Quote:
Originally Posted by propbeanie
You use a "Contact Report", where your crew has identified several ships in a group (you'll see the notifications in the text box), you lock-on to one of them, and send a "Contact Report". You have to be close enough to "see" them, yet not so close that they can see you. If there is a CV group, or a land-based air group, close enough to your location, you'll see them, generally no sooner than about 15-20 minutes, usually longer. You'll notice that skirich mentioned coming up to 30 feet, and you might get one out at PD, but usually radar depth is better (42-47 feet), or on the surface...  |
To add a little more to this, here is my MO.
If I notice a group lingering, or I am chasing a group, or I just escaped from a circling group of warships hell bent on depth charging me, I run at periscope level and ID at least 3 ships. Then boogie out of there to about 4-5 miles. Which is about the limit of view my periscope can still see the targets and lock on.
I make sure I am absolutely perpendicular to the group so when I surface I present the smallest profile to them. Less of a chance to get picked up by sight or radar.
At 30 feet depth, the radio antenna is exposed and can send transmissions. The conning tower watch deck is above water and I can exit to the deck, and most of the rest of the boat is still under water.
I lock onto one ship I I.D'ed already using the presicope and the send Contact Report button on the Log Book is now active. Click it once and submerge to periscope depth.
About 1-5 minutes later you will receive a reply.
Warning: I have gotten two different replies and it appears to be random, or maybe based on which ship I I.D'ed. I suspect if its a juicy target you will get the ... Nice Find, Sending recon and reponse force to intercept, return to base when possible.
I have also gotten the .. Nice Find, now go sink them, reply and now I have a patrol task on my log to complete. (Thanks Pearl)
Anyway, I noticed when you get a reply that an intercept force is coming, if you linger in the area at 30 feet with radar on max, you will get many more flyboys coming in for the destruction. If you leave the area you dont get many at all. It appears there is a mechanic in the game that uses your radar to find them (at least thats what it felt like, maybe the radiomen are directing).
If you are good with external camera use, you can zoom into the battlegroup and watch U.S. planes dive bomb, strafe, and drop torpedos at the ships.
Just remember to search for survivors afterward, or go in for the kill of any remaining enemy ships since they are busy with aircraft.
If you read up in the thread (or maybe it was a separate thread) you can see how one time I was deep in trouble, being chased in a shallow straight by 3 destroyers that were closing and shooting the big guns at me. I called in a contact report on them, and 15 minutes later as they reached about 3000 yards out from me an aircraft task force of about 7 planes flew right over my head and nailed the lead two ships. Sunk them on the second pass. I turned and engaged the lone destroyer and sunk that one easily as it was already on fire, but still moving.
As propbeanie mentioned, you will need to have one of our CV groups nearby to get that kind of response. This all happened during the battle of Leyte Gulf, which had numerous CV's from the U.S. fleet nearby.