A good thread, and already some good answers. The reality is that the CO has a lot to worry about, and the command structure is set up to take that burden off his shoulders where possible.
When the captain wants to change course in a combat situation, he gives the order and the helmsman obeys. When he wants to go deeper, he orders the depth, but he doesn't tell the planesmen exactly what dive angle to take. That is the job of his department head, in this case the LI on the uboat. The captain never actually mans the wheel or the planes. He will order the engine settings he wants and the exact speed, including separate engine orders when maneuvering in harbor; but he doesn't actually man the engines, of course.
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Originally Posted by Rosencrantz
..."commanding officer doesn't plot target's movement"...
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This is one of the tough parts of the game. Some SH3 and SH4 players have complained about the difficulty of manual targetting. I'm not very good at it either. But the answer in SH3 is to use the 'Weapons Officer Assistance', and several people have said that using WOA is more realistic than doing it all yourself. The only problem there is that the captain does indeed focus the periscope, and his assistant reads and records the bearing and range. Either of them could draw the lines on the chart, but that job is usually assigned to a third party, with the senior officers double-checking.
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or "it's not CO's business to take care of dicipline"...
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Discipline is usually department-specific. The petty officer is the equivalent of a sergeant in the army, and part of his job is to keep his fellows in line. He answers to the Chief Petty Officer, who is charge of the men in his division, or department. The actual department head is a junior officer, and even he doesn't usually concern himself with discipline, but with the running of his department. It is his job to make sure that department runs smoothly, so problems between sailors could be brought to his attention, but he would be more likely to talk them through it than threaten punishment. The XO/1WO was the ultimate department head, and his judgement was final in the day-to-day running of the boat. He was the one who worked with department heads to make sure they got what they needed to do the job, and he was the one who made sure that they provided what the captain needed to do his job. That means that the XO was also in charge of provisioning the boat and scheduling the watch changes, and the captain routinely asked him how things were going.
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...or "CO is not interested in how does the food taste in the wardroom". Really? In the real life, I think, every CO is very much interested or involved in about everything what comes to the ship. What actions should be simulated in the game is, however, whole different subject.
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I'm sure the captain cares what his food tastes like, and he might actually say something to the cook, or mention it to the XO, if he's not happy. If he is happy he might compliment the cook of course, since it's good for morale and also a guarantee that the cook will try to keep pleasing his captain. On the other hand, it's the XO's job to supervise the loading of supplies. He'll report that the boat is provisioned, and give details if the captain asks for them. He might also let the captain know if he managed to snag any special items, but other than that the CO only cares that the job is done and his boat is ready for sea.
Bottom line: the captain can of course do or say anything he wants. Some did and some didn't get into the nitty-gritty, but the structure is set up so he doesn't have to worry about the details. I can see the desire for the XO to keep his boss informed about the food situation, just as the LI keeps him aprised of the fuel remaining. On the other hand, I don't recall reading any stories of u-boats terminating a patrol because of food shortages.