Japanese names of ships

[Aviv]

Hi guys!
What's the deal with the Japanese names of the ships (like Ryuun Maru, Taikosan Maru etc.)? Personally I don't like it, and I was wondering on your opinions on it and if someone had a list of the original names to replace. I can't recognize a ship from these names.

How did captains know the name of the ship they were sinking?

[Torplexed]

Most US skippers probably didn't know the name of the Japanese ships they sank, unless they were lucky enough to catch the name on the hull or among the wreckage and it was in English. They just went by silhouette, size and how they matched up to the probable class in the ID book, which was always very iffy.

By the way what is it you don't like about Japanese ship names....that a lot of them are in Japanese?

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by Aviv

Hi guys!
What's the deal with the Japanese names of the ships (like Ryuun Maru, Taikosan Maru etc.)? Personally I don't like it, and I was wondering on your opinions on it and if someone had a list of the original names to replace. I can't recognize a ship from these names.

How did captains know the name of the ship they were sinking?

Maru means merchant or something along those lines. The names were added to be more authentic as in RL the ID books had known japanese ships in them and is actually easier to remember once you play enough. Some ships were not exactly as they were in the ID and were close enough so in order to have something to work with and put in the report skippers would ID vessels as closest thing they had in their book and did were fairly accurate.

Can't see why you think it's easier to to remember the long drawn out names "Largew Modern" this and that as opposed to Nagara Maru.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

Can't see why you think it's easier to to remember the long drawn out names "Largew Modern" this and that as opposed to Nagara Maru.

I believe because the longer English title is objectively descriptive for an English speaker and requires less familiarity and memorization whereas, until the time required to familiarize oneself is reached, one Maru is no different from another. Granted, we have a ship recognition book and we're making visual comparisons, so I have no issue. But if I was at a function ashore with other boat skippers and everyone was talking about the various Marus, I wouldn't know if they were talking about tankers, freighters, troop-ships or circus convoys.

[Sailor Steve]

You're playing an American skipper sinking Japanese ships. What other names would they have?

Here is a page from an actual US Navy recognition manual.

[WernherVonTrapp]

As has already been mentioned, and as far as I'm aware, all the Japanese ship names are accurate in SHIV.

[Arlo]

And then there's the 'Kobiashi Maru' scenario. I had to cheat to win that one.