Noob Submariner questions

[wetwarev7]

Ahoy! Capt Underpants of the U-boat Super Happy Sunshine is here!
I just purchased SH3(my first subsim) and I must say, it's a whole lot better than I thought it was going to be! :up: If I had any idea it was even half this good, I would have bought it when it first came out!

I know nothing of submarines and naval warfare except what I've learned from trolling the board yesterday, and I have a few questions:

1. What's the point of the observation scope? The attack scope seems to have a better zoom, so what's it for? Is it stealthier? or just a backup?

2. Where the heck is the front of the boat in the command room? It seems that the radio room is "aft" (back end, right?) of the command room, but at the oppisite end of the command room, the hatch there says "aft interior". Really messes with my sense of direction when submerged....

3. What the heck do milkcows have to do with U-Boats?

4. I've read some good threads on general sub warfare, etc, but what about attacking other warships? Is there a technique for attacking that lone destroyer with one of the earlier U-boats, or is that just suicide? Are there other subs out there, and how do you attack them?

5. Is there any point to having the radio room AND the sonar/hydrophone room manned at the same time? It seems one only works submerged, and one only works surfaced.

6. What's the proper technique for radio usage? Do you send contact reports when ever you see a ship, then a status report after you've sunk it? And realistically speaking, did U-Boats just kind of meander along towards thier patrol sector, picking off merchants along the way, or were they required to be at the patrol grid at a specific time?

7. Is there a mod, or is anyone planning on making a mod that will allow you to scribble on the nav map? I have trouble remembering all these numbers. Headings and bearings and speed, oh my!

8. After finishing a patrol area for 24 hours, I tootle around until I use up my torps then use the "return to base" option. When I get there, under promotions, it says I must finish a patrol first. Do I have to sail all they way back to be able to give out promotions? And is there any benefit to who gets which medals, and how does the crew gain experience?

And last but not least, after SH3ing for several hours, when I try to go to sleep, my bed seems to be in constant motion. Where's the option to turn this off? :doh:

Thanks in advance!

[Dowly]

1. Not sure about this, but yes I think it is harder to spot.

2. Umm... the radio room is next compartment to the bow from command room.

3. Milkcows are supply vessels, there was ships and U-boats in the sea that carried fuel, food and torpedoes, so the other U-boats could resupply at sea. (Much like the fuelplanes fuel fighters and bombers in the mid-air today.)

4. There are no other submarines in the game, besides you. What comes to attacking a warship, no it´s not a suicide. Just make sure you get close to them before firing, because they can turn very fast to evade your torpedo.

5. That´s up to you, I keep them manned all the time.

6. You can only send contact reports when you spot a convoy or a taskforce. It really doesnt matter if you dont use the radio at all. I usually send status report when I: a) Sink a ship b) reach the patrol grid c) run out of torpedoes.

I`m not sure on how the U-boats in real life did their patrols. But my guess is, they took heading to their assigned patrol area and if they encountered any targets of opportunity, they attacked it. Same goes for the convoy reports, if they were nearby, they took course to participate the attack on the convoy.

[jonsson]

1. According to the manual the attack periscope is harder to spot and has larger magnification. The observation periscope has larger head which allows better light transmission and larger field of view. It is also possible to tilt it more upwards which makes it useful for spotting aircrafts.

[SteamWake]

The OBS scope is supposed to have a wider field of view.

It also makes a handy backup :know:

[Serverdaemon]

As for attacking warships, many of us prefer to use the type I (steam) torpedoes almost (if not) exclusively because the type I's are "speed programmable". It can substantially increase your chances against a destroyer if you set the torpedo to high speed thereby giving it less time to maneuver out of it's path.

Conversely however, the type II's (being electric) do not leave a visible wake on the surface , thereby giving it an obvious advantage in regards stealth attacks.

Generally though, (for me), if I'm going up against a destroyer, odds are that I have recently incurred it's wrath by sinking some of it's fellow convoy mates, so the time for stealth is usually long gone by then.


Regards question #6, Patrols in specified grids were to be for 24 hours of duration. Arrival dates were not mandated. For myself, I always (assuming I am following orders which I don't always do...) go straight for the assigned patrol grid, search in it for the required time and then head out for happier hunting grounds.



S

[wetwarev7]

Thanks all!

I tried stalking a cargo ship last night, I was able to go 1 knot faster while submerged and tried to get at 90 AoB, but ran my battery down seriously low! And of course, destroyers are generally faster than cargo ships, so how far away from a destroyer would you recommend I be before I surface (So I can get ahead of them) during the day and rough seas? calm seas? and what about at night?

When detecting a ship at extremly long range with the hydrophone, what is a good approach? I've been surfacing and racing towards them at full speed and counting on my watch crew to spot the ship first. Can I trust my crew to allways see the other ship before they see me?

