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Chock · 06-04-07, 02:34 PM

Bow wave could indeed be used to estimate speed in real life, and can also be used in SH, although as in real life, it would probably be one of a few observation sources which would be combined to get a figure.

German WW2 Type XB boats occasionally had false bows painted on their sides to make range and speed estimates more difficult for the Allies in a manner similar to a technique used on several combat aircraft these days (such as the F/A-18, which can often be seen with a false canopy painted on its underside to confuse enemies in a dogfight). There is an artist's impression of V-119, a Type XB U-Boat with the false bow scheme in the Squadron/Signal publications 'U-Boats in action' (ISBN 0-89747-054-0)

I sometimes use bow wave alone as an estimate of speed if I'm in a rush to take a shot of opportunity when I haven't got the time to do a stopwatch estimate, i.e. when a battleship is in my scope and I'll never be able to do an end-around on it.

You get used to guessing speeds this way if you do it often enough.

Chock

06-04-07, 02:34 PM	#2
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Bow wave could indeed be used to estimate speed in real life, and can also be used in SH, although as in real life, it would probably be one of a few observation sources which would be combined to get a figure. German WW2 Type XB boats occasionally had false bows painted on their sides to make range and speed estimates more difficult for the Allies in a manner similar to a technique used on several combat aircraft these days (such as the F/A-18, which can often be seen with a false canopy painted on its underside to confuse enemies in a dogfight). There is an artist's impression of V-119, a Type XB U-Boat with the false bow scheme in the Squadron/Signal publications 'U-Boats in action' (ISBN 0-89747-054-0) I sometimes use bow wave alone as an estimate of speed if I'm in a rush to take a shot of opportunity when I haven't got the time to do a stopwatch estimate, i.e. when a battleship is in my scope and I'll never be able to do an end-around on it. You get used to guessing speeds this way if you do it often enough. Chock