Didn't they set sorts of rendez-vous in high sea to exchange such information or pick up people for insertions and such? Or was it only the Germans doing that until they figured out their code was broken because the intimate rendez-vous became open-houses?

There is no possible reason to photograph ships in harbor in RL. Doesn't make any difference when they'd get the data, it would be old compared to the sigint they already would have for that unit.

Seriously, they make no sense. The only photpgraphy doen in RL was of things like beach defenses. Any images of ships were at sea, and not the primary mission---sink them first. :D

This is a good point as I also am fed up of back to back photo missions even on the odd time I sunk the warships and got away and yet I am sent back, why?

I no longer bother with these missions and go hunting instead. ;)

That said, the variability IS nice. I'm trying to come up with some other novel missions to replace them.

tater

The only mission I know of that this was done was in the "Dolittle Raid" where
the ships would have been there during the raid. In the movie "Destination: Tokyo" it has this mission....

JIM

No US sub went into Tokyo Bay before the surrender. The sub in the Doolittle raid actually near the mouth, but was by no means inside like we are ordered in SH4 all the time. The boat didn't take pictures, she broadcast weather reports (not sure about the pilots using the radio to home on, I may be remembering another mission I read about).

That movie was fictional regarding the sub.

tater

PS--I'm working on the radio mission ;)

http://www.valoratsea.com/recon.htm

All the RL recon missions, only some are photo. None anywhere remotely near Japan.

Anti-picket boat sweeps might also be a fun rerplacement.

I think USS Wahoo is missing, if memory serves correctly Morton was sent to the harbour of Wewak to do some reconassance.

Wahoo "stuck her nose" into Wewak, but it was just Morton looking for stuff to kill, not recon as I recall. Have a look at Wewak though:

http://wwwrses.anu.edu.au/geodynamic...o/wewakmap.jpg

It ain't Tokyo bay by a long stretch ;) Pretty wide open. But, and this is important, just gettign close to "Wewak Harbor" in that wide open area was considered VERY dangerous (and it was). Going into the harbors routinely ordered in SH4 is orders of magnitude more daring than what Wahoo did. That's why having the missions is bad, IMO. It makes what should be, well, suicidally insane, commonplace.

tater

You're right these missions are suicide missions. If you should do reconaissance then you should photgraph shore or beach installations. It would be cool to get the mission to shell shore installations but I guess they're indistructable.:shifty:

EDIT:

"On 24 January 1943, Wahoo dove two miles north of Kairiru Island and proceeded around the western end to penetrate Victoria Bay. She sighted a destroyer with Ro-class submarines nested around it. The destroyer was getting underway, so Wahoo fired a spread of three torpedoes at the moving target; all missed aft. Another was fired which the destroyer avoided by turning away, then circled and headed for Wahoo. The submarine watched him, keeping bows on, waiting until the destroyer had closed to a frightening distance of 800 yards before firing the fifth and last torpedo in the forward tubes. It struck amidships, breaking his back. Wahoo had no difficulty escaping the area. Despite her heavy damage Harusame was beached and repaired."

taken from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wahoo_(SS-238)

Wahoo was under orders to reconniter the harbor to see if the Japanese were massing ships there for an attack. :know:

You're absolutely right:yep:, the candidate has won the jackpot!;)

Cool, I didn't remember that!

<S>

Regardless, as you can see, the harbor is pretty darn open to the sea, the daring part was that they actualy got in close instead of taking a peek from as far away as was practical.

tater

You must have had some guts to get that close!:arrgh!:

Well since my last post around 11 or so this morning, it's now 5:30 and I'm really no closer to my objective than I was earlier.

I got spotted by a couple subchasers and a DD and have been playing cat and mouse at 130 feet, silent running, battlestations, and 1/3 ahead or full stop most of the time hoping to wait them out ... so far it doesn't appear to be working.

I've had a couple convoys pass overhead while waiting and that gave me some breathing time from the DC attack, but for the most part I've been untouched. Just getting the hell pinged out of me tough.

((Not sure if this is relivant or not, but I've been playing this career without using waypoints plotted on the map. The AI seems to know I'm in the general area but it can not pin point me exactly as there is no path for it to project upon. I'm doing manual navigation.))