Also, I keep hearing about people getting within 1Km for torpedo shots. I thought the idea was to stay as far away as possible? And how can you get that close in the daytime without being spotted(Destroyers allways seem to see my scope)? Or heard? Is it just being lucky enough to be in front of the ship from the beginning, or what? (81% realism)

Can you tell how obsessive I've become while playing SH3? And I've only had it like 3 days... :o I just cannot stand to let a ship go by without sinking it...anyone else like that? Is it even thinkable to allow a ship pass by without molesting it?

[Woof1701]

Thanks all!

I tried stalking a cargo ship last night, I was able to go 1 knot faster while submerged and tried to get at 90 AoB, but ran my battery down seriously low! And of course, destroyers are generally faster than cargo ships, so how far away from a destroyer would you recommend I be before I surface (So I can get ahead of them) during the day and rough seas? calm seas? and what about at night?

In the early years when approaching convoys and ships try to move around them. Keep out of eyesight and overtake them on the surface while periodically checking their bearing with the hydrophones. As soon as you have overtaken them try to move exactly into the path of the convoy and submerge. Stay put at silent running at a 90° angle towards the convoys course and as soon as the first ships pass you try to get as many as you can with the first volley fore and aft. Aim at the ships farthest away first so that the hits are as simultaneous as possible. For this method electric torpedoes are preferrable, since they leave no trail and will not alert the ships.

When detecting a ship at extremly long range with the hydrophone, what is a good approach? I've been surfacing and racing towards them at full speed and counting on my watch crew to spot the ship first. Can I trust my crew to allways see the other ship before they see me?

Basically yes. Be careful with warships in bad weather though. When they see you first they may cover the distance in less than a minute and ram you before you've had a chance to say "Crash Dive!"

Also, I keep hearing about people getting within 1Km for torpedo shots. I thought the idea was to stay as far away as possible? And how can you get that close in the daytime without being spotted(Destroyers allways seem to see my scope)? Or heard? Is it just being lucky enough to be in front of the ship from the beginning, or what? (81% realism)

The idea is to hit the ship. The closer you are the smaller the margin of error. A shot from less than 1000m distance is very unlikely to miss even if the torpedo is spotted.

The DDs in SH3 patch 1.4 are too good. They spot you even if the LI farts, so there are some Mods available to add realism to some of the faults of SH3. The most popular and comprehensive one is RUB 1.44. In case you feel alone you might also try Rubini's Harbor traffic Mod that adds milk cows and AI uboats to the game.

Can you tell how obsessive I've become while playing SH3? And I've only had it like 3 days... :o I just cannot stand to let a ship go by without sinking it...anyone else like that? Is it even thinkable to allow a ship pass by without molesting it?

Typical reaction of subsimmers. Don't worry :-j
BTW there is a mod around that adds hospital ships to the game and you should not molest them unless you want to lose 10000 renown :-)

[wetwarev7]

BTW there is a mod around that adds hospital ships to the game and you should not molest them unless you want to lose 10000 renown :-)

Too bad there's not a war criminal setting.....I seem to be very good at getting negative reknown. I've never gotten within 1KM to a ship, and I don't like to use the external camera just to check a ships flag, so I've sunk my share of friendly merchants :oops:

Is there any other way to see a merchants' nationality? They are all grouped together in the recog book, I don't want to have to fly over there on the extern cam, and if I'm gonna get close enough to see the flag clearly, I might as well climb aboard and have tea and crumpets before I commence hostilities.....

"Well, that was some mighty fine tea. If you'll excuse me, I have a ship to sink."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Yours."
"Oh dear...."

[wetwarev7]

One other question, if I hit a ship with a torp, and it is listing badly, or the back end is underwater, or otherwise looks like it's gonna sink, will it actually sink on it's own, or do I have to hit it again to get the "ship destroyed" message?

[Kalach]

If it seems like it will sink I will watch it for up to 12 hours - submerge near it, put down your scopes and speed up your TC.
If it's still floating you will have to destroy it a bit more.

As for telling their nationality I just think of where they are in the world. If somethings sailing through the channel its proberly British, if it's sailing around your base its proberly friendly.
I've changed thr renown to 0 for neutrals since they don't follow proper guidelines for neutral shipping and are obviously helping the enemy.

[wetwarev7]

If it seems like it will sink I will watch it for up to 12 hours - submerge near it, put down your scopes and speed up your TC.
If it's still floating you will have to destroy it a bit more.

As for telling their nationality I just think of where they are in the world. If somethings sailing through the channel its proberly British, if it's sailing around your base its proberly friendly.
I've changed thr renown to 0 for neutrals since they don't follow proper guidelines for neutral shipping and are obviously helping the enemy.

12 hours? Have you had any problems with them calling in help within that time?

And yet another question :D , are there any techniques to moving through minefields, or escaping nets? I haven't encountered these yet, but I'm sure I will.. :P