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2. To what depths do useful thermal layers occur?
Does anyone know? (I do not.) Logically, one might guess that thermal layers caused by the effects of solar heating should occur much more often in shallow waters than at deep depths. SH3Commander uses Hemisent's data, which set the effects of the thermal layers randomly at about 200m, whch seems to be very deep.
3. Do thermal layers actually provide any kind of useful protection to a submarine?
Clearly, if thermal layers provided good protection, no deep submarine (of World War II, let us ignore modern technology) could ever be sunk by depth-charges, unless accidentally. There is no evidence of such perfect protection. The diagrams shown in the references (provided by other people above) are evidently over-simplistic and exaggerated.
There seems to be little purpose in making a thermal layers mod until such important questions can be answered.
Could I remind readers also that my 'Asdic-in shallow-waters' mod provides a partial solution to this problem already (in the Stiebler2A addon for Hsie V16A3), although my solution is dependent only on water depth and not on random factors.
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Thermal layers are a complex thing, and our Dangerous Waters experts are the most qualified to talk about it. From my modest knowledge of the matter and of playing DW, and regarding the points highlighted, I can say that:
1) Yes, many times thermal layers tend to appear deeper, but it is not uncommon to have them at much shallower depths, 50-100 metres. As you say, it depends on a series of factors, like sun, salinity, sea bottom, etc.
2) Thermal layers if marked, do provide a good protection against passive detection (hearing) and less good against active one (ASDIC). For the ASDIC beam to fail in detecting a submerged object, you need to be far away and/or the thermal layer to be really, really strong.