I'm supposing I can give the "maintain depth" order when the scope is clear of the water, so I don't put myself on display ;)

Before I was just clicking on the shallow depth gauge at say 10 - 11 meters and nothing happened...

Thanks!

[FAdmiral]

If stopped or moving very slow (1-2 kts), it will move depth up
or down 1 or 2 meters but very slowly. Takes time at very slow
speeds to change depth. Its best to keep the sub moving, only
if it's 1 kt. If the water is rough, you will be bounced around
quite a bit further hindering your efforts to maintain some sort
of stability....


JIM

[SmokinTep]

You have to be making turns on the screw to maintain depth.

[Twelvefield]

I believe that having someone qualified as helmsman at the controls also helps to stabilize your sub. I make sure that the actual operators on the bridge (not the officers) have the helm qualification, and that seems to cure the boat drifting up & down, and the rudder drifting a degree or two. Mind you, I don't have any testing to back up this claim, but this is what I do in my game.

[Floater]

In real life, there was no way that a WWII sub could "hover" at periscope depth. They had to have some momentum in order to use the dive-planes, otherwise they'd quickly sink deeper or breach the surface.

[Kapitan]

ive had this on dangerous waters i know its not the same but i found that if i kept moving at slow speed 2 knots i could stay up at PD i did find i was sinking at a stop but mind you the akulas as with any attack boat arnt designed to stay still

[Curval]

In real life, there was no way that a WWII sub could "hover" at periscope depth. They had to have some momentum in order to use the dive-planes, otherwise they'd quickly sink deeper or breach the surface.

Agreed.

But, sometimes I find that I can indeed hover at periscope depth, normally in very light seas in game. I have the same problem as DirtyHarry does...but usually when it is rough.

[DirtyHarry3033]

Thanks for the replies, I've been playing with it and it's working better if I make turns for a knot or 2. Curval, yes it is worst when seas are heavy. In calm seas I can hover just fine...