Toilet paper
 

You know a sub could only go so long without toilet paper. Let's put a toilet paper gauge next to that food gauge, and we could introduce crew's laundry. When underwear supplies get low morale suffers. I think we could also scrape rust off the conning tower, repack the stuffing boxes and sweep and dust the radar cabinets. It would be really exciting to take the specific gravity of each cell in the battery array three times a day. It's been brought to my attention that the hydrogen gas sensors aren't working correctly. Above 5% is explosive and it would be really cool to have a gauge next to the food gauge, toilet paper gauge, rust gauge and underwear gauge to show hydrogen concentration.

All these suggestions are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY if SH4 is going to be an exciting game. I'll be in touch with Kentucky Fried Mole to organize pointless protests to bring Ubi to their knees until we get these essential improvements.:up:

LOL
 

RR;
LOL, nicely put. I accidentally clicked on the wrong poll button, d'oh, but couldn't retract it. I read Beach's "Submarine" which has a variety tales from Wahoo, Trigger etc. None of them mention food being an issue on patrol, in fact one of the subs had it's own "custom" made ice-cream maker!!;)

I voted "no" for the same reasons most people have already mentioned. I believe that most boats were never on patrol long enough for this to become an issue.

but, only as an option...
 

I'm sure that a sub crew knows how to fish and forage if things ever get that bad. I've heard rumors that there is lots of spare SPAM stashed away in every nook and cranny.

I voted yes! It's another actual detail of overall boat management. The more the better. By the way, shouldn't we have a Pharmacist Mate on board?

By some folks accounts, ALL SPAM is considered spare:D

NO!!!! Spam is useful!
 

Wearing appropriate protective respirators, crewmembers open cans of Spam, filling a torpedo tube of a desparate, pinned-down submarine. Ejecting the Spam, it floats due to its putrid fat content. When the stuff surfaces, the stench convinces the Japanese that the crew of the submarine is certainly dead. They chock up another sunk sub and leave.:smug:

Oh come now . . . Spam isn't that bad. Especially if you know how to make REALLY good SPAM Musubi.

That reminds me . . . how often would the cook go fishing? And how often were they successful? Imagine Fresh Tuna . . . mmmm.

Use your imagination to make thing more realistic and put bernard on that AA
to do some fishing. He is a good fisherman i hear :rotfl:

Will this thread ever die? I hate to think that any devs might actually put this into action.

Devs: Please do not read this thread. It is a figment of your imagination.

I researched this subject this weekend.

From my preliminary findings, the problem of provisioning, or lack thereof, was known and corrected on the eve of war. I have read through many of the first war patrol reports of the Pearl Harbor based boats and none speak of 'lack of food' as the cause of return. A high percentage do speak of the lack of fresh water and the subsequent rationing that took place.

In Clay Blair's Silent Victory, p.84, he writes:

While researching the boats that participated in this dress rehearsal, another statement jumped out from the official record from Tautog's history in the National Archives:

Tautog's prewar patrol lasted 45 days and the crew suffered from lack of fresh water as well as the implementation of food rationing (two meals a day.) Fortunately, I have Tautog's pre-war patrol report dated 5 Dec 1941. For those interested, I have uploaded the relevant portions of that report (pdf format) regarding fresh water, commissary, morale, and health here.

Argonaut was on pre-war patrol beginning 28 November 1941 and remained on station around Midway until ordered to return to Pearl on 16 January 1942. She docked on 22 January 1942. Her patrol report does not mention food shortages.

I have also done a small sampling of patrols that lasted 60 days or more and cannot find any mention of food causing the end of a patrol. Most, if not all, report that menus were diverse and nourishing.

In most cases, the hunger of the diesels, not the crew, was the predominant reason for returns.

I am with RR in the hope that this thread will die as there is *slim* historical data to support this "feature." :roll:

Interesting...

All the 'nucs' I have ever talked with say there is food stuffed everywhere...

Can't get enough fresh eggs and veggies...

Guess there just aren't enough 'oilers' left...