Malfunctions - compressed air leaks
 

After just performing my 2nd deep dive (held at 160m) test in my IIA as I am approaching my patrol in AN26 I blew twice on the compressed air,the first blow reduced the air to about 3/4 approx,yet the 2nd blow reduced ALL the air.I immediately noted this down and concluded there must be a serious malfunction with the valves somewhere,either a slow leak or complete valve failure (obviously the latter).

Now what I am asking is this , "is that rate of drain normal for such a malfunction"? I am not complaining mind you,after all makes the game more realistic :03: , and is there a chance it can be repaired at some point in the patrol?,does the game model that?.

Well,looks like we will be relying solely on the planes on this patrol to surface :yawn: ,unless in absolutely critical situations.

Also,would somone be kind enough to give me a short list of other malfunctions to watch out for?,other than gear problems,fuel leaks,rudder problems,dive plane problems etc.

Thanks!

Are you running with SH3 commander? If so it may you have malfunctions and sabotage on. This randomly adds damage or disability to certain systems in the sub or not.

Running repairs are not modelled and the only ways to fix the problem are to shut down the game and reload using commander or return to base and start a new patrol.

I normally run a test dive and systems check not far out from port then return if I find a problem that is likely to endanger my crew.

I can't say I've really tested the compressed air capacity in a IIA but you may find that you only have enough for two blows. Does anyone know how many times you can blow ballast in a IIA normally?

I'm running Commander 3.2 yes.I actually like the malfunctions option,gives me a bit more to think about,making the patrol less tedious.I have never tried the sabotage option,but may do someday.I don't fancy the idea of grubby little commies or their supporters getting their hands on my equipment/crew,let alone being allowed to get that close in the first place :damn:

I remember in stock game in a VIIC I usually had about 4 blows until it ran out,so it may be normal to have only 2 in a IIA.As I said,the 1st blow depleted about 1/4,then the 2nd blew all the lot!

No problem,I can live with it :smug:

I didn't enable sabatoge until I was in France for a while and with my careers in the Med, I've had it enabled since I started there. I try to give the boat a good shaking out on the first day out to make sure everything is working. I have been caught by suprise a few times though and even had to return to port a couple of days out.

Can't speak for a IIA, but in a VIIC, I had enough air for 3 blows, but I was flooded pretty bad and around 225m on the last one but it got me to the surface.....briefly.:dead:

:)

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that repairs are modelled. IIRC Commander sets up the malfucntion from the start of the patrol/reload of the game and it is with you until you go back to base or reload again.

If it does permit fixes then that's great! JScones may be able to shed some light on this

I'm unaware of any mid patrol 'fixes'.

The one I find most annoying is the refusal of the engines to answer the Full Ahead order.

Well after my recent resurrection of Willie Werner to the ranks,I just did another deep dive test,with a normal compressor (patrol restart),blew twice and the current level is at about 3.9 (I take it that is 390 litres?),meaning that there WAS a serious leak in the other patrol,and also means that a IIA has more than 2 blasts on the air,as was previously thought.

Sounds about right :yep:

I had a malfunction on my sub in '42 in the Med. I only discovered it when being depth charged, the malfunction was that the sub couldn't stay level at over 140 metres. Resulting in sinking unless the engines were at ahead standard or we blew ballast.
My depth test was at 120m :down:

Interesting Capt. , I never knew about that one.So,this would simulate problems with the trim tanks I expect.I know that when at depths greater than 200m (noticed this in stock game ages ago) the UBoat appears to show problems holding depth (probably due to the extreme weight of water above the UBoat) , unless when faster than 1/3.Not very useful when trying to sneak away from a pursuer.

Hi Paul, I think you could be right, those Ruski POW's must have been tinkering with the trim tanks, I expect a dead cat in there or something :haha:. Anyway, it gave me another thing to think about while being DC'ed. Enjoyed it, funnily enough, timing between blowing ballast when trying to run at silent speed, then going flank speed to rise again and deploying decoys.

(PS: noticed you are a Sheffield chap, i'm from Huddersfield myself!)

Sure am mate,glad to see another Yorkshire man upholding the UBoats.Its all for the greater good in the end :up:
Huddersfield eh,thats more or less down the road from me so to speak,quite comforting to know :yep:
Or,up the road the more I think about it.

Glad to meet you Capt,and good luck out there! :salute: