What does "Rigging in the bow planes" do?
 

I was wondering what rigging in the bow planes does and what it's function in game is? Does it make the sub less maneuverable, yet quieter?

If I remember right, that's one of the steps you're supposed to perform before surfacing through ice.

When the sub is surfaced there is no need for the dive planes. I don't know about modern, but WW2-era US subs had bow planes that could be raised into indentations in the hull, which gave a flush surface and much less drag.

For modern subs it's for surfacing through ice, as SilentPrey have said and for reducing the friction with the water, thus generating less noise at high speeds. But the last one operates automatically (in DW) AFAIR.

So Dangerous Waters models the sub making less noise at high speed if the bow planes are rigged in? That adds a new strategy element that I've never thought to use.
So, therefore, if I'm trying to rush to a location to catch something, yet still remain stealthy, I should probably pull the planes in?

The bow planes are for stability. Pulling them in would theoretically decrease your flow noise, but it'd also mean you're more likely to roll the sub, though I guess in DW they probably don't model that, nor do they likely model the noise reduction of pulling them in, so it wouldn't help your strats. As others have mentioned you would also pull them in before surfacing through ice to keep from snapping them off.

Another reason for rigging in the bowplanes is to prevent damaging them upon surfacing through ice. The other purposes have already been explained.

Rigging in, or Retracting the bow planes is done for a few reasons.

1. When Piloting. We don't need them, we have tugs along side, they move us around.

2. When over a certain speed. Over a certain amount of knots, they become ineffective and are no longer needed/useful. In fact, when going fast enough they will just make noise. They aren't for stability, that's what the trim tanks are for. You would have to be hauling some serious butt in a submarine to get it to even roll slightly at a 15deg turn.

3. Under Ice. Surfacing through the ice is dangerous. American Submarines will probably never again built with fairwater planes, and instead bow planes. This change was made between the 688 and 688I class submarines, where they moved the planes below the waterline like a real submarine.


Hope that helps.

^ Yea, in Sub Command, the Seawolves(not the 688I's) could do it , and this did two things

1. you couldn't touch your flank speed without rigging them in- you'd hit 34, not 35 knots in the seawolf

#2. The "purpose" was for surfacing through ice - i think i probably surfaceed once or twice with them out with no effects

..seriously though, can the original 688's really not surface through ice because of the planes? I'd think they still could.....


Anyway, in Dangerous waters, the flank speed limiting thing doesn't happen(I believe you CAN hit the 40 knots with the planes out), and ..as for the ICE thing, ...I've had some very weird* experiences with ice that i don't think had anything to do with the planes(but i can check)

*I tried surfacing in 5-6 ft ice, and the sub kept bouncing off(when getting like 50%+ of the way through) . Pretty sure my planes were IN, not out- and there might be a point where for thick ice, you bounce off anyway sometimes(not always) when you try to surface through ice

I've read that the 688's could not surface through the ice because the fairwater had been designed to be shorter than the previous class as part of increasing the max speed of the class. The fairwater planes were too large to turn 90 degrees vertical. The switch to bow planes on the 688i's resolved that issue.

Tom

BubbleHeadNuke mentioned in a post before (I forget the thread) that it wasn't really the motivation for the bow planes in the 688i however. The motivation was greater control or sub pitch in the case of a stern plan casualty. The better tolerance to ice was a convenient plus.

How do you do this in-game? I don't remember this being a feature. :hmmm:

In "F1" control pannel.

For which submarine?

I think I remember seeing something about it on the Seawolf. :hmmm:

yes,it is on seawolf.