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Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk
Sonar does not work above 60 feet. Not sure if historcally correct but surface noise when at scope depth did drown out good sonar contact.
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That is not historical, particularly for sonar heads mounted on the bottom of the hull. Hyrdophone effectiveness should degrade based on submarine movement, proximity to surface and surface condition due to interference from surface noise and movement of water around the sub. Sonar/hydrophone should only flat out not function if the sonar head is physically out of the water, and for most of the war, this was not the case with US hydrophones due to their location.
There are plenty of accounts of sonar being utilized on the surface in the right conditions and particularly in locating strong sounds (pinging, proximate machinery sounds, torpedo runs, torpedo detonations, depth charge detonations, ships breaking up, etc.). The sonar man certainly had a role during night surface attacks.