Hey Chicago, and welcome to the land of zee Subs!
Now, YOUR QUESTION! Which I THINK I can answer!
The MAP likes to mess with you and say this convoy's going slow, or THIS task force is going fast, it's great! They don't understand the KNOTS system. After playing the CRAP outta SHIII and reading around here, I BEAT the map and figured out the average values for those speeds.
USUALLY. (And I'm saying "usually" because I mean it, the speeds DO vary).
But USUALLY, a speed of "Slow" means 6-7 knots, or even less I spose. Medium is 8-10. And I have NOT seen many fast contacts, but the ones I've seen are around 14. So maybe from 12 knots and faster, just in general.
What I
personally use:
Slow- 6
Medium- 10
Fast- 14
Again, it's a bit of a crapshoot with contacts sometimes. Your best guess is to stick with one value, line up a good intercept course, and intercept ASAP to make sure you dont miss them. THEN you get the real speed. And then keep a note of what speeds you see are the most common out there, and use those for estimates.
Good luck and happy huntin'!
*As for the tool to help with angles and whatnot, I'm NOT sure what's out there, but someone else might know. But if you want to know the approximate angles, just use some quick math! (+ or - 22.5 from your desired bearing) Or here:
North-000
NNE-022.5
NE-045
ENE-067.5
East-090
ESE-112.5
SE-135
SSE-157.5
South-180
SSW-202.5
SW-225
WSW-247.5
West-270
WNW-292.5
NW-315
NNW-337.5
Back to North-000