radar crossection...

[flakmonkey]

I was just wondering, does sailing surfaced with the snorkel raised increase my visibility to radar and visibility in general?

I know in reality it would but is this simulated in game?

I ask because i often sail surfaced with the snorkel raised as it allows a quicker crash dive in emergencies.

[Jimbuna]

I should imagine it does, after all its an additional object protruding the surface of the water.
Conversely, running with decks awash would lessen the profile of your sub slightly.

[TarJak]

IIRC in GWX there is a JSGME enabled mod for lateway radar that addresses the stock problem of a schnorkel giving the same radar profile as a fully surfaced sub. Clearly the modelling in stock was not quite right.

Originally Posted by flakmonkey

I was just wondering, does sailing surfaced with the snorkel raised increase my visibility to radar and visibility in general?

I ask because i often sail surfaced with the snorkel raised as it allows a quicker crash dive in emergencies.

In real life, u-boats would probably never sail surfaced with the snorkel raised. It would make the boat much more visible at further distances, would add a good deal more resistance while diving, and that's assuming it wasn't damaged during a crash dive; and would definitly slow the u-boat in a crash dive. Maximum under water speed was probably around 5 knots with snorkel raised.

The snorkel was most likely used only at night to recharge batteries for the shortest amount of time possible. Also remeber that the snorkel was introduced late in the war when it was almost impossible for u-boats to sail surfaced day or night. The use of the snorkel made the u-boat virtually blind due to the high noise level of the engines; the hydrophones would have been pretty much useless. The periscope would have been the only contact with the surface and that was somewhat limiting.

Also, the late war mod referred to above adds the radar atop the snorkel on Type VIIs and Type IXs which was not included in the original SH3. Also remember that the use of this radar would have been detected by the Allies, so it is questionable how much it was really used.

Hope this is helpful.