New To Sub Sims
 

Hi,

I've been lurking and getting great information about SH4 which I've only recently started playing.

I've played a lot of games but have finally found a home with Silent Hunter. It is a pity my laptop won't run SH5 or I would have bought that as well.

I'm ex RN (18 years service) and can definitely say that SH4 is what I've been missing with pc games.

I am on the UBM career and am using manual targeting which I love. The best part is detecting a ship, convoy or task force and setting up the attack then prosecuting the selected targets. I use map update but very rarely use external camera as I like the immersion of identifying the targets using the periscope (which I leave lowered as much as possible).

Here is an image of a convoy attack I carried out today. All three destroyed ships were part of the initial setup. I identified 2 that I wanted to take with the fwd tubes and one aft. I fired 2 at each of the targets passing in front and then rotated the periscope 180 to take out the last with 2 fish from the aft tubes.

http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4convoy2.jpg

The remaining 3 targets I destroyed using the gun.

I moved my patrol area south of Sri Lanka and came across a task force. 5 destroyers and one Attack Escort Carrier. I moved ahead of the group and set up a position 10 miles ahead. I crept forward at periscope depth, silent running and closed within 800 yds of the Carrier. I had basic information of course and speed from the passive sonar which I entered into the tdc. I updated as the group closed by using quick periscope raises (just enough to fine tune my solution). I fired 4 fish from the front tubes and dove to 240ft slinking away, silent running, at 1kt. I actually managed to get away without being pinged by the escorts (I used electronic fish which may have helped me confuse the escort as to the point of origin of the attack).

So far it has been a good day with 10 merchants (2 convoys) sunk and one Escort Carrier for 90,000 tons :)

Thanks to listening to my drivel, I hope to add patrol reports as I gain more experience with SH4.

Welcome aboard Commander!

Great write up and great attack! You've come to the right part of the internet, there may only be a few of us but we do enjoy Subsims.

Currently playing an OM+OMEGU+DBSM soup on 16, September, 1939, in a type 2B. Was assign of of Norway, saw one Merchant, neutral. Scoot around the Thamas, but air cover was brutal. Just leaving Wilhelmshaven, the war is 18 days old and all I've seen is the bloody Royal Air force!

I'm having a blast.

Welcome aboard!
 

Welcome to SubSim cadaha :sunny:

A Warm Welcome To The Subsim Community > cadaha
Subsim <> How To Donate <> See The Benefits <> Support The Community

Welcome aboard Cadaha. :salute:

Sounds like you have everything under control. Don't be afraid to ask questions. We're all happy to help.

Since you have things under control and have plenty of free time. I someone to go clean the head in The Bilge. Wolferz keeps messing it up.

Welcome aboard, cadaha. Happy to have you aboard. :salute:

BTW, nice job on the convoy. Save some for us. :D :up:

Another dang u-boater. :nope:

Come over to the Fleet Boats. More room, air conditioning, ten torpedo tubes, and more. We've even got the ice cream machine!

Join us. We don't bite! (Just ignore that guy up there with the teeth painted on the sub.)


Welcome to Subsim and SH4!

Thanks for the welcome.

I've tried a few mods, mainly OM and FOTRS but had issues with saves crashing so I stuck with the vanilla game plus the range ring (which I love).

I'd love to see a British mod in the Atlantic theater and I would also love to see a mod for the cold war era in a Brit hunter killer sub which patrols the atlantic to take out soviet subs. It would be interesting to see a brit hunter killer against a soviet Akula as the both have similar roles.

Also a brit destroyer/frigate in a convoy picket role prosecuting subs would be great (I spent my career on anti sub Frigates so it would be a blast from the past :) )

I am loving this sim and it is definitely time wasting and absorbing, but time is something I have an abundance of now :)

You might be a bit interested in:
We Dive At Dawn download and Rel Thread (read all about it here)
which is one of the Bonus Mods they offer is you join the SubSim Navy. I'm waiting on my first retirement check, and I'm signing up. I've been eyeing me those bonus mods...

Thanks. When I get my naval pension I'll check it out. Has anyone got any experience with this mod and/or video footage etc?

Finished the patrol on a high point. On the way back to base I managed to intercept 2 small convoys and wreak havoc.

Here the first convoy approaching as I set up my attack.
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4002.jpg

T3 Tanker having a bad day. I only got credit for 4 of the units as a couple of Jap aircraft appeared and joined in on the attack as I surfaced to take out the remaining ships with the gun.
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4003.jpg

Second convoy and again a very unhappy day for the T3 Tanker. I managed to sink two more of the convoy but the small tanker got away when I ran out of ammunition.
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4004.jpg

Returned to base where I was awarded another medal, a promotion and a new shiny command.
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4006.jpg

My running total after 5 patrols
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4005.jpg

Welcome aboard cadaha :salute:

I see you are now the proud new owner of a shiny new Type 21 :up:

I am and I'm not that impressed to tell you the truth. Eats fuel and is a slippery sucker making it harder to position for attack also not sure if it is because I'm on patrol six but I seem to get detected a lot earlier so have had to abort more than one convoy attack due to Tribal Destroyers jumping on me very quickly even though I'm silent, periscope down etc.

I did get a lone Liberty Merchant though as I entered my patrol area :)
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4007.jpg

Type 21 surfaced after sinking the Liberty
http://www.carlhackman.com/images/sh4008.jpg

I've noticed a massive change in this patrol compared to the first 5. Every convoy is protected by one or more destroyers and they seem way overpowered compared to the first five patrols. Sitting quietly, even at almost max torpedo distance these escorts start pinging me as soon as they get within 3000 yds, meaning I have to break off the attack and go deep.

I'm not sure how to deal with them as they have no reason to know I'm there. I set up the attack way ahead of their arrival so as not to be detected. When I parallel their course I am over 7 miles away until I am about 10 miles ahead which should give me ample time to sit and wait